Post on 03-Mar-2017
Success Beyond Links
How To Make Your Content More Valuable
Vicke Cheung | @VickeKaravan
myassettag.com/state-cycling-statistics @VickeKaravan
Content made in 2012
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Content made in 2016
Our content may haveevolved in form
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But the objective has remained unchanged
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Objective = Links
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We bias our ideas to those that
are newsworthy
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Because this gets us links
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So why fix something that ain’t broke?
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Is it future-proof?
@VickeKaravan
Does Google Still Need Links
“Win at brand awareness & perception”
What should you do next?
Does Google Still Need Links
Link-building onlydelivers indirect value
@VickeKaravan
Marketing is promoting / selling
products or services to people
@VickeKaravan
You can get links even without people engaging
with your content
@VickeKaravan
It’s time to stop limiting content to being all about links
@VickeKaravan
Start doing things that can deliver value by
reaching people, not just search engines
@VickeKaravan
What to expect in this presentation
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What could this content be?
Where does the value lie?
Why will people care?
When should you release content?
@VickeKaravan
1. 2. 3. 4.
What could this content be?
What’s the value for you?
Why will people care?
When should you release content?
@VickeKaravan
1. 2. 3. 4.
What could this content be?
What’s the value for you?
What’s in it for your audience?
When should you release content?
@VickeKaravan
1. 2.
4.3.
What could this content be?
1.
@VickeKaravan
@VickeKaravan
@VickeKaravan
This is branded content
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“Branded content will be at the heart of every
marketing strategy.”
@VickeKaravanbobcm.net/2015/07/30/the-future-of-branded-content-marketing-part-3
What exactly is branded content?
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“Branded content”
@VickeKaravan
can mean different things to different people
It’s both!
@VickeKaravan
Despite advertising and marketing increasingly
converging…
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Broadly speaking
@VickeKaravan
To advertisers, branded content
= paid media
Broadly speaking
@VickeKaravan
To advertisers, branded content
= paid media
To marketers, branded content = earned media
@VickeKaravan
Does this logo qualify it as branded content?
Technically yes, but…
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This is only a small subset of branded content
@VickeKaravan
@VickeKaravan
✤ Link-driven
✤ Doesn’t matter if people are reading/engaging
✤ Doesn’t matter if people remember the brand
✤ Minimally branded
This is content for link-building
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@VickeKaravan
Marketing strategies, like Red Bull’s, are different
@VickeKaravan
✤ Link-driven
✤ Doesn’t matter if people are reading/engaging
✤ Doesn’t matter if people remember the brand
✤ Minimally branded
✤ Designed to reach people
✤ Aim to build a community of like-minded followers
✤ Not-product focussed
✤ Consistently and boldly branded
@VickeKaravan
This is content for brand-building
“Red Bull’s brand awareness accomplishment is through the roof.”
@VickeKaravanbit.ly/2lLTJHm
Great! How can we be the
next Red Bull?
@VickeKaravan
Reality check
@VickeKaravan
Not every company can invest in their own
media house!
@VickeKaravan
@VickeKaravan
$64 million spend
$2 million spend
They can justify this, because Red Bull Media House is no longer just a marketing cost centre…
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It’s a profit generator
@VickeKaravan
@VickeKaravan
@VickeKaravanSource: Altimeter Group
@VickeKaravan
✤ Brands that act as media companies
✤ Profit centres
✤ Content that directly makes money
✤ E.g. and…
5. Run
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@VickeKaravan
✤ No investment in content marketing
✤ Relies mainly on “push” communications (e.g. email marketing)
1. Stand
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✤ Early stages ofcontent creation
✤ Focus is onone or two discrete channels (e.g. Facebook page)
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2. Stretch
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✤ Unified strategy across multiple channels
✤ Results become more measurable
✤ Start to connect content with revenue
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3. Walk
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✤ Scaling up your content strategy
✤ Requires solidexecutive buy-in
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4. Jog
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Most of us will probably be here
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2. Stretch / 3. Walk
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Results are relative. Whichever stage you’re at, you can still achieve a lot
within your means
Case studies
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“Content to contact to cash”
Rick Short Director of Marketing Communications
@VickeKaravan
“Content to contact to cash”
Rick Short Director of Marketing Communications
lead generation
@VickeKaravan
2. Stretch
Customer contacts increased by 600%
in one quarter
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Keyword research What drives people to the site?
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Keyword research 73 keywords were identified
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73 blogs created for each keyword
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These blogs encouraged conversation
amongst relevant engineers
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This also helped: Early-mover advantage
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There are still a lot of untapped industries in the
content space
@VickeKaravan
It pays to embrace your niche
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3. Walk
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@VickeKaravan
@VickeKaravan
Free content behind a lead-gen form
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Connect the dots between who downloaded them and who later converted
The e-books contributedto $2.5 million in
annual recurring revenue
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However it’s not always easy or possible to measure
revenue from content
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Don’t worry! There are other ways to
prove the value of content
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What’s the value for you?
2.
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Micro-conversions
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@VickeKaravan
Micro-conversions
Things that happen in the lead up to a full conversion
Micro-conversions
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Things that happen in the lead up to a full conversion
E.g. growing social following
Micro-conversions
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Things that happen in the lead up to a full conversion
E.g. growing social following Easier to track
@VickeKaravan
Growyour social following
Build a retargeting
pool
Attract consumers to
test drive your product
Drive targeted
traffic and
awareness
Increase time spent with brand
5 examples of micro-conversions
@VickeKaravan
Grow your social following
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
Brand: Adidas’ new division
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
Audience: Youth market
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
Goal: Build Instagram following
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
Solution: Influencer-driven social campaign
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
Results: 12,000 entries; 41,000 new followers
instagram.com/explore/tags/myneoshoot/
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Build a retargeting pool
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
Brand: Hans Oliving
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
Campaign: Dedicated microsite
olivingthelife.com.au
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Results: 924,000 engaged users
for future retargeting
olivingthelife.com.au
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
“We have been extremely pleased with the results from this campaign, it has been a
first for us and it’s great to be recognised at a global level.”
Gerard Smith GM Sales, Hans Smallgoods
mumbrella.com.au/king-content-wins-social-media-award-new-york-olivingthelife-378163
Increase time spent with brand
@VickeKaravan
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
Solution: Content hub
iooilandgas.com/powerful-thinking/
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
Results: Avg. dwell time of 3 minutes*
*industry avg. is 15 seconds
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Drive targeted traffic and awareness
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
Goal: Raise awareness of Shutterstock footage
shutterstock.com/video/
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Solution: Video campaign
shutterstock.com/blog/90s-commercials-for-modern-brands
Results: 4000 clicks to Footage page
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“There is definitely a business case that we have made for these videos and why we’re pushing them so hard…the campaign is an opportunity to showcase what’s possible
with Shutterstock.”
Kashem Miah Global director of social media & content marketing
Shutterstock
contently.com/strategist/2017/01/11/shutterstock-90s-case-story/
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Attract consumers to test drive your product
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
Brand: Pierre Robert hosiery
pierre-robert.com/
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Goal: Get women to try their tights
pierre-robert.com/
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
Solution: #Bikemytights campaign
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Solution: #Bikemytights campaign
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Results: 1560 tights sampled
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Results: 75% increase in future purchase intent
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5 examples of micro-conversions
Growyour social following
Build a retargeting
pool
Attract consumers to
test drive your product
Drive targeted
traffic and
awareness
Increase time spent with brand
@VickeKaravan
There is some overlap here
Growyour social following
Build a retargeting
pool
Attract consumers to
test drive your product
Drive targeted
traffic and
awareness
Increase time spent with brand
@VickeKaravan
E.g.
Growyour social following
Build a retargeting
pool
Attract consumers to
test drive your product
Drive targeted
traffic and
awareness
Increase time spent with brand
@VickeKaravan
These aren’t mutually exclusive but…
Growyour social following
Build a retargeting
pool
Attract consumers to
test drive your product
Drive targeted
traffic and
awareness
Increase time spent with brand
Your content shouldn’t be a jack-of-all-trades
@VickeKaravan
Focus is the key or risk diluting the value
@VickeKaravan
@VickeKaravan
Growyour social following
Build your retargeting
pool
Attract consumers to
test drive your product
Drive targeted
traffic and
awareness
Increase time spent with brand
All concrete goals that can be easily measured
@VickeKaravan
@VickeKaravan
Brand awareness
Brand sentiment
Brand trust
Much harder to measure accurately
@VickeKaravan
@VickeKaravan
Focus on these…
@VickeKaravan
Growyour social following
Build your retargeting
pool
Attract consumers to
test drive your product
Drive targeted
traffic and
awareness
Increase time spent with brand
@VickeKaravan
Focus on these…
And these will naturally follow…
Brand awareness
Brand sentiment
Brand trust
@VickeKaravan
Growyour social following
Build your retargeting
pool
Attract consumers to
test drive your product
Drive targeted
traffic and
awareness
Increase time spent with brand
Content marketing isn’t a one-way relationship
@VickeKaravan
You have to offer something valuable to your audience too
@VickeKaravan
What’s in it for your audience?
3.
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Does your content have the wow factor?
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Or does it offer the aha lightbulb moment?
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Wow
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Aha
Wow
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Aha
Wow
@VickeKaravan
Aha
Increased: Page views by 18 million
Job searches by 28%
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravanmonster.com
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
HOW? NOW. WOW!
Monster followed this framework
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
HOW?
NOW.
WOW!
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
HOW?
NOW.
WOW!
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
NOW.
WOW!
How can you help your customers?
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
How can you help your customers?
Content that’s educating (i.e. “Aha”)
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
Give audience what they’re searching for
www.monster.com/career-advice/article/top-10-tips-for-salary-negotiations @VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
What might your audience want but wouldn’t think to
search for but would click on?
www.monster.com/career-advice/article/salary-negotiation-tips-chris-voss-fbi @VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
HOW?
NOW.
WOW!
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
HOW?
Content that’s topical and “now”
WOW!
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
Content that’s topical and “now”
Happens less frequently, than “how”. As and when there is something topical that’s also brand-relevant
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
Prepare for the predictable
monster.co.uk/career-advice/article/5-new-year-career-resolutions @VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
Prepare to be agile
@VickeKaravan
monster.com/career-advice/article/pokemon-go-tech-jobs
HOW? NOW. WOW!
@VickeKaravan
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
HOW?
NOW.
WOW!
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
Content that
wows
HOW?
NOW.
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
Content that
wows
Around 10% of your content offering. Made up of bigger, hero pieces that aim to entertain.
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
Make people care about your content with…
HOW?
NOW.
WOW!
To recap
@VickeKaravan
@VickeKaravan
Don’t try to run before you can walk
@VickeKaravan
Figure out where you fit
@VickeKaravan
Focus on these…
And these will naturally follow…
Brand awareness
Brand sentiment
Brand trust
@VickeKaravan
Growyour social following
Build your retargeting
pool
Attract consumers to
test drive your product
Drive targeted
traffic and
awareness
Increase time spent with brand
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
HOW?
NOW.
WOW!
You need to deliver value to your audience as well as to yourself
Don’t forget, it’s not always about
link-building!
@VickeKaravan
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
Get credit for the broader effects
@VickeKaravan@VickeKaravan
Use the frameworks in order to achieve this
And make content that truly goes beyond link-building
Vicke Cheung
@VickeKaravan
Sources and credits http://www.ipglab.com/2016/09/23/ipg-media-lab-forbes-evaluate-the-current-state-of-branded-content/
Content Rules: How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, Ebooks, Webinars (and More) That Engage Customers and Ignite Your Business, by Ann Handley, C.C. Chapman
Content: The New Marketing Equation, by Altimeter
http://mediakix.com/2016/06/instagram-marketing-case-study-adidas-neo/#gs.null
https://www.kingcontent.co.uk/case-studies/hans-smallgoods-oliving-life/
http://bobcm.editiondigital.com/best-of-branded-content-marketing-2015-global-edition#!uk-io-powerful-thinking
http://contently.com/strategist/2017/01/11/shutterstock-90s-case-story/
http://bobcm.editiondigital.com/best-of-branded-content-marketing-2015-global-edition#!page44.1
http://review.content-science.com/2016/10/the-how-now-wow-framework-thats-helped-monster-supercharge-its-content-kpis/
Images: Unsplash / Pixabay Font: Chivo (Google Font)