8 Steps To Building Your Brand’s Influence

@AMASTL@InfluenceAndCo@themattkamp

We build thought leadership for brands through original, high-quality

content.• Founded in 2011 to address

the emerging trend of thought leadership, now 55 FT employees

• Named to Forbes' “America’s Most Promising Companies” list in 2014

• Considered “the largest provider of thought leadership content in the country”

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Our clients…

Why Content (Inbound) Marketing?

Content marketing simply means…

CREATE VALUE!

SEO = High Quality, Engaging Content

When Prospects Would Find You Online: Old vs. New

<< Old

New >>

The Importance of Being Found

Connecting with future prospects.

Benefits of Content Marketing

• Builds trust with readers (leads, investors, talent).

• Boosts brand awareness.

• Showcases credibility through expertise.

• Improves search rankings.

• Nurtures leads through close.

People want to do business with best in their fields.

Content marketing is how to showcase your thought leadership.

80% of business decision-makers prefer to get

company information in a series of articles versus an

advertisement.

BANNER BLINDNESS

SOLVE MEDIA

“ “You are more likely to complete Navy SEAL training than click on a banner ad.”

THE TIME VALUE OF CONTENT: OUR NUMBERS

In a June blog post, we analyzed the last 90 days of blog content:

24,197 article views of our own blog:Only 10,481 views (43.3%) from past 90 days articles

13,716 views (56.7%) from 90+ days ago

More Content = More Opportunity Over Time

(GOOD) CONTENT MARKETING IS HARD

Content Marketing Institute studies have found that only 38% of marketers in 2015 say that their organization is at least “effective” at content marketing.

CHALLENGE FOR MARKETERS#1

“CREATING ENGAGING CONTENT”

Top 3 challenges we see…

• 1. Creating engaging content

• 2. Finding time to consistently publish content

• 3. Publishing content on influential sites

8 steps to tackling this!

1Determine your audience(s).

Influence & Co.

Digital marketing is all about PEOPLE

How to Build Relationships Through Content

2Form your message.

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Document a Content Strategy

Only 35% of marketers have a documented content

strategy. -Content Marketing Institute.

Elements of a Documented Strategy

• Value prop

• Competitive analysis

• Brand voice

• Personas

• Pain points (i.e. topics)

• Mediums of distribution

• Goals / Metrics

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3Research publications.

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What Editors Of The Top Online Publications Had to Say

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Influence & Co.

Influence & Co.

4Develop (and test) your topic ideas.

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Convey to your audience

Customer pain pointsWhat objections do they have?

How are you different?What are your core values?

What are the biggest misconceptions in your industry?

Organize Your Expertise With a Company Knowledge Bank

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Get the Most Out of Your Knowledge Bank1.Update it regularly2.Keep your audience in mind.3.Crowdsource the knowledge4.Organize your info by category & keywords5.Make it accessible

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TOOLS TO FIND CONTENT INSPIRATION

Analyze trending content

Quora

Flipboard

Pocket

Twitter hashtags

5Reach out to editors.

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How to create content editors crave

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Influence & Co.

Research their pub’s audience

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Share your expertise (and get personal!)

Back it up with data

Back Your Content Up With Data

Perfect Your Piece• Be a perfectionist - edit your work! • Fact check• Plagiarism check • Tool: Copyscape

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6Create great content!

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CONSISTENCY

Documented Strategy + Knowledge Bank = Foundation

PROCESS, PROCESS, PROCESS

WHEN WRITING AN ARTICLE, ASK YOURSELF:

Who (are you reaching)?Where (can you reach them)?What (do they care about)?Why (should they act on your message)?How (should they act after you reach them)?When (are you reaching them in the buying process)?

Streamlined writing,

Edit, and

Pitch or Publish

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7Maximize your content.

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THE FINISHED PRODUCT

WHAT MAKES UP GREAT CONTENT?

Great Content = Marketing & Sales Enablement

THE BIG PICTURE

One of the most attractive things about content is its opportunity to drive qualified leads through a funnel.

THE CONTENT FUNNEL

8Live “thought leadership” — and see ROI.

Influence & Co.

THE QUANTITATIVE APPROACH: THE METRICS

• Traffic

• Unique visitors per month

• Time on site

• Subscribers

• Social shares

• Call-to-action clicks

• Call-to-action click percentage

• Conversion percentages

• Number of leads

• Number of marketing qualified leads

• Sales numbers

THE KEY POINTS OF A SALE

TRUST AND RESPECT

STAYING TOP-OF-MIND

INTERNAL TIMING &

RESOURCES

THE QUALITATIVE APPROACH: THE METRICS

Content is the fuel and foundation for business development:

• Opening doors for all business development

• Sales process

• Online profile credibility

• Social media

• Newsletter

• Blog

• Speaking & awards applications

• Lead capture

• Marketing automation / lead nurturing

• Hiring processes

• Customer education & engagement

MORAL OF THE STORY?

1. Always be testing.

2. Make data-driven decisions.

Inbound (content) marketing is a MINDSET…

Great Marketing = Give Great Value

Influence & Co.

STL Content MarketersMeetup.com

November 10th

St. Louis Startup WeekendNov. 13-15 @ T-REX

SAY HEY!Matt Kamp

matt@influenceandco.com@themattkamp

Content strategy session:calendly.com/mattkamp/follow-up