How Much Do You Open Your Kimono?

Jay Baer and Joe Pulizzi @jaybaer @juntajoe

Does "Thought Leadership" Cannibalize Your Ability to Monetize What You Know?

Thought Leadership

OH YEAH!

Thought Leadership

A Goal of Content Marketing Strategy

Why Does It Matter?

“The recognition from the outside world that the company deeply understands its business,

the needs of its customers, and the broader marketplace in which it operates.”

Elise Bauer

Tying Content to Revenue

The 6 Stages of Opening the Kimono

1. Closed Kimono   No Online Thought Leadership

MarketFace   Enterprise customer experience

consulting   Since 2001   Clients include:

  Virgin America   OfficeMax   Skechers   Toyota

MarketFace   No online thought leadership   Case studies not for public distribution

MarketFace   Significant repeat and WOM business   Vertical-focused, easier to drive WOM   Small company, time constraints   Highly customized process

MarketFace   Questions whether his target audience

(C-Suite) consumes content online (writing a book at present)

“If you can’t do it well, is content a net positive for your brand?”

- Michael Roberts – President

1. Closed Kimono   No Online Thought Leadership

PRO   Zero time investment   Focus on detailed, long-form, custom

content

CON   Limited exposure in Search   Reduced ability to build online influence

2. What Happens in Vegas   Thought Leadership on Distributed

Micro Platforms   LinkedIn and Facebook Groups   Twitter Curation   Blog Comments

Lisa Loeffler   Founder, Genuine Media Co.   Social media strategy and advice   Since 2008   Clients include:

  Valerie Fitzgerald Group   E-storm Intl (Puma, Gucci, Volcom)   Collegiate Licensing Company

Lisa Loeffler   Limited long-form thought leadership

  1 post/month on e-storm blog   Active in Twitter (content curation)   Participant in industry surveys/studies   Active presence in Facebook groups

dedicated to social marketing   Many Empire Avenue connections   Prefers the 1:1 nature of micro thought

leadership and interactions

Lisa Loeffler   Built hundreds of relationships on EA   Met her new business partner on that

platform in June, 2011

Lisa Loeffler   The Poll Taker   Free, real-time, platform-agnostic polling

platform

Lisa Loeffler   Believe thought leadership is derived

from long-term engagement more so than content creation

“To be considered a leader in any field one must build and gain trust within their communities”

- Lisa Loeffler – Founder

2. What Happens in Vegas   Distributed Micro Thought Leadership

  LinkedIn Answers   Twitter News Distribution   Blog Comments

PRO   Original content not required   Can become trusted community

resource CON   No ability to drive to lead source   Limited search engine potential

2. What Happens in Vegas

  Is this a comfortable level of openness for you and your company?

AUDIENCE VOTE

YES NO

3. Quid Pro Quo   Selling Thought Leadership

  E-Books   How-To Packages   eNewsletter Subscriber Packages

Bob Bly   Bob Bly – Leading direct marketing

copywriter and informational product guru.

Bob Bly   Selling Thought Leadership

•  Step 1: Free eNewsletter builds your list to market to.

Bob Bly   Selling Thought Leadership

•  Step 1: ROI Calculator provides opt-in signups.

Bob Bly   Selling Thought Leadership

•  Step 1: Free eNewsletter and ROI Calculator builds your list to market to.

•  Step 2: Sample reports provide some sharing – promotion of newsletter and more free reports (email address)

Bob Bly   Selling Thought Leadership

•  Step 1: Free eNewsletter and ROI Calculator builds your list to market to.

•  Step 2: Sample reports provide some sharing – promotion of newsletter and more free reports (email address)

•  Step 3: Paid offers (money-back guarantee), marketed through email and sample reports

Bob Bly   The How

•  Free reports are compilations of already published reports.

•  Key combination of volume (number of pages), quality AND packaging.

•  Free information talks of the possibilities…paid information goes into all the details.

Bob Bly   Six-Figure Email List   Free premium reports led to increase of

conversions by 25%.   Enewsletter conversions doubled AFTER

free reports were added. “If your free information is best of breed, subscribers will assume your paid information is best of breed. If free information is bad, they’ll never want your paid stuff.” - Bob Bly

3. Quid Pro Quo   Selling Thought Leadership

  E-Books   How-Tos/Tutorials

PRO   Recurring revenue   Passive income CON   Can be difficult to upgrade to fully paid

services   Must test exhaustively

3. Quid Pro Quo

  Is this a comfortable level of openness for you and your company?

AUDIENCE VOTE

YES NO

4. Give Me Your Number   Lead-Gated Thought Leadership

  Place content behind mandatory lead generation forms, etc.

ExactTarget   Interactive marketing SAAS company   One of the world’s largest email service

providers   Customers include:

  Groupon   Nike   Microsoft

ExactTarget   Multiple content initiatives

  Subscriber, Fans, Followers Research   Blog   Forrester White Papers   Field Guides   Letters to the C-Suite   Email Newsletters

  Enterprise-wide analysis of role of content in leads and sales process, including client renewals

ExactTarget   Content creation is decentralized   Different areas of the company create

content to serve their purposes (often lead generation)

ExactTarget   10-part research series   Tens of thousands of downloads   Hundreds of thousands of dollars in direct

sales   Millions of dollars in indirect sales

ExactTarget   More content and more use for lead

nurturing, not just lead generation

“We will become more journalistic, empowering more people within the company to create content.”

- Jeff Rohrs – Vice President of Marketing

4. Give Me Your Number   Lead-Gated Thought Leadership

  Place content behind mandatory lead generation forms, etc.

PRO   River of leads for sales team   Trackable CON   No control over lead quality   Reduces consumption rate   Lack of shareability

4. Give Me Your Number

  Is this a comfortable level of openness for you and your company?

AUDIENCE VOTE

YES NO

5. Peek-a-Boo   Giving Away What You Know But

Not the Process   Heavy blogging   Presentations   Video Demonstrations

Openview Venture Partners   Leading value-add venture capitalist

organization   Invests $5 to $15 million in technology

companies between $2 and $20 million.   Investments include:

–  Zmags –  Balihoo –  Central Desktop –  Monetate

Openview Venture Partners   Started with an employee blog and now

has 90% employee participation.   Full audio and video studio.   Employs a full-time journalist to

coordinate activities.

Openview Venture Partners   Integrates blog into full tech-startup

resource site called Openview Labs.   Over 1,000 podcasts, videos and articles.   Multiple pieces distributed per day via

blog and social media.

Openview Venture Partners  Results

  Over 8,500 email subscribers in 18 months…25% open rate.

  Significantly shortened sales cycle.   Closed deals directly from online

content. “A year ago, no one knew who we were. Now, when we speak with CEOs, we find that they’ve already heard of us and they get what we’re about.” Scott Maxwell, CEO, Openview Venture Partners

5. Peek-a-Boo   Giving Away What You Know But

Not the Process PRO   Heavy awareness   SEO and PR benefits CON   Tons of effort required   Devalues each piece of content?

5. Peek-a-Boo

  Is this a comfortable level of openness for you and your company?

AUDIENCE VOTE

YES NO

6. The Full Monty   Giving It All Away   Creating Content That is Outside Your

Core Category

Eloqua   Marketing automation software company   Leaders in lead generation and nurturing   Clients include:

  Sony   Dow Jones   Johnson & Johnson

Eloqua   Exceptionally broad and comprehensive

content program   Team includes in-house journalists   Very robust “digital dandelion” program,

with content residing at Eloqua.com and many other places online

  No lead gates for offsite content   Sends content to current leads and

customers as “exclusive sneak peek”

Eloqua   Huge Slideshare program   Millions in revenue from Grande Guides   Lead form is AFTER the content

A  Form  is  the  Enemy  of  Spread  

Eloqua   Substantial content created outside core

business focus   Initially, significant internal opposition

Eloqua   New content helps others become

content marketers, creating leads that need automation (virtuous circle)

98,259  Slideshare  Views  

Eloqua “We focus content on the 85% of people that don’t know us, rather than the 15% who do.” “18 months ago, we were behind. We had to get noticed by showing more skin.” - Joe Chernov – Vice President of Content

6. The Full Monty   Giving It All Away   Creating Content That is Outside Your

Core Category PRO   No barrier to customer   Can go David & Goliath CON   Requires serious effort   Allows others to “steal”   Diverts attention from core attributes

6. The Full Monty

  Is this a comfortable level of openness for you and your company?

AUDIENCE VOTE

YES NO

Deciding Which is Right 1.  Closed Kimono 2.  What Happens in Vegas 3.  Quid Pro Quo 4.  Give Me Your Number 5.  Peek-a-Boo! 6.  The Full Monty

Testing Scenario   One piece of thought leadership content   Multiple ways to treat it

Thought Leadership

Content

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4 Types of Content Metrics

Consumption Metrics

Sharing Metrics

Lead Generation

Metrics Sales

Metrics

Your Testing Plan

 Available Now:

Only $19.95

Your Testing Plan   Available Now:

bit.ly/openkimono

  Exacttarget.com/sff

  Labs.OpenViewPartners.com

  Eloqua.com

Thanks to All Participants!

  Marketface.com

  Genuinemediaco.com

  Bly.com

Questions?

@jaybaer @juntajoe