Connecting content to conversions How to build a content strategy that will drive real ROI for your business

Content powers the customer experience.

The content journey IS the customer journey.

85% of consumers regularly seek out trusted content when considering a purchase.

Source: Nielsen

According to Google, travelers visit 22 different sites over an average of

9.5 sessions before booking.

40%

38%

38%

25%

19%

18%

16%

13%

Hotel sites

Online travel agencies

Airline sites

Search engines

Travel publications/

Family/Friend

Rental car sites

Search engine travel

Source: eMarketer/ Expedia Media

Solutions conducted by comScore Nov

2014

Information sources used by U.S. travelers when planning a trip.

Content ?? Sales

Utilize content across the traveler journey. 1

•  Broader, shareable content that inspires travel•  Aim to start long relationships, don’t over-emphasize your brand or

push for conversions yet (but make sure to have CTA)•  Channels: social/video/photo sites; search engines; email

•  Help your customers plan with destination-specific content•  Don’t pressure towards bookings (but make sure to have CTA)

•  What makes your brand/company unique? Tell those stories.•  Consider UGC (user reviews, testimonials and brand advocates) to

speak for you.

•  Keep the conversation going with a consistent cadence of TOFU/MOFU content

•  Email and social are great channels for this

Inspiration

Retain

Research & Discovery

Booking & Preference

Map content to different stages of the traveler journey

The buyer journey is nothing more than a series of questions that must be answered.

IDC

”

“

Sample Inspiration Stage Content

Inspiration Stage – CTAs (right rail)

Sample Research And Discovery Stage Content

Sample Research And Discovery Stage Content – CTAs (right rail)

Sample Booking And Preference Stage Content

UGC Content

Sample Booking And Preference Stage Content -- CTAs

Sample Retain Stage Content (Newsletter)

Owned properties matter – it’s the conversion point between an engaged audience and a real customer.

WEBSITE

Webinars Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Instagram Email

1 webinar per month

1 - 2 posts per day

13 posts per day

1 post per day

1 post per day

2 – 5 emails per week

Content marketing success is all about consistency. 2

NewsCred, 2015

There’s a compounding effect of content. The more you publish, the greater ROI you’ll get.

-

100,000

200,000

300,000

400,000

500,000

600,000

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Sep-14 Oct-14 Nov-14 Dec-14 Jan-15 Feb-15 Mar-15 Apr-15 May-15 Jun-15

Page

view

s

# A

rtic

les

Articles Viewed

Articles Published

Pageviews

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

A FEW TIMES A YEAR

< MONTHLY 1-2X PER MONTH

1-2X PER WEEK

1 PER DAY MORE THAN 1 PER DAY

TRAFFIC BY PUBLISHING CADENCE

IND

EX

ED

TR

AF

FIC

Brands who publish content to their blog or website more than once per day drive 3X higher organic traffic than brands who publish once per week.

- Hubspot 2014

An always-on content strategy is only possible with a strong process & infrastructure….

Brand Brand Brand

Market Market Market Market Market Market

Channel Channel Channel Channel Channel Channel Channel Channel Channel

Corporate Marketing

… which helps you ensure brand consistency and agility across brands, markets and channels.

Connect content to revenue. 3

Paid vs. Organic Search Traffic Repeat Visitors

Social Shares + LikesSocial Followers

Organic Search Share of Voice

Pageviews

Articles Viewed

Most marketers focus too narrowly on vanity metrics like “followers” and “views.”

= Hard Metric

= Soft Metric

BRAND AWARENESS & BRAND HEALTH CONVERSIONS RETENTION

Paid vs. Organic Search Traffic Repeat Visitors

Cost per lead by channel

Lifetime Value of customer

Paid vs. Unbranded Organic Search Traffic Social Shares + Likes Customer Growth

Social Followers Offsite SEO/PR mentions

% of Leads Sourced by CM

Customer Retention

Organic Search Share of Voice Engaged Time On Site

Content Journeys

Engagement Rate

Subscriptions

Pageviews

Articles Viewed Important People

Competitor Share of Voice

= Hard Metric

= Soft Metric

Site Traffic to NewsCred.com

Leads by channel

Cost per opportunity

Cost per deal

But really, they should focus on business goals.

Is your content driving early-stage prospects to you? How do they feel about you?

Is your content turning prospects into customers?

Is your content driving retention and upsells?

COST TO ACQUIRE + RETAIN

REVENUE

Too many businesses focus on transactional customer value and forget to invest in the experience post-sale.

Source: For Entrepreneurs, Startup Killer: The Cost of Customer Acquisition

How can you use content to retain, upsell and cross-sell?

Source: For Entrepreneurs, Startup Killer: The Cost of Customer Acquisition

COST TO ACQUIRE + RETAIN

REVENUE

In summary…

1.  Utilize content across the traveler journey 2.  Content marketing success is all about consistency

3.  Connect content to revenue

Thank you! newscred.com