helping companies do better business with the right content by @jgcommunication
DESCRIPTION
This is Pontus Staunstrup's presentation at Content Strategy Forum 2013 in Helsinki. Pontus has added in comments on the slides to clarify what they're about.TRANSCRIPT
Helping companies do better business with the right content
The official �tle
of my
presenta�on
Hi, I’m Pontus Staunstrup. Here’s my slides from CS Forum in Helsinki, Sep 13. I’ve added these boxes with comments so that they hopefully make some sense
Saving the world with content strategy
What I really wanted to call it
Today, many companies are facing a new communica�on/marke�ng landscape. One in which the usual ways doesn’t work anymore
And since #strategybear was a running theme during CS Forum, I wanted to have an angry strategy bear saying things like this:
Angry bird…bear – get it?
What many companies are facing today
Tradi�onal adver�sing doesn’t
work anymore
It’s not about you, it’s about your
customer
To reach your target audience you need
great content
#strategybear
Don, you’re not relevant anymore
Mad Men is a great show, but interrup�on marke�ng invented in the 60s doesn’t work anymore
U mad bro?
People get insulted, bored or just ignore it
The more commercial it feels, the less we trust it
Earned
Bought
Owned
So interest (and money) is moving from bought media (ads) and earned media (PR) to owned media
Your own channels become more and more important. Digital channels in par�cular, because they’re always open
94% begin their purchase process with a Google search
80% of all B2B deals take place a�er the buyer has contacted the seller
AYTM
Marke�ng Sherpa
70% of Your customer’s purchase decision has been made before You become aware of that customer
Sirius
Here are some great stats to back that up
78%
59%
44%
41%
37%
20%
Search
Engage with peers
Follow industry conversations
Follow discussions
Questions on social networks
Connect via social networks
Making decisions in B2B Yes, this is true for B2B also
Content Search Social
Content marketing
This is a formula from Copyblogger, on how to get out your content on the net. I think it’s a great reminder of what to consider in digital content strategy too
It’s not about you, it’s about the customer
Angry strategy bear has more to say:
Go visit Tom Fishburne’s site. You won’t be disappointed
Demographics, background, income Interests, life style, aspirations Needs, problems, possibilities Where and how do they search for information?
B2C
One way to get to know your target audience is to work with Personas
Different roles have different priorities Challenges, success, failure? Where and how do they search for information?
B2B
It works just as well in B2B, but remember that then you always deal with more than one stakeholder
Sources
Research Surveys (web polls etc) Existing customers Employees (sales, customer
service, helpdesk)
Considering how important customers are, many companies know surprisingly li�le about them. But the knowledge is readily available
Same content – different recipients
• Money to save with a more efficient system
CFO
• State of the art system with standardized components
CIO
• System is easy to use and easy to integrate with exis�ng systems
IT-‐Tech
In B2B you have to understand that your content has to be adapted to different stakeholders – based on what’s in it for them
Problem / Opportunity
Search for informa�on Evalua�on Decision Post
purchase
Known to the seller Unknown to the seller
Identified as a prospect
It’s important to understand that any purchase, B2B or B2C, is the result of a process. And that today the customer is in complete control of when to begin this process
Problem / Opportunity
Search for informa�on Evaluate Decision Post
purchase
Known to the seller Unknown to the seller
Discover Am I on the right track? Build reasoning…
Benchmark Price Trust Relationship Values
Confirmation of right choice
The customer is looking for:
Search Blog Social media Landing pages
White papers Short films Infographics
Cases Longer films E-books
Price Trust Relationship Values
Newsletter CRM Magazine Owners pages
Formats:
Identified as a prospect
Developing the relationship
Our strategy must be based on understanding this process and adapt our content to it – topic, format and channel
Context is just as important
Understanding how and when our target audience uses the content is very important too
The sweet spot for great content
So how can companies create useful and relevant content?
Sweet spot = where on the bat you want to hit the ball. Go Phillies!
Lack of target = wrong perspective
Lack of brand = inconsistency
Lack of goals = can’t measure
Goals/Messages
Brand
Target group
Sweet spot for great content
This is how we see it
And don’t focus on channels – it’s the target audience and the content that’s relevant
In the actual presenta�on I showed some examples of different types of content: blog posts, infographics, films, white papers etc. But to save you from Powerpoint poisoning I decided to skip them here.
You’re welcome
Desire Search Evalua�on Decision Recurring donor
Known to the Non-profit Unknown to the Non-profit
Identified as a prospect
This idea of a process is not limited to when companies or consumers buy things. It’s just as relevant for a Non-‐profit or NGO’s etc
Want to make a difference
Who are worthy Who matches my criteria
Do they get results? Will they spend my money wisely?
Cost Trust Relationship Values
Confirmation of right choice
The donor is looking for:
Word of Mouth World events Beliefs
Search Social media Landing pages
Blogs Multimedia In-depth
Price Trust Relationship Values
Newsletter Magazines Social media
Developing the relationship
Desire Search Evalua�on Decision Recurring donor
Known to the Non-profit Unknown to the Non-profit
Identified as a prospect
This is an example of the process for a membership driven NGO
Formats etc
Some more examples of content followed here. But I think you get the point anyway
But captain, when will you get to the strategy?
This is the last part – angry strategy bear wants companies and others to work strategically with their owned media
But first they have to grasp that strategy isn’t something that’s done once every five years. It has to be fluent and adap�ve
It starts with a plan
Plan - Target audience - Goals - Brand - Audit - Structure
Create - Topics - Formats - Channels - Organization - Keywords
Measure - Leads - Interactions - Feedback - SEO
Distribute - Own channels - Social media - Recommended - Reach
4 steps to success
Here’s a model we use when helping organiza�ons with their content strategy
It’s important that the strategy incorporates current SEO thinking
Like Long Tail theory
And also takes social sharing and interac�on into account
A Content management system or a simple editorial calender made in Excel – Your strategy must include a central tool – a hub
Problem / Opportunity Search Evalua�on Decision Post
purchase
Measuring and tracking the steps in the purchase process
I actually got a ques�on about this. The KPI’s I care the most about are the ones that shows if we’re nudging the poten�al customer onwards, to the next step. The process itself might be about sales, posi�oning, awareness etc. But we can always measure if we’re ge�ng somewhere, or not.
How a content strategy can help Quality Efficiency Consistency
Improved content Increased crea�vity
Save �me and money Less grey areas
Stop irrelevant content Re-‐use
Happy customers Clear results
Avoid unnecessary content
Be�er work-‐flow
Increased visibility and reach
Increase sales Improve rela�onship
No more cold calls End of campaign mode
Drive the purchase process
Focus on the topics we want to talk about
Avoid compe�ng on price
Here are some reasons for having a content strategy that you can use on a management team
www.jgcommunication.se
Thanks for taking the �me to look at this. I hope you found it useful. If you have any ques�ons or comments, drop me an e-‐mail or find me on LinkedIn or Twi�er:
JGCommunication
Pontus Staunstrup
