FIND US ON

877.568.7477 • OneUpWeb.com ©2014. Intellectual property owned by Oneupweb®. Reproduction is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.

2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Content Marketing & Today’s Pet Owner 3

Persona: Meet Maryanne 5

5-Step Content Marketing Plan 6

Editorial Calendar Template 8

About Oneupweb 9

Sources 10

FIND US ON

877.568.7477 • OneUpWeb.com ©2014. Intellectual property owned by Oneupweb®. Reproduction is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.

1

THE U.S. PET INDUSTRY WEATHERED THE ECONOMIC RECESSION...with much greater ease than other retail sectors, averaging an overall 3 4 percent

annual growth from 2008 through 20131 The strength and resiliency of the pet in-

dustry is good news for pet companies, and the total consumer expenditures are

estimated to increase from $55 53B in 2013 to $67 56B by 20181 At the same time,

the industry’s sustainability has made it an increasingly crowded and competitive

space, making the challenge of driving demand for your brand more difficult than ever

With U S pet owners continuing to spend more on their beloved creatures, pet com-

panies must be poised to reach and attract as much of this audience as possible

The widest reach is available through content marketing—but where to begin? Content

marketing is more than simple, traditional search engine optimization and it is different

from overly-promotional sales copy

Let’s take a quick look at what content marketing is, what it means for the pet industry

and how it can help you reach today’s pet owners

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

36B 40B 44B 48B 52B 56B 60B

Amounts (Billions)

PET INDUSTRY GROWTH (SINCE 2009)

Source: American Pet Products Association (APPA) | http://www.americanpetproducts.org/press_industrytrends.asp

FIND US ON

877.568.7477 • OneUpWeb.com ©2014. Intellectual property owned by Oneupweb®. Reproduction is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.

2

WHAT IS CONTENT MARKETING? At its most basic level, content marketing is a marketing technique involving the

creation and distribution of branded creative that are specifically relevant, helpful

and timely to your target demographic

Content marketing is all things content and content is practically all things, including

articles, videos, webinars, infographics, white papers, blog posts, social media content

and more If it can be created, shared and disseminated, and if it’s created specifically

for the purpose of attracting the attention of your target audience by playing towards

that audience’s interests and pain points, then it’s content marketing

It’s one of the most effective marketing tactics available Your marketing efforts are

practically useless without great content

So how can you leverage it to grow your brand? Let’s take a look first at some of the

traits and behaviors of today’s pet owners

PET-PARENTING: A LOOK AT TODAY’S PET OWNERPet-parenting continues to be the dominating trend among pet owners Since 2005,

more and more pet owners raise their pets much in the same way as they would

raise a child, rewarding their pets in human terms, spending money on premium

diets, and seeking out specialized products and services (like custom pet clothing

or pet therapy sessions)

Bob Vetere, President and CEO of the American Pet Products Associations, points to

pet owners’ growing concern in the health and wellbeing of their pets, forecasting

that “Health and wellness-related themes represent the most powerful trends across

all segments of the industry and will continue to do so ”2

Despite generalities, surprising differences exist between varying pet owner

demographics Consider:

» Two-person households spend the most on pets; single persons

living alone spend the least 3

» Households with more human mouths to feed spend fewer dollars

on their furry friends 3

FIND US ON

877.568.7477 • OneUpWeb.com ©2014. Intellectual property owned by Oneupweb®. Reproduction is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.

3

» Households earning $93,800 per year or more spend four times

as much on their pets than households earning $18,558 or less 3

Income demographics and buying habits are relevant to framing content around

purchasing decisions, but content marketing should also address consumer pain

points Like the differences that exist among pet owners of varying household sizes

and income levels, pain points vary depending on the kind of pets an owner cares

for and where they live, among other things

For example, consider dog owners The American Humane Association estimates 37

to 46% of U S households own a dog (that’s 43 5 to 54 1 million households) 4 With

the growing trend toward pet parenting, many of these owners are likely concerned

with protecting their pets against common ailments But the question then becomes

what common ailments?

Dogs in southern states tend to be more susceptible to heartworm disease, flea and

tick infestation, whereas dogs in the southwest suffer from Valley Fever4 Dog owners

in the southern states will respond more positively to content centered around com-

batting a flea infestation than they would to caring for a dog with Valley Fever

2B 6B 10B 14B 18B 22B

Amounts (Billions)

Food

Supplies/OTC Medicine

Vet Care

Live Animal Purchases

Grooming & Boarding

2013 2014 (Estimated)

2013 ACTUAL & 2014 ESTIMATED SALES (U.S. MARKET)

Source: American Pet Products Association (APPA) | http://www.americanpetproducts.org/press_industrytrends.asp

FIND US ON

877.568.7477 • OneUpWeb.com ©2014. Intellectual property owned by Oneupweb®. Reproduction is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.

4

Likewise, city dog owners do not have the luxury of wide open spaces as their rural

dog owner counterparts City dog owners might care about better ways to exercise

their dogs or keep them active than rural dog owners would be It’s all about knowing

your audience

The more specific and relevant you can be to your particular pet-owner demographic,

the more effective your content marketing efforts will be Knowing the particulars of

your target customers enables you to create powerful and useful marketing personas

—portraits of your ideal customer Armed with those, you can begin creating content

specifically geared towards this persona’s motivating behaviors

But that’s not enough—as we discuss below, content marketing is a concerted effort

It takes careful planning and execution

PET PERSONA: MEET MARYANNE Maryanne is a young, 28 year-old millennial She cohabitates with her boyfriend, Sasha,

and they both live in an upper middle class loft in downtown Chicago Maryanne is an

up-and-coming securities broker; Sasha is making a name for himself as a freelance

artist, averaging a modest income, depending on his workload Together, they earn a

little over $90,000 per year Maryanne and Sasha have been with each other for a long

time Marriage has come up every once in a while, but the two are content, for now,

to live together and care for Daisy, their lovable Mal-Shi

Daisy is a small toy dog crossed between a Maltese and a Shih Tzu She’s an energetic

dog who will occasionally play the role of lap dog when she isn’t chewing on her chew

toy or running with the other dogs in the local dog park Maryanne tends to baby Daisy,

and Daisy has developed a case of separation anxiety Maryanne has come home

several times to Daisy digging at the carpet in front of their front door

“Daisy is a little diva She loves to be pampered and I love seeing her happy When I

found out what was in the majority of dog food, I switched to a healthier diet—Sasha

and I don’t eat that way and neither should she ”

“I don’t know what to do with Daisy when Sasha and I aren’t there She just gets so

stressed out We thought about another dog, but one is enough We’re also so busy;

it’s hard to always be there for her ”

FIND US ON

877.568.7477 • OneUpWeb.com ©2014. Intellectual property owned by Oneupweb®. Reproduction is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.

6

5-STEP CONTENT MARKETING PLAN So, where should you begin your content marketing strategy? What follows is a

simple, 5-step plan designed to jumpstart your content marketing efforts

1 Know Your Audience. Your own customer data and the general socio-economic

status of your business location is a great place to start Are the majority of

your customers homeowners? Do they live in rural areas? Do they come from

single or multiple households? Are they primarily dog owners? Cat owners? Etc

2 Address Your Buyer’s Primary Concerns. Here again, your own data can help

frame the conversation If you’re a boutique pet store whose specialty is

gourmet pet food, your customers probably care specifically about what their

pets eat, the ingredients in their pet foods, and what they can do to ensure their

pets remain healthy, strong and active Dietary tips, menus and other content

created around these concerns would work well in this example, rather than

focusing on things like price-volume benefits geared more towards the cost-

conscious pet owner

3 Audit Existing Content. What are you currently offering your customers?

Where are the content gaps? Determine what you can still use, what you can

reuse or repurpose and what you need to create

4 Create an Editorial Calendar. Content marketing involves several moving parts

and pieces Between determining and creating the actual content, you need

to know where each piece of content should “live” (be it in a blog, an email or

simply as a post on your social media channels) and how it should be dissem-

inated to your audience This also requires knowing where your audience is

online—what sites they frequent, where they interact and what they do (There’s

an editorial calendar template provided at the end of this article )

5 Measure and Refine Results. One of the beautiful aspects of digital marketing

is the availability of key metrics and analytics that help you identify which pieces

of content are the most and least effective At least monthly, review your content

marketing efforts, refining them to make adjustments and improvements

CONCLUSION The future continues to look bright for the pet industry—keep your business on the

path to success by harnessing the effectiveness of a strong content marketing strategy

1

2

3

4

5

877.568.7477 • OneUpWeb.com | ©2014. Intellectual property owned by Oneupweb®. Reproduction is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.

MONTH CONTENT THEMES/TOPIC

EDITORIAL CALENDAR TEMPLATE

CONTENT SHARING & PROMOTION

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

EXAMPLEPets are

Therapeutic!

Indoor Exercise for Pets

See us at the Global Pet Expo!

x x x x x APPA Feature

Brand Feature/Theme

Seasonal Topic

Industry/Product Updates

Facebook YouTube Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Blog Other

FIND US ON

877.568.7477 • OneUpWeb.com ©2014. Intellectual property owned by Oneupweb®. Reproduction is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.

8

ABOUT ONEUPWEBOneupweb has been an innovator in digital marketing for nearly 20 years, creating

integrated online marketing strategies that incorporate web design, search

marketing (SEO and PPC), social media, inbound marketing and more Heralded

by an independent research firm for their leadership team, work ethic and solid

experience in optimizing complicated sites, Oneupweb has been named a Top

25 Search Marketing Agency by Advertising Age for five consecutive years, and

CEO Lisa Wehr is recognized as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year

Oneupweb is a privately held company located in Traverse City, Michigan For

more information on Oneupweb, please call 231 922 9977, visit OneUpWeb com

DROP US AN EMAILinfo@oneupweb com

GIVE US A CALL 1 877 568 7477

SEND US A TWEETtwitter com/oneupweb

JOIN US ON FACEBOOKfacebook com/oneupweb

FIND US ON

877.568.7477 • OneUpWeb.com ©2014. Intellectual property owned by Oneupweb®. Reproduction is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved.

9

RESOURCES: 1 http://www multibriefs com/briefs/exclusive/pet_businesses_will_

prosper html# U1k1i1dCq5J

2 http://www petproductnews com/headlines/2014/03/17/spending-on-

pets-should-rise-nearly-five-percent aspx

3 http://www bls gov/opub/btn/volume-2/pdf/spending-on-pets pdf

4 http://www americanhumane org/assets/pdfs/pets-fact-sheet pdf