The Compr ehens ive

GUIDE to MARKETING

Have questions about content marketing?

Then you’ve come to the right place. This

comprehensive guide takes you from inspiration

through distribution to answer every question

you’ve ever had about content marketing (and

some you’ve never thought of).

Click on a question to jump right to the answer

you’re looking for. Or read the whole post and

build a comprehensive understanding of the

subject.

Everything You Should Knowabout content marketing to grow you business & reach your goals

/Definitions and driving forces: What is content marketing?

Why do I need a content strategy?

What is content marketing strategy?

What types of content do I have to choose from?

How do I distribute content?

Jump Ahead to each section /

Getting started or improving performance in

content marketing:

Where can I research content topics?

How often should I post to my blog?

How often should I release videos?

How often should I post to social media?

How do I post content to social media?

How do I organize my content marketing?

How do I track results?

What iscontent marketing?/

Marketing trends come and go. In the 1930s, radio ads were the hot new

thing. In the 50s, it was TV ads. Marketing has pretty much always evolved

to take advantage of the latest technology. You might call content marketing

the marketing tactic for the internet age.

But you came here for a definition, not a history lesson.

Content marketing is text, videos, audio images, or other

content, thoughtfully distributed with the goal of building

customer relationships and, ultimately, driving sales.

You build customer relationships by providing interesting and

engaging content that your audience is eager to consume. As they

consume your content, customers come to trust your business

and see you as an authority in your industry. As a result, they

feel comfortable giving you money in exchange for a product or

service.

DEFINITIONS & DRIVING FORCES

The best thing about content marketing is that rather than being annoyed by the

commercial break, customers seek content to consume. According to Demand

Metric, content marketing costs 62% less than traditional marketing while

bringing in 3 times as many leads. So you spend less money and get a better

result.

But content alone is not enough. The best content in the

world is useless if nobody sees it. So you also need to

distribute it to your audience

Where and how you do that is all part of your content marketing

strategy.

Read more: What is Content Marketing?

https://www.demandmetric.com/content/content-marketing-infographichttps://www.demandmetric.com/content/content-marketing-infographichttps://epipheo.com/what-is-content-marketing/

There are two kinds of businesses: businesses that don’t bother to create a content strategy and

businesses that are top performers in

their industry.

If that seems like an extreme

statement, consider this.The 2018

Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends

Report from the Content Marketing

Institute found that 62% of top

performing companies have a

documented content marketing

strategy.

If you don’t have a

documented content

strategy you’re going to

miss opportunities, miss

customers, and generally

just miss out.

Why Do I Need

content strategy

/

How DoI Make

a content marketing strategy

/

A content marketing strategy tells you what content to create and what to do with it once it’s made. Developing a

content marketing strategy starts with

goals. Think about the effect you want

your content to have. Are you trying to

boost sales? Increase customer loyalty?

Make more people aware of your product?

To measure your progress toward those

goals you need to identify trackable

metrics. How many people are clicking your

link, reading your blog, leaving comments,

sharing your posts and videos?

Make sure that every piece of content is

effective by codifying your unique value.

What sets you apart from other companies

in your industry? What is your brand story?

How you tell this story depends on who

your audience is.

Create customer personas to help you

understand who your audience is. That

way you can ensure that every piece of

content you make appeals to the people

you’re trying to reach. Personas will also

help you decide where to distribute your

content for the greatest impact.

Compiling all this information into a

document that everyone on your team can

access puts you on the road to being a

top-performing company.

https://contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/2018-b2b-research-final.pdfhttps://contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/2018-b2b-research-final.pdfhttps://contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/2018-b2b-research-final.pdf

What Types of Content do I have to

choose from?

/

Almost anything can be

content. A blog post?

Content. A video? Content.

That funny gif you shared on

Twitter? Content. All of it is

content. The trick is to choose

the format that fits your message and your audience.

Longer-form content is

good for conveying complex

messages or big ideas.

It includes videos, blogs,

newsletters, infographics,

podcasts, e-books, webinars,

case studies, apps,

whitepapers, and slideshares.

So, yeah. Pretty much

everything can be

content.

Short form content is better at

conveying a single clear idea

or topic. It includes charts

and graphs, lists, mind maps,

templates, quizzes, and polls.

Super-short content is good

for reinforcing an idea you’ve

already presented in long-form

somewhere else. It can also

help solidify your brand voice.

Flash form content includes

cartoons, illustrations,

GIFs, memes, quotes,

user-generated content,

and timelines. It’s almost

impossible to assemble a truly

comprehensive list of content

marketing formats, because

anything that entertains,

educates, or informs your

audience counts as content.

If you try to make content

If you try to make content

in all of the formats listed

above, you’ll likely overwhelm

your audience. Also, your

marketing team might stage

a coup.

You’ll get the best

results by choosing

two or three formats and

doing them really well.

You’ll get the best results by

choosing two or three formats

and doing them really well.

Once you’ve mastered your

messaging and customer

interaction around one format,

you can add another format to

the mix.

How Do Idistribute content?/

Where you distribute your content depends on who your audience

is, the type of content you’ve created, and what your goals are.

The best content is created with the distribution channel in mind.

For example, if you’re making a video, the length and tone might be

different if you’re creating a video for an email to existing customers

versus one that will be publicly shared on your Facebook page.

The go-to distribution channels are your website, your blog, marketing

emails, and social media platforms. Choose your distribution channels

based on who your clients are. If you’re selling designer sunglasses,

LinkedIn probably isn’t your platform, but Instagram might be.

While choosing the best distribution channel is important, don’t make the mistake of

distributing on only one channel. Ideally, your content appears in some form on the go-to

channels that fit you, like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram.

You’ll probably make some adjustments to fit the platform, but the extra work spent repurposing one piece of content means more eyes on it—and ultimately higher return on investment.

Find out: How to distribute your videos for maximum growth

https://epipheo.com/learn/

If you keep your content confined to your website or blog, you’re limiting its reach. Social media is where content goes to make new friends.

Guess what the most popular social media channel in the United States is.

Go ahead. You said Facebook didn’t you?

In 2016, you would have been right. But in 2018, the Pew Research Center found that YouTube is actually the most popular social media site, with 73% of U.S. adults using the platform.

Facebook was a close second with 68% The

next most popular were Instagram, Pinterest, and

Snapchat. LinkedIn was on the list at 25% and

Twitter at 24%. Before you run to post your video on YouTube, hang on a second. The most popular site isn’t always the best option. Theoretically, more popularity means more eyes on your content. It also means more competition from other marketers.If you’re posting only on YouTube and Facebook, you’re hitting a wide swath of the American public—but that might not contain your ideal customer.

Different platforms have vastly different demographics. Pinterest users are overwhelmingly female at 70%. Snapchat users are young, with 85 percent are between the ages of 18 and 34. LinkedIn users are business professionals.

Instead of distributing to everyone and hoping the right people see it, distribute on the platform with the highest concentration of your target audience.

YOUTUBEFACEBOOKINSTAGRAMPINTERESTSNAPCHATLINKEDINTWITTER

Where Does Social Mediafit into content strategy?

/

http://www.pewinternet.org/2018/03/01/social-media-use-in-2018/http://www.pewinternet.org/2018/03/01/social-media-use-in-2018/https://business.pinterest.com/en/audience-demographics-user-statshttps://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathleenchaykowski/2017/03/01/snapchats-big-weakness-the-olds/&refURL=&referrer=#34906c5e230b

Where Can I Research content topics/

Where can I research content topics?Great content starts with a great topic. You need

something that resonates with your target audience.

Something that makes them sit up and take notice.

Something they’ll go out of their way to consume.

So it’s no surprise that selecting content topics is the task

voted Most Likely to Cause Marketers to Bang Their Heads

Against the Wall. But the right tools can help you avoid those

headaches.

Before we get into tools, let’s relieve some of the anxiety

you’re feeling. If you think you’re going to come up with a

completely unique topic that nobody has ever talked about

before, you’re wrong.

Everything has been talked about before. Absolutely

everything. The goal isn’t to come up with something

completely unique. It’s to say it in your voice colored by

your brand story.

Okay, now to the tools.

DEFINITIONS & DRIVING FORCES

Tools forcontent marketing?

Google Analytics. The perfect tool for researching keywords and

search terms that will help your content show up in Google searches.

That’s a useful insight since Google is the top search engine in the

world with 1.6 billion unique monthly visitors. The next runner up,

Bing, only gets 400 million.

Google Trends. While we’re tapping the rich resources of planet

Google, don’t forget Google Trends. This handy dashboard shows you

what’s trending on Google. You can even search for specific keywords or phrases and see how popular they’ve been over time.

Ubersuggest. This helps you discover keywords and phrases related to

your topic. Results include search volume, competition, and cost per

click.

BuzzSumo. This website helps you find the most shared, trending, and highest performing content for specific topics across the web. This is a paid service, so expect a monthly fee.

EpicBeat. Similar to Buzzsumo, EpicBeat lets you see shares

comments and engagement for popular posts on different topics. They

have limited free functionality, but you can upgrade for full access.

Ahrefs Content Explorer. See how content has performed across

different social media channels with this powerful content research

tool. You’ll pay for this one, too.

Quora. A free membership site where anyone can post questions and

anyone can answer. Search by your topic to find out exactly what questions people are asking about it.

Answers.com. Like Quora, you can type a keyword or phrase in the box

and get questions from real people on that topic.

Answer the Public. This is a weird one, but you can’t beat it for ease

of use and volume of ideas. Type your search into the box and get a

graphic with dozens of questions asked by the internet hive mind.

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BUZZSUMO

EPIC

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AHREFS CONTENT EXPLORER

QU

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ANSWERS.COM

ANSWER THE PUBLIC

All those tools are useful, but don’t forget

your greatest resource—your customers.

Pay attention to the questions they are asking. Your sales

and customer service teams probably have a short list of

questions that they hear all the time. Find ways to answer

those questions with your content.

https://searchenginewatch.com/2016/08/08/what-are-the-top-10-most-popular-search-engines/https://trends.google.com/trends/

How Often Should I post to my blog

/

Your blog is often the

cornerstone of your content

marketing efforts. It’s where

you post videos, engage

with customers, and share

the special bonus content

you’ve created. According

to Hubspot, B2B marketers

who use blogs get 67% more

leads. And companies that

blog get 97% more links to

their website.

The general rule is

11 or more posts per

month will maximize

your results. Anything

less than that, and

you’re getting small

improvement for each

additional post.

Super-small companies

(10 employees or fewer)

see a jump in traffic with each additional blog post

per month. Even one or two

additional posts can increase

traffic by 50%. The outlier here is large companies with

more than 201 employees.

They see very small change

when they increase from one

post to 10. But by posting

11 or more times a month,

they can increase traffic by 4 times.

So, if possible, post about 3

times a week to get the most

out of your posting schedule.

https://login.live.com/login.srf?wa=wsignin1.0&rpsnv=13&ct=1529364859&rver=6.7.6643.0&wp=MBI_SSL_SHARED&wreply=https:%2F%2Fonedrive.live.com%2Fedit.aspx%2FDocuments%2FEmma%255E4s%2520Notebook%3F33%3D%26cid%3D0e19abc984b45ac7%26id%3Ddocuments%26wd%3Dtarget%2528Companies%2520to%2520Pitch.one%257CA94E4AF2-CE9F-4C2C-8D42-A2FB48816DC2%252FBlogging%2520Stats%257C2ECE1D3E-FD0F-4F99-A7F0-B7A9913184C0%252F%2529%2520onenote%253Ahttps%253A%252F%252Fd.docs.live.net%252F0e19abc984b45ac7%252FDocuments%252FEmma%2527s%2520Notebook%252FCompanies%2520to%2520Pitch.one%2523Blogging%2520Stats%26section-id%3D%257BA94E4AF2-CE9F-4C2C-8D42-A2FB48816DC2%257D%26page-id%3D%257B2ECE1D3E-FD0F-4F99-A7F0-B7A9913184C0%257D%26object-id%3D%257B64709A8E-E6ED-494E-94B8-8B316FB531A5%257D&lc=1033&id=250206&cbcxt=sky&cbcxt=skyhttps://login.live.com/login.srf?wa=wsignin1.0&rpsnv=13&ct=1529364859&rver=6.7.6643.0&wp=MBI_SSL_SHARED&wreply=https:%2F%2Fonedrive.live.com%2Fedit.aspx%2FDocuments%2FEmma%255E4s%2520Notebook%3F33%3D%26cid%3D0e19abc984b45ac7%26id%3Ddocuments%26wd%3Dtarget%2528Companies%2520to%2520Pitch.one%257CA94E4AF2-CE9F-4C2C-8D42-A2FB48816DC2%252FBlogging%2520Stats%257C2ECE1D3E-FD0F-4F99-A7F0-B7A9913184C0%252F%2529%2520onenote%253Ahttps%253A%252F%252Fd.docs.live.net%252F0e19abc984b45ac7%252FDocuments%252FEmma%2527s%2520Notebook%252FCompanies%2520to%2520Pitch.one%2523Blogging%2520Stats%26section-id%3D%257BA94E4AF2-CE9F-4C2C-8D42-A2FB48816DC2%257D%26page-id%3D%257B2ECE1D3E-FD0F-4F99-A7F0-B7A9913184C0%257D%26object-id%3D%257B64709A8E-E6ED-494E-94B8-8B316FB531A5%257D&lc=1033&id=250206&cbcxt=sky&cbcxt=sky

There’s no hard and fast rule for how often you should release videos. It depends on how you’re

using them. If your videos are part of

your sales funnel, you might create

8 or 10 and push them to potential

customers through email over a

period of weeks. If you create videos

for your blog, you might need one per

week.

But remember that they take

little longer than a blog to

produce, so you may want to

make several in advance.

Get help making videos: Get a quote today

How Often Should I

release videos

/

How Often Should I

post to social media

/

Every social media platform has different

methods of sorting posts. Those algorithms

impact the lifespan of posts on the

platform. Generally, marketers talk about

the half-life of a post, the length of time it

takes for content to reach 50% of its total

lifetime engagement.

Twitter posts have the shortest half-life at

18 minutes. Pinterest has the longest with

a halflife of 3.5 months. In between you get Facebook at 30 min. Instagram at 19

hours. And YouTube at 6 days.

Learn more: What is the lifespan of social

media posts?

How often you post depends on how your

audience responds to your posts, but the

following are a good starting point.

Twitter: 5 times per day

Pinterest: 15 times per day

Facebook, Instagram: 1 time per day

LinkedIn: 1 time per workday (skip

Saturday and Sunday)

YouTube: 1 time per week

And remember, you don’t have to post

on all of these platforms. Pick the one or

two that are most popular with your target

audience and concentrate your efforts

there.

https://epipheo.com/contacthttps://moz.com/blog/when-is-my-tweets-prime-of-lifehttps://www.webpagefx.com/blog/social-media/why-pinterest-better-than-facebook-brands/http://www.wiselytics.com/blog/facebook-posts-lifetime-even-shorter-than-you-thought/https://get.simplymeasured.com/2014-q4-instagram-study.html#sm.0001obn9ioyh0e76s0w1tx8xg6bl7https://get.simplymeasured.com/2014-q4-instagram-study.html#sm.0001obn9ioyh0e76s0w1tx8xg6bl7https://www.geek.com/news/youtube-videos-get-50-of-their-views-in-6-days-1259829/

How Do I Post on social media?/

Posting several times a week or even just once a day can get time

consuming. Fortunately, there are tools to help you.

Facebook has a built-in scheduling tool that allows you to plan your

posts weeks and months ahead of time.

Most other social media platforms haven’t bothered to add this

feature. But that’s not a problem since dozens of social media

management platforms exist that can be linked to your social accounts

for scheduling and analytics.

Some popular favorites include Hootsuite, Sprout Social, and Buffer. They offer

similar services at a range of price points and functionality levels. Explore and find the one that’s right for you.

A note of caution when scheduling posts: things change. Markets shake

up. Major tragedies happen. News breaks.

If something major is affecting your industry, it’s a good idea to take a look at your scheduled posts and make

sure they’re still on message before they go live.

How Do I Organize

my content marketing efforts?

/

It seems like a new content management tool pops up every day. Some are better than others for specific tasks, but ultimately it comes down to preference. Which tool you choose depends on what you need the most help with and the size of your budget.

HubSpot. Markets itself as all-in-one inbound marketing software. It allows you to plan, create, and track the performance of content across your website and social channels. There is a free version with limited functionality, but the paid versions offer a formidable suite of services that include blog and content creation tools, social media, email marketing, and more.

CoSchedule. A marketing calendar at heart. With drag and drop functionality and the ability to collaborate across teams, this calendar lets you plan blog and social content in one place. Paid plans range from individual to agency versions.

MailChimp. Designed for email marketing, MailChimp also helps you make weekly digests, segmented email lists, and RSS campaigns. A/B testing is built in. The free version has a lot of functionality but limits the number of subscribers and emails you can have per month.

Buffer. This popular social media management tool includes a social media calendar, analytics, and the ability to manage all your social media accounts from one dashboard. The free plan is fairly robust but lacks a calendar. It also limits you to three social accounts.

Trello. A robust project management tool, Trello works equally well when the project is your content. Trello helps you track where content is in the creation pipeline. And it’s free.

HUBSPOTCOSCHEDULEMAILCHIMPBUFFERTRELLO

How Do I Track/ my results

Many of the tools

mentioned above

include some sort of analytics

reporting to help you track

how your content is doing.

Social media platforms like

Facebook and YouTube have

built-in analytics dashboards,

as do Hootsuite and Hubspot.

A few other tools can give you

even more insight into how

your content is performing.

Kissmetrics. Helps you

measure engagement, track

the effectiveness of different

marketing channels, and even

send emails based on user

behavior.

Whatever tools you use,

make sure you are tracking

your results. Using that

information, you can refine

your content marketing

strategy and boost your ROI.

Crazy Egg. This tool gives you

visual reports to track where

visitors go on your website,

what they click on, and how

they move through your site.

Google Analytics. This is the

go-to reporting system to help

you see how customers are

interacting with your content.

/ By now you should have a better idea of what content marketing is and how you can use it to grow your business. When you’re ready to start developing quality videos for your content marketing strategy, contact us.

together

Putting It All