audit your content to document content marketing strategy

The Content Cart Often Comes Before The Horse (aka) Content Marketing Strategy

How to Document a Content Marketing Strategy When You Already Have

Content

Ann M. Gynn Editor, Content Marketing Institute (@CMIContent)

Consultant/Trainer IABC Heritage Conference 10/19/15

Content Marketing Defined A strategic marketing approach

focused on creating AND distributing

valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined

audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable

customer action.

Presented by @AnnGynn IABC Heritage Conference 10/19/15

Is Your Strategy Written?


It Makes a Difference O 60% of marketers with a documented

strategy say their content marketing is effective

O 32% of marketers with a verbal only strategy

say their content marketing is effective O 62% of most effective marketers follow

documented strategy “very closely”


Why More Effective? O Share with the team (internal, external, adjacent)

O Onboard new employees more quickly

O Create and distribute content more deliberately O Have platform to secure executive support O Ensure your content marketing strategy aligns to

business goals


Don’t Start from Scratch O You already have content …

O Newsletters (print and digital) O Blogs O Social media posts O E-books O White papers O Videos O Podcasts O Infographics O Collateral (brochure, sell sheet, etc.) O Magazines


What You Will Discover in Reverse Engineering

O You already have all the elements – now you have a documented content marketing strategy

OR O You know what elements are missing –

now you can document your content marketing strategy AND start filling holes


It’s Audit Time O Take 5-10 pieces of content in different

formats and distribution channels O Choose what you consider to be your

most effective and most representative of your content (TIP: Analytics can be helpful in selection.)

O Now Ask: What is it? What is its purpose?


Checklist Part 1: What is Content?

Can’t easily answer? Go general or note with a “?” and move on.


What is Content?


Checklist Part 2: What is Its Purpose?

Can’t easily answer? Go general or note with a “?” and move on.


Content Purpose WHO WILL WANT TO VIEW? O Identify a primary target audience O Add secondary audiences as necessary

TIP: Be as specific as possible for each piece. TIP: Some businesses develop personas to describe audience. NOTE: Your content marketing strategy may have an umbrella audience and multiple niches


Content Purpose


WHAT’S THE POINT? O Identify key message, news, information

being delivered in content

WHAT DOES USER GET FROM IT? O Detail the benefit or takeaway that users

receive by consuming the content

Content Purpose


Content Purpose


WHAT DOES THE BUSINESS GET FROM IT? O Reason for content investment O May reflect the call to action or indicate

need for call to action NOTE: Remember call to action most frequently is a communication or content marketing goal, not direct business goal

Content Purpose


Content Purpose


1 Audit Line Complete


Now What? O Repeat process 7-9 more times

O Write a draft content marketing strategy


Reminder: Content Marketing Defined

A strategic marketing approach focused on

creating AND distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content

to attract and retain a clearly defined audience

— and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.


Cohen & Co. Content Marketing Strategy Audience: O Business owners/decision-makers (could

add geography) Create and Distribute: O Craft content in formats friendly to busy

business executives that can be repurposed across multiple channels, including print and digital magazines, and website


Cohen & Co. Content Marketing Strategy Content (Valuable, Relevant, Consistent): O Regularly reveal opportunities, inspire with success

stories, and share accounting/tax insight to help business owners thrive and their companies to succeed.

Action (Profitable for Business): O We invest in content marketing to position the firm as

a great resource for helpful information and expert insight. We use it as a vehicle to increase the frequency with which we interact with clients, strengthen our connections, and introduce ourselves to prospects.


Cohen & Co. Content Marketing Strategy Statement Cohen & Co. reaches out to business owners and leaders through useful content in formats friendly to busy business executives that can be repurposed across multiple channels, including print and digital magazines, and website.

Its content regularly reveals opportunities, inspires with success stories, and shares accounting/tax insight to help business owners thrive and their companies to succeed.

Cohen & Co. invests in content marketing to position the firm as the go-to resource for helpful information and expert insight in these matters. It uses the content as a vehicle to increase the frequency with which it interacts with clients, strengthens its connections, and introduces Cohen & Co. to prospects.


Now What? O Does this content marketing strategy reflect the

company’s intention? O Does it align with the company’s business goals? O Investigate, adjust, seek approval as necessary

O Get final documented content marketing strategy in

writing, secure approval, and SHARE!


Two More Columns: Measurement & Promotion O Identify what you want to measure with

your content O Set content goals and benchmarks O Explain how they relate to business goals

O Detail how target audience will find out about your content (content promotion or amplification)


You really want to test it?

O Have others on your team, in your organization, or even your customers or prospects complete the chart

O You’ll see what they know, identify areas

are the weakest, and take steps to improve communication of the strategy


Resources O ContentMarketingInstitute.com

O The Essentials of a Documented Content Marketing Strategy: 36 Questions to Answer (http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/the-essentials-of-a-documented-content-marketing-strategy-36-questions-to-answer/)

O Simplify Your Strategy With One-Page Plan (http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2015/01/simplify-content-marketing-strategy/)

O Hootsuite’s How to Create a Content Marketing

Strategy (http://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-create-a-content-marketing-strategy/)

O QuickSprout: The Advanced Guide to Content

Marketing (http://www.quicksprout.com/the-advanced-guide-to-content-marketing/)


http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/the-essentials-of-a-documented-content-marketing-strategy-36-questions-to-answer/

http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/the-essentials-of-a-documented-content-marketing-strategy-36-questions-to-answer/

http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2015/01/simplify-content-marketing-strategy/

http://blog.hootsuite.com/how-to-create-a-content-marketing-strategy/

http://www.quicksprout.com/the-advanced-guide-to-content-marketing/

Thank You O Questions, thoughts to share now?

O Questions after we leave?

O [email protected] O www.twitter.com/AnnGynn O www.LinkedIn.com/AnnGynn O 216.235.4566


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