content marketing tips and tricks

Content Marketingcreate content that converts

Stop selling, start helping.

Sandy Hawke | [email protected] | 510-501-4107

mailto:[email protected]

Buyer-Centric Content Marketing

Connects to your BrandEngage in meaningful ways

(educate vs. promote)

Helps Get Their Job Done

Pain drives the purchase

Right Formats & Channels

Go where they areUses Their

WordsDrives SEO

Strategy

How to Build Content that Connects



Remember. You’re not selling your product. You’re solving their problem.




CONTENT MARKETING PROCESSIT’S A CYCLE

KNOW YOUR BUYER01 DEVELOP USER

PERSONAS02 CREATE CONTENT03 DISTRIBUTE &

MEASURE04

Surveys, Market Analysis, Customer Interviews, Internal

Interviews

Segment the Market, Identify key roles, Document pains,

context, etc.

Based on Messaging Map (Context, Person,

Pain, Preferred Content, etc.)

Use Multiple Channels, Measure Performance, and Adjust. Repeat.



Content Attracts VisitorsThe right buyer (prospect) comes to

your website

Content Accelerates SalesSuccessful content will accelerate the sales cycle so once direct contact is made, the conversations are much more interesting, and the opportunity more qualified.

Content Needs CollaborationThe best content can’t be made in a vacuum.

Constant feedback between sales and marketing is essential.

Content Attracts ConversionThe goal is to convert from visitor to contact, good content can do that.

Content Nurtures CustomersAs they get answers to questions quickly, customers are engaged.

Content CalendarScheduling content on an

editorial calendar keeps everyone in the loop, and establishes cohesion and

consistency.

THE IDEAL CONTENT LIFECYCLE



Create and activate. You can’t have one without the other.




Knowledge

Creation

Experience

Creation

Utility Creation

Community

Activation

Source: Forrester Research, Ryan Skinner, April 2015


Four Big Valuable Content Plays:How I Can Help You Deliver


Knowledge

Creation

Experience

Creation

Utility Creation

CommunityActivation

Source: Forrester Research, Ryan Skinner, April 2015.

Free Tools, Sample Code,

APIs (GitHub)ROI Tools(website)




Knowledge

Creation

Experience

Creation

Utility Creation

CommunityActivation


“How to” Webinars/eBooksTraining Guides

Educational blogs, infographics, surveys






Knowledge

Creation

Experience

Creation

Utility Creation

CommunityActivation


Product Demos & TrialsUser Groups

Testimonial videos


Educational blogs, infographics, surveys






Knowledge

Creation

Experience

Creation

Utility Creation

CommunityActivation


Product Demos & TrialsUser Groups

Testimonial videos


Educational blogs, infographics, surveys *Need to go where

buyer already is.

User-Generatedcontent** (curated & shared by us)


LinkedIn Groups*

Twitter (tweet chats)

YouTube





Know your buyer. What they think, need, and how to best connect with them.




*SAMPLE* User Persona Content Needs – What Content & When

User Persona

Awareness (need, research, prioritize criteria)

Consideration (research, compare, and justify)

Decision (select, purchase)

Collaboration(evangelize)

Don, IT Ops(technical buyer)

Community or industry analyst reco, webinar, video, “how to” blog, article, best practices e-books

Product review, FAQs, white papers, demo, webinar, ROI analysis, sample code, APIs

POC, Evaluator’s Guide, Checklists

Training content (give or receive), use cases (to inspire upsell), KB articles

Joe, VP of IT(business buyer)

Business press coverage, industry analyst reco, peer survey results

Product review, ROI analysis, customer references, case studies

POC ROI case studies, testimonials (producer vs. consumer)

Brian, Guru(industry analyst)

Community recommendation or inquiry, blog, article

Product review, demo, customer references, case studies

N/A – recommend, not buy is goal

Guest blogs

Steve, Sys Admin(community manager)

Community recommendation, blog, article

Product review, FAQs, white papers, demo, webinar, ROI analysis, sample code, APIs

N/A, recommend, not buy is goal

Guest blogs



*SAMPLE* User Persona Context Analysis – Pain & Solution Messaging

User Persona Current Pain How they experience that pain (specific examples)

How they View a Solution to that Pain

What they need to believe and experience in our solution

Don, IT Ops / DevOps (technical buyer)

Too many workloads to manage, takes too long to keep track

Customer examples? What are DevOps teams doing now?

Don needs to believe that now is the time to implement centralized mgmt.

Joe, VP of IT(business buyer)

Disorganized and uncertain audit process; lack of compliance visibility

Customer examples?

Brian, Guru(industry analyst)

N/A

Steve, Sys Admin (community manager)

N/A


This is the analysis I do to develop content that converts


TESTIMONIALSWhat my clients are saying

“Sandy knows what a sales organization needs to be successful. And she consistently delivers that.”

““Sandy

turns the complex into the

compelling.”

“Sandy is one of the top 1% of professionals I have encountered. A dynamic speaker, a true thought leader and a stellar marketer.”



WAYS I CAN HELP YOUR TEAM

Content DevelopmentCreate compelling content that can be repurposed across channels – social, web, email, and more

Short-Term Staff AugmentationSave money by jump starting results - hire senior marketing professional on short-term basis

Sales EnablementDevelop and deliver sales pitch training, sales tools, and other ways to accelerate the sales cycle

Consulting and GuidanceProvide expertise on marketing strategy, market segmentation, messaging and positioning



PRODUCT MARKETING SERVICE SCENARIOS

NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH – “OUR SMALL PRODUCT TEAM NEEDS ASSISTANCE WITH OUR UPCOMING RELEASE.”

NEW WEBSITE, UPCOMING CONFERENCE – “HELP! WE NEED TO WRITE A LOT OF CONTENT IN A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.”

PRODUCT REVIEWS / ANALYST BRIEFINGS – “AN UPDATED PITCH FROM A FRESH VOICE WILL GIVE US AN EDGE.”

UNFILLED PMM DIRECTOR POSITION – “WE CAN KEEP THE SHIP MOVING WHILE WE SEARCH FOR THE PERFECT PERSON.”



DELIVERABLE SAMPLES

WEBCASTS

VIDEOS

WEB COPY (E-BOOKS, BLOGS)

WHITE PAPERS



https://www.alienvault.com/resource-center/ebook/insider-guide-to-incident-response

http://www.ten-inc.com/presentations/Tanium-Emerging-Threat-Defense.pdf

https://vimeo.com/60399350

https://www.alienvault.com/resource-center/webcasts/pci-dss-v3-how-to-adapt-your-compliance-strategy

DELIVERABLE SAMPLES(the URLs)

WEBCASTS

VIDEOS

WEB COPY (E-BOOKS, BLOGS)

WHITE PAPERS



https://www.alienvault.com/resource-center/ebook/how-to-build-a-security-operations-center

https://vimeo.com/60399350https://www.alienvault.com/resource-center/webcasts/pci-dss-v3-how-to-adapt-your-compliance-strategy














https://vimeo.com/60399350






WHO I AMWhat I Offer

Former cyber security geek turned marketer with a passion for positive change.

My talents lie in “listening to understand”, finding ways to connect with users and their stories, and showcasing those stories to drive a measurable impact.

SANDY HAWKEMarketing Shaman / [email protected] https://twitter.com/sandybeachSFhttps://www.linkedin.com/pub/sandy-hawke/0/347/930WHAT I BRING15+ years of experience in simplicity and storytelling across multiple roles: customer service, consulting, technical sales, product marketing, and content marketing. I also bring an energetic and enthusiastic approach to team-building, problem-solving and creative collaboration.




https://twitter.com/sandybeachSF



https://www.linkedin.com/pub/sandy-hawke/0/347/930





Extra Slides




Recipe for Product Marketing SuccessFirst, determine priority user personas, and segment based on impact to sales cycle. Second, develop the full context for each user persona (what their current pain is, how they experience that pain, how they view a solution to that pain, and what they need to believe and experience our solution as the solution).

Once you can smell the sweetness of team consensus in the air, identify the type of content our buyer will need to help them solve real-world problems with our technology, sprinkled with some education on how they can also increase their skill set at the same time. Create that content.

Spread broadly, and evenly over every stage of the buyer’s journey, as well as every channel available, and measure its effectiveness.

Adjust as necessary. Repeat.



Stop Selling, Start Helping: Top 3 Keys to Success

• Look at everything the way your buyer would.–Customer questions turn into content. A well-written FAQ list

will accelerate a buying cycle we didn’t even know was spun up yet*.

• Entertain while educating (“enter-trainment”).– If they’re entertained, they’ll pay attention, and they might just

share it too!• The best content comes from your customers.–We need to give them a forum, and then collect, curate, and

share (and make it easy for them to share too).


*According to Kapost, 67% of the buyer’s journey takes place online and 57% of that journey occurs before speaking to sales.
