CONTENT STRATEGY

CONTENT STRATEGY The practice of planning for the creation, delivery, and governance of useful content

what the brand is selling Strategic digital content acts like a bridge between what people are interested in and what the brand is selling

Encompasses the ideation, implementation and maintenance of content Lays the foundation of content creation

Why Strategize 53% effective marketers have documented strategy More informed content decisions Content care and consideration Streamlines creation process/reserves resources Goal-based creation and selection Usable, engaging, actionable Benchmark for measuring success Content when and where it’s needed/wanted Content Marketing Institute Follow that strategy to ensure all business objectives are being met Helps elevate the quality and impact of content programs When brands follow a well-executed content strategy they can increase the brand;s value as well as growing revenue

BRAND VALUES CONTENT STRATEGY AUDIENCE PASSION POINTS

What is your mission? What will the strategy do for your audience? How will it help your business?

Core Content Strategy Questions WHAT DOES THE BRAND DO BETTER THAN ANYONE? WHAT WILL THE TARGET COME TO THE BRAND FOR? DOES THE STRATEGY SUPPORT KEY BRAND GOALS? DOES IT HELP THE TARGET IN SOME WAY?

Core Strategy Flexible Aspirational Memorable Inclusive Motivational

Discovery Assessment Execution Measurement

Business Key Performance Indicators Discovery Phase Business Key Performance Indicators The Brand Audience Insights Corporate Buy-In

Discovery- Business KPI’s What metrics will move the business? Acquisition Awareness Advocacy Consideration Insights Loyalty Customer service Sales & growth What is the strategic direction of the company? Stakeholder interviews What does the business want to accomplish with content?

Who are you in the marketplace? Discovery – The Brand Who are you in the marketplace? Mission Statement Brand Positioning Brand Essence Brand Personality Tone & Voice

Discovery-Audience Insights Demographic — Basic structure of persona based on geography, income, education, and other attributes Psychographic — Values, opinions, interests, aspirations, attitudes, and lifestyles Ethnographic — Insights created by watching subjects in their daily routines Transactional — Historical customer relationships including purchase histories Behavioral — Data from engagement with owned and earned media and content Stage – Recent activity in their place in the purchase journey, media context Gartner - A persona is a fictional character created as a proxy for a target audience. These audience archetypes commonly include illustrative pictures and fictional names that make them tangible to digital designers and marketers.  Demographics – gender, age, income, education, ethnicity, language Mindsets – attitudes, values, passion points, personal identity, brand perceptions Behaviors – content consumption, media, digital behavior, social media, technology adaptation, mobile usage Status – recent activity, stage in purchase cycle, need state, media context, screens

EMOTIONAL RATIONAL Identity Community Entertainment Inspiration Utility Information Education

Discovery- Corporate Buy-In Is the company ready for a content culture? Is there a budget and who owns it? Does the current technology suffice? What internal assets and resources can be used? Is everyone aligned on the content roadmap? Do other content programs need to be integrated?

Assessment & Strategy Development Phase Consumer Journey – Relationship Building Content Audit Governance Competitive Analysis Technological Readiness Content Architecture Content Roadmap

Assessment – Audience Journey How are customers purchasing your product? It’s no longer linear Should be simple and intuitive Find the emotional need at each stage Find the functional need at each stage Pair that need with a channel to distribute content

Assessment – Content Audit What do you have across your entire ecosystem and can you use it? Check the quality and quantity of the content Rate it against your content objectives Create a matrix by which content will be scored Check the design and readability Is the content on brand Is the content of high quality Can help you find opportunities and deficit areas.

Take inventory of your content Website Social media White papers Blogs Sales Collateral Press Material

Evaluate your content: For your goals For timeliness For relevancy For branding

FIX KEEP TOSS FIX

Assessment-Content Roles What role will content play at your company? - Helps personalize the brand Reach new and expanded audiences Modernize a stale brand/make it more relevant Build community Deliver on the brand promise

Assessment-Competitive Set Look for gaps that you can fill Take a unique viewpoint Build your distinctive voice Make content more visual and engaging

Assessment-Technology Can your technology support your program? - Content Management Systems (CMS) Content Creation Tools Digital Asset Management Systems (DAM) Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Tagging and Measurement Back End

Assessment-Content Themes What buckets will content fall into? - Areas where the brand can be credible - Common search terms Subjects that deliver on the brand promise Topics where brand has a competitive advantage Health Care Brand – Mandatory – Illness Prevention; Important Areas – Professional and Patient Collaboration; Differentiating – Treatment Innovation

Assessment - Content Roadmap Where are you going with your content? - Laid out in stages - First part – fill in gaps and opportunities Optimizing content All important milestones are marked Priorities, new content, repurposed content, channels, technology, measurement

Tactical Development & Execution Content Creation Process Content Distribution

Execution - Digital Design How will you attract attention? - Vary the types of graphics to help retention - Ensure all content has a visual attached Use arresting photography Create playful illustrations and patterns Elicit emotions Delight your audience Try icons or emoji's when appropriate

Execution -Content Creation How will you engage your target? - Vary content presentation in different channels - Utilize immersive content like games & apps Understand types of content per audience sector Tell amazing stories well Think like a journalist Focus on common experiences and themes Inspire participation

Execution – Content Usage How can you stretch your content investment? Tell a great story with different perspectives on a variety of channels Use experiential content wisely – videos, tweets, blog posts, podcasts - Break up long form content into infographics, charts and the like

Execution - Content Relevancy Content is the bridge to greater relevancy Produce content that resonates Ensure that your audience can find it - Inspire participation Gain insights from consumption Approach topic in a disruptive way

Content creation is never done Take advantage of new opportunities Execution - Evolve Content creation is never done Take advantage of new opportunities Try different platforms like live streaming - Experiment with curation and new sources Find influencers that are up and coming Resource for being always-on if possible

Execution – Amplification SEO & SEM Email marketing Social media – paid and earned Mobile ads - Display advertising Native placements Public relations Partnerships & influencers TV & print media

Execution – Distribution When and where is your target receptive to content? I want to know I want to go I want to do I want to buy Google’s paradigm of marketable moments Know – searching for information and putting a brand in consideration set Go – to look at what I’m thinking of purchasing – retail, dealership, etc Do – purchase Buy – after the sale, loyalty, affinity, ambassador

Measurement - Analytics Do more of what’s working Move from learning to knowing Have a short and long term plan Tie metrics to business & content goals Optimize content across ecosystems

Organic search traffic Unbranded search traffic New web visitors Measurement - Reach Brand Awareness Organic search traffic Unbranded search traffic New web visitors Percentage of repeat visitors

Measurement - Engagement Participation Email subscribers Social shares, likes, comments Time spent scrolling & consuming content Bounce rate Social community growth

Measurement - Purchase Sales & Conversions Ecommerce sales Conversions Subscribers Attributable offline sales

Upselling & cross selling Measurement - Loyalty Brand Ambassadors Upselling & cross selling Retention rate Positive comments High ratings

Start with an outline Why are we making content? What content do we need? How will the content accomplish our goals?

FRAMEWORK FOR CONTENT CREATION CONTENT PRODUCED – VOICE/TONE CREATION/MAINTAINANCE HOW CONTENT IS DEVELOPED ROLES & RESPONSIBILITES

Substance SUBSTANCE The content you’ll be creating to meet business goals and help your target The content you’ll be creating to meet business goals and help your target Who are you trying to reach? What do they want/need to know? Does your current content do the job? Content Audit Brand Voice and Tone

COMPANY ATTRIBUTES ADJECTIVES WE DON’T SPEAK LIKE THIS Substance COMPANY ATTRIBUTES ADJECTIVES WE SPEAK LIKE THIS WE DON’T SPEAK LIKE THIS Entertaining Down to earth, friendly, approachable Stuffy, arrogant, egotistical, Informative Illuminating, illustrative, newsy Scholarly, trained, academic Accurate Open, genuine, dependable Proper. rigid, sober

What Do Customers Want? Convenience Speed Personalization Beauty

What’s your capacity?

Create a content calendar

Develop a distribution/promotional plan for your content

FRAMEWORK FOR CONTENT CREATION CONTENT PRODUCED – VOICE/TONE CREATION/MAINTAINANCE HOW CONTENT IS DEVELOPED ROLES & RESPONSIBILITES

Information Architecture Structure Organization Prioritization Platforms Formatting Metadata Infrastructure Information Architecture

FRAMEWORK FOR CONTENT CREATION CONTENT PRODUCED – VOICE/TONE CREATION/MAINTAINANCE HOW CONTENT IS DEVELOPED ROLES & RESPONSIBILITES

Workflow Creation Maintenance Process Documentation Tools Content Management

FRAMEWORK FOR CONTENT CREATION CONTENT PRODUCED – VOICE/TONE CREATION/MAINTAINANCE HOW CONTENT IS DEVELOPED ROLES & RESPONSIBILITES

Roles/Responsibilities Governance Roles/Responsibilities Decision Making Communication

Discover - Business objectives, user research, stakeholder interviews, competition, content audit, style guide Define – content requirements, success metrics, launch plan Design – style guide, video/audio creation, visual treatment, font, colors Develop – SEO, metadata, templates, content uploading Deploy – launch, plan for ongoing editorial oversight

Translate British culture For an American audience BBC AMERICA Translate British culture For an American audience

The entertaining and informative destination for notable people Topical Relevant

We strive to help moms create a home that’s truly their own We strive to help moms create a home that’s truly their own. Everything we do here is designed to empower and inspire you to make your home even better, and most importantly, a place you love to be. HomeMadeSimple’s mission statement includes: The core audience target: on-the-go What will be delivered to the audience: recipes, inspiring ideas, and new approaches to organization. The outcome for the audience: Improve your home life

The Best Approach to Content STRATEGIZE PLAN Set lasting content strategy BUILD Develop tactics for content creation COMMUNICATE Create content and relationships before you make the ask DISTRIBUTE Engage in ongoing dialogue MEASURE Use platforms, campaigns, creative to amplify content EVOLVE Analyze results and take action Experiment with platforms and technology to tell stories