@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. Using Content Marketing to Impact Every Stage of the Buyer’s Journey Jen Agustin Sr. Director of Marketing, Bizo September 29, 2014

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. Let’s Talk About… Understanding your prospects’ content needs How content can map to the buyer’s journey It’s not just about content – channels matter, too Q & A

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. Everybody Grab Some Gum!

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. The Buyer’s Journey for a Pack of Gum Awareness Evaluation Purchase

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. The Buyer’s Journey for Packs of Gum Awareness Education Evaluation Proposal Purchase $$

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. So What Does It All Mean? Not All Journeys Are Created Equal

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. B2B is Different Up to 90% of the buying process is done by the time your prospects contact a sales person 90% 10% Million Dollar Question #1: How will this gap be filled? Answer: Relevant content marketing

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. But Here’s the Thing… It Doesn’t Actually Start with Content

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. Prospects Have Different Content Needs Who they are What they’re doing online and buyer intent Meeting these needs in the most relevant way depends on understanding: Know these things, and you’re one step closer to knowing where they are in their buyer’s journey—and what content they need.

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. Determining the “Who” Buyer persona = Your typical or ideal customer Role Title Company Size Fears/Goals/Challenges

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. Determining the “Who” How to go about developing personas : Do an audit of your current customers – who are they? Talk to your salespeople who are on the front lines Take a look at your website analytics to identify demographics of website audiences

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. Determining the “What” Marketing Executive SMB 5 website visits this week Downloaded two white papers IT Manager Fortune 500 Visited website yesterday Bounced from home page

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. Finally… Let’s Talk Content!

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. Mapping Content to the Top Funnel Typical top-funnel buyer needs: Do I have a business challenge? Who can solve my challenge? What should I be looking for in a solution? Awareness Education Evaluation Proposal Purchase

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. Meet top-funnel needs with content that is educational, “ungated,” and addictively shareable: Infographics Blog Videos Contributed articles Mapping Content to the Top Funnel

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. Mapping Content to the Mid-Funnel Typical mid-funnel buyer needs: I’m ready to start learning about this product/service. How does this product/service compare to other competitive products? What other companies have used this solution? Awareness Education Evaluation Proposal Purchase

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. Mapping Content to the Mid-Funnel Mid-funnel content address specific interests/questions and provides concrete best practices: Blog Newsletters Webinars/Demo Days Whitepapers/eBooks Case studies

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. Mapping Content to the Bottom Funnel Typical bottom-funnel buyer needs: How much is this going to cost me— and will it be worth it? Do I need to get buy-in from others at my company? I need customer references to make a decision. Awareness Education Evaluation Proposal Purchase

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. Mapping Content to the Bottom Funnel Bottom-funnel content is the “deal closer”: Evaluation guides ROI calculators Demos Case studies

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. It’s Not Just About Content—Channels Matter, Too

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. Direct-Response Addiction Marketers are overfishing in the bottom funnel via SEO, SEM, Relatively few of your prospects are actively on the hunt for a solution today Not enough prospects biting so the effort and impact can’t scale

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. How About We… Explore New Channels

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. Top Funnel: Reach Your Audience at Scale To drive conversions, you need to fill the top of the funnel first: Engaging prospects early in the process is key Need to combine precision + scale $$

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. Top Funnel: Display and Social Advertising Display and social ads provide targeted reach to get in front of more of the people that matter to your business. Don’t be “conversion driven” with content. Give your prospects a way to learn more without a lot of commitment.

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. Mid/Bottom Funnel: Educate and nurture Give your prospects educational content to help guide them through the journey. Use content to build relationships and nudge them toward a purchase. $$

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. Mid/Bottom Funnel: Display and Social Ads + Now’s the time to start driving new leads and conversions. +

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. A Few Final Thoughts Before you write anything, consider who your audience is, what they care about, and where they are in the buying process. Take a full-funnel approach to designing your content mix. Content marketing is not just about content— channels matter, too.

@Bizo © 2014 Bizo, Inc. THANK YOU! Q & A