1. Webinar Building Trust And Customer Preference With Content Marketing
Ryan Skinner, Senior Analyst
July 25, Call in at 10:55 a.m. Eastern time

2. Content marketing and the new customer
Agenda
Content marketing and the new customer
How to do content marketing right
Managing compliance
Ongoing performance optimization
Recommendations

3. Content marketing and the new customer
Agenda
Content marketing and the new customer
How to do content marketing right
Managing compliance
Ongoing performance optimization
Recommendations

4. Start by understanding your customers’ situation
Seeking context
Overrun with choices
Perpetually connected
Image source: Allegra Network (
Pressed for time

5. Influence customers more effectively via content they select
Source: March 21, 2013, “How To Build Your Brand With Branded Content” Forrester report

6. Help customers navigate the paradox of choice

7. Reach people in-context on smaller mobile or tablet screens

8. Priority: Improve signal-to-noise ratio
Information on
any given topic
What I need to
know

9. Why content marketing makes sense for the new customer
Uses channels customers trust: search, social, and owned
Instead of channels they distrust (paid advertisements)
Provides context and helps customers make decisions
Instead of pushing just one more product adding to customers’ confusion
Adds value in the context of a customer-driven experience
Instead of interrupting customers with a message they didn’t ask for
Respects the pressure on customers’ time
Instead of adding to the things they need to ignore, skip, or avoid

10. Content marketing and the new customer
Agenda
Content marketing and the new customer
How to do content marketing right
Managing compliance
Ongoing performance optimization
Recommendations

11. Four steps to content marketing success
Start with a business goal, such as brand awareness or sales-qualified leads.
Use it to ring-fence scope and measure success.
Build rich and detailed customer profiles.
Identify the language, emotions, needs, and media choices of your target audience.
Identify your unique value as a source of content.
Exclusive data, context, community, expertise, or interface create uniqueness.
Be generous.
Give away some of your best data and insights to earn reciprocity.

12. REI: brand lift, unique community, and unique interface
Clear focus on brand awareness and brand lift with persistent logo
Image source: REI (
Investment in unique interface to give community a platform

13. Booz & Company: subscription to CRM and social + cross-promotion
Subscribe to (paid) print magazine.
Subscribe to (free)
e-newsletters (CRM).
Image source: Booz & Company (

14. Soft paywall: Subscribe with social login or email.
Booz & Company: subscription to CRM and social + cross-promotion (cont.)
Soft paywall: Subscribe with social login or .
Image source: Booz & Company (

15. Cross-promotion of chunky research piece: 2012 CEO Study
Booz & Company: subscription to CRM and social + cross-promotion (cont.)
Cross-promotion of chunky research piece: 2012 CEO Study
Image source: Booz & Company (

16. SAP: addresses the savvy businesswoman profile
Mobile-centric fashion intel and alerts for time-pressed, savvy businesswomen (powered by SAP big data analysis)
Source: My Runway (

17. Intel: collaborates with VICE on unique, behind-the-scenes content
Unique video and podcast content for “making of” hit Daft Punk album
Sources: Random Access Memories ( and Spotify (

18. Shopify: Small web app packages up big educational gifts
Significant investment in free tutorials to help educate and create future customers
Source: Ecommerce University (

19. Coordinate content, channel, and audience needs

20. Tourism Australia: reach by enabling a community
Producing and managing content purely for awareness (no attempt to drive a sale)
Image source: Facebook (

21. Airbnb: depth by producing city neighborhood guides
Source: Airbnb (
You know Airbnb. You know where you’re going. Airbnb helps you make a great purchase.

22. Barclaycard Ring: relationship by sharing and asking for input
Above and beyond simple reporting; inviting users to vote on features;
crowdsourcing content and input to product
Source: Barclaycard Ring (

23. Basic principles for content marketing
Start with a business goal.
Build profiles.
Focus on your area of expertise.
Be generous.
Match content to customer journey.

24. Content marketing and the new customer
Agenda
Content marketing and the new customer
How to do content marketing right
Managing compliance
Ongoing performance optimization
Recommendations

25. Don’t allow compliance to be a constraint
This is an open, opt-in line of communication.
No personal data will be grabbed without consumer’s knowledge.
Content marketing does not introduce new risks.
Familiar social media marketing rules will apply here.
Social media monitoring tools can flag and hold content with trigger words.
Work with partners who know the playing rules.
Publishers and journalists who know the dos and don’ts

26. Roche Diagnostics’ Accu-Chek
PROVIDES INFORMATION ABOUT THE CONDITION, NOT THE PRODUCT
Documented health innovation stories and news tied to twitter
Focuses on a specific customer: diabetes sufferer seeking advice and community
Source: Roche Diagnostics (

27. Content marketing and the new customer
Agenda
Content marketing and the new customer
How to do content marketing right
Managing compliance
Ongoing performance optimization
Recommendations

28. Choose metrics that help you improve steadily
Start with your awareness efforts.
The toughest area yet the most valuable
Match your business goal with a relevant metric.
Conversions, sign-ups, subscriptions, Net Promoter Score, consumer surveys
Track tactical performance to spot opportunities.
Views, shares, inbound links

29. Optimize around little bets
Go from big bang campaign thinking to iterative evolution.
Experiment with topic, format, style, length, etc.
Put creatives and analytics side-by-side.
Scale up what works little by little.
Start small
Broaden

30. Content marketing and the new customer
Agenda
Content marketing and the new customer
How to do content marketing right
Managing compliance
Ongoing performance optimization
Recommendations

31. Recommendations
Start by focusing on your customers’ burning questions and issues.
Stick to your area of authority.
Give away value to trigger reciprocity with the audience.
Communicate an iterative approach with testing and improvement.

32. Ryan Skinner