This document outlines a 5-step process for creating an actionable content marketing strategy: 1. Define objectives and priorities for the content. 2. Develop a story that explains the business's purpose beyond features and benefits. 3. Create buyer personas that represent the audience and their needs. 4. Conduct a content audit to identify existing materials and gaps to address. 5. Determine key metrics to measure the strategy's effectiveness in meeting objectives. Following these steps helps ensure the content strategy aligns with business goals and provides the right content to targeted audiences.

1. Building the Beast:
5 Steps to Creating an Actionable
Content Marketing Strategy
Carla Johnson
Principal, Type A Communications

2. CARLA
JOHNSON
Principal
@CarlaJohnson

3. WHY
CONTENT
STRATEGY
MATTERS
100%
93%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
44%
42%
% Who Have a
Documented
Strategy
% Who Say They
Are Effective at
Content Marketing
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
% B2B Marketers
Who Say They Use
Content Marketing
2014 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends,
North America, Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs

4. 1
WHY CONTENT
STRATEGY MATTERS

5. PURPOSE
OF A
CONTENT
STRATEGY
• Call out the goals of your
content marketing program and
how you’ll accomplish them
• Persuade your internal audience
(i.e. those who approve
budgets) that content is a true
resource and game changer for
your customers and prospects
• Create a ‘profile’ of successful
content types that others can
see for future reference and use

6. CONTENT
STRATEGY
VS.
CONTENT
MARKETING
Content
Strategy
• Why, Who and How
• Knowing what your
audience wants
• Directs content with the goal of
generating a financial return
Content
Marketing
• What and When
• Creating and distributing what
your audience wants
• Guided by and overall strategy
that delivers specific content at
the right time and place

7. 2
BUILDING A
BUSINESS CASE

8. BUILDING
A
BUSINESS
CASE
22%
of B2B marketers
say that it’s a
challenge to get
executive buy-in
for a content
marketing
program.
2014 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends,
North America, Content Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs

9. BUILDING
A
BUSINESS
CASE
1. Tell them your purpose
2. Describe the current
situation
3. Define content marketing
and its value
4. Use data
5. Create an action plan
6. Ask for what you want

10. 3
DEVELOPING A
CONTENT STRATEGY

11. CREATING
YOUR
STRATEGY
1.Define your objectives
− What business objectives do you
want to accomplish?
─ What do you want your content
to do?
─ Prioritize what’s most important,
i.e….
•
•
•
•
•
Build brand awareness
Establish your expertise
Educate buyers
Move leads through the sales
process
Improve retention

12. EXAMPLE
DEFINE
OBJECTIVES
A software consulting company wanted to
shift the perception that consumers and
prospects had of them from a vendor to one
of a trusted advisor so they seek their advice
earlier in the sales process.
• They wanted their content to educate
people about changing technologies in our
industry and how it impacts the business
performance of companies
• Priorities: Establish expertise, educate
buyers, build relationships with influencers

13. EXERCISE
DEFINE
YOUR
OBJECTIVES
Write down your business objective for
the next 6-12 months
What does marketing need to do to
help accomplish this?







Build awareness
Educate buyers
Engage influencers
Generate leads
Lead nurturing
Better engage existing customers
Cross sell / up sell

14. CREATING
YOUR
STRATEGY
2. Develop Your Story
− Understand and articulate
what business you’re really in
─ It’s not about features and
benefits; it’s about the
difference you’re trying to
make in your customers’ lives
─ Answer WHY

15. TOO MANY
COMPANIES
SOUND
LIKE THIS
ACME is one of the leading providers Florida.
Since its inception in 1976, ACME’s signature has
been its responsiveness to clients and its delivery
of a superior product. Our commitment to
excellence, combined with our responsiveness,
has gained us an outstanding reputation in the
transportation industry and more importantly,
the trust and confidence of our clients. Today, we
are one of the largest minority owned civil
engineering firms in Florida and among the top in
consulting engineering firms specializing in civil
and transportation related projects. Our
corporate headquarters are located in Miami
with regional offices located in Pensacola, Tampa
and Jacksonville.

16. EXAMPLE
DEVELOP
YOUR
STORY
Old Story:
We’re the leading organization
in North America focused on
marketing analytics,
optimization and automation.
New Story:
We empower marketers to do
their jobs better and with less
effort.

17. Your
Competition
Isn’t
Your
Competition
What Does the Fox Say?
234,606,896 Views
1,673 Years of Human Time

18. Your
Competition
Isn’t
Your
Competition
Gangnam Style
1,824,814,573 Views
14,545 Years of Human Time

19. EXAMPLE
DEVELOP
YOUR
STORY
Old Story:
We’re the leading organization
in North America focused on
marketing analytics,
optimization and automation.
New Story:
We empower marketers to do
their jobs better and with less
effort.

20. EXERCISE
DEVELOP
YOUR
STORY
Answer these questions:

Why was your company started?

What have you always done well?

What have you failed at miserably?

If your company went away
tomorrow, what would be missed?

21. CREATING
YOUR
STRATEGY
3.Develop Buyer Personas
─ Composite of characteristics of a
group of people
─ Help you to understand their
perspective, fears, drivers and
content needs
─ Types of content:
• How they access it
• What messages resonate with
them
• What matters when in the buyer’s
cycle

22. Senior Director, Director (head of e-commerce)

23. Profile
Technology background - online/digital marketing, programming, web
development. Oversees a team comprised of online strategists within the
marketing organization that may also include social media, marketing automation,
demand generation, campaigns, database administration, mobile and marketing
infrastructure. Oversees a small team usually ranging from three to 15 employees.
Consumption of content depends on time of day – smart phones and tablets in
the morning, addition of laptops during the day. Uses laptop in the evening for
heavy reading. Primarily use laptop when looking for content for research and
decision-making.

24. Frustrations/Pressures/Concerns:
• Battling a preconceived notion of what e-commerce entails and that the B2B
experience is the same as B2C
• Spends a great deal of time getting management / executives to commit to ecommerce as a main part of their business strategy
• Wants to control the customer experience and is concerned about making the
wrong e-commerce choice and being “stuck” with it
• Challenged to keep up with changes in technology

25. Priorities/Drivers:
• Raising the profile of e-commerce so that the company commits to it as part of
the business strategy and doesn’t operate from a tactical level
• Establishing and communicating the need to improve IT applications and
infrastructure and overall efficiency through a flexible platform
• Improving how e-commerce integrates with the overall IT infrastructure
• Creating the ideal e-commerce shopping experience that supplements /
enhances the offline experience

26. Messaging:
• Flexible, multi-branded, multi-store front capability
• Can run different price points, images and brand experiences from
a single database
• Ease of use of use of the architecture and platform, including mobile
• B2B-specific component
• Demystifying the technology by telling a story that relates it to people
and the business
• Set the context by starting with the business perspective and get down
to the technical
• Flexible and modular; not necessary to engage vendor to make changes
• Ability to “test drive” software before making a decision

27. Content Needs:
Content Sources/Types:
Type of content depends on
where he is in the buying cycle.
Conducts initial research
through analyst reports and
white papers. The closer he
gets to the desired vendor of
choice, the more he wants to
interact with them directly.
Requires one-to-one interaction
before making a decision.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Webinars
Research reports
Analyst reports
White papers
Case studies
Vendor demo sites
Google search
Conferences –programming and technical
Peers/Word of Mouth
Blog posts

28. Persona 1
Persona 2
Persona 3
Persona 4
______________
______________
______________
______________
______________
______________
______________
______________
______________
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______________
______________
______________
______________
______________
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______________
______________
______________
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______________
______________
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______________
______________
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______________
______________
______________
______________
______________
______________
______________
______________

29. CREATING
YOUR
STRATEGY
4. Content Audit / Mapping
─ What content do you already
have that you want to continue
to use?
─ What type is it? What topic?
─ What persona does it address?
─ What condition is it in?
─ Once you’ve created the list, are
the obvious holes that you need
to address?

30. EXAMPLE
CONTENT
AUDIT
Content
Type
Content
Topic
Target
Persona
Location
Comment
Web page
Product
Karen Olson
URL
Content is solid
but needs
updating to
reflect brand
story
White Paper
(PDF)
Trends in
marketing
automation
platforms
Jeff Smith
Online (URL)
Marketing
portal
Highly technical
product
information for
last stage
decision making
Video
3 Things to
Look for in
a Marketing
Automation
Partner
Maria
Jensen
YouTube
(URL)
90 seconds,
geared toward
YouTube to help
ignite the
conversation of
what to look for
in a partner

31. BUYER’S
JOURNEY
Possible
Solutions
Vendor
Search
Selection
Retention
Upsell
Evangelism
What’s my
problem?
What do I
need to do?
Who can
help me?
I want to
feel good
about my
decision
Reinforce my
choice
Thought
leadership
ID problems
How you’ve
helped
others
Detailed,
technical
information
Prove ROI
How to use,
Success
stories
Problem
Awareness
Education
Something
isn’t right
What’s the
difference
you want to
make?
Bigger Story
Detailed Story
+ Proof Points

32. CONTENT
MAPPING
Possible
Solutions
Vendor
Search
Selection
Retention
Upsell
Evangelism
Persona
#1
Persona
#1
Persona
#2
Persona
#2
Persona
#2
Persona
#3
Persona
#1
Persona
#2
Persona
#2
Persona
#3
White
paper
Tradeshow
Case
Studies
Cust Event
Articles
Solution
Briefs
Case
Studies
Videos
Blogs
Prove ROI
Testimonials
Cust Events
User
Stories
Blogs
Problem
Awareness
Education
Bigger Story
Product
specs
User Stories
Testimonials
Detailed Story
+ Proof Points

33. CONTENT
MAPPING
Problem
Awareness
Bigger Story
Education
Possible
Solutions
Vendor
Search
Selection
Retention
Upsell
Evangelism
Detailed Story
+ Proof Points

34. CREATING
YOUR
STRATEGY
5. Determine Measurement
Metrics
─ Tie to your business objectives
─ Know what you’re willing to
change
─ Measure what drives the
behavior you want
─ Use metrics to make
refinement

35. EXAMPLE
MEASUREMENT
METRICS
FOR CONTENT
CONSUMPTION
Content
Consumption
Page Views
1,796
Video Views
323
Document Views
293
Download
197

36. EXERCISE
What metrics support your
business objectives?







Build awareness
Educate buyers
Engage influencers
Generate leads
Lead nurturing
Better engage existing customers
Cross sell / up sell

37. Carla Johnson, Principal
Type A Communications
(720) 344-0987
carla@goTypeA.com
www.goTypeA.com
Type A Communications
@carlajohnson
Carla Johnson

38. HOMEWORK
Find out how much of
your content is actually
used!
• What’s use most?
• What’s never touched?