The presentation was given by Becki Dilworth and Ann Handley and covered how to make content a key part of an online strategy and tactics to create engaging content. It discussed using the right "bait" like SEO, social media, and email to attract users, and how to "hook" users with persuasive content once they arrive. It also covered using analytics to deliver relevant content and drive users to success metrics like loyalty, purchases, and information sharing. The presentation provided examples from companies and stressed creating useful, human-focused content to establish a brand as a helpful publisher.

1. Content Strategies: Using the right
bait to hook your users
» Presented by:
» Becki Dilworth
Vice President of Digital Strategy
Bridgeline Digital
» Ann Handley
Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs
Co-Author, Content Rules
» Part 1: Making content a part of your online
strategy
» Part 2: Tactics to make your content rule
» Q&A

2. About American Technology Services
Established 1994
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IT Support Services
Focus on providing solutions that address
business needs
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3. iAPPS Product Suite
» CODiE Award Winning Web Engagement and Content Marketing
Management Platform
Integrated Platform

4. PART 1
Making content a part
of your online strategy

5. Catching Your Users
The Bait:
Creating
content that
attracts your
users AND
the search
engines.

6. Catching Your Users
The Bait: The Hook:
Creating How to use
content that content to
attracts your engage your
users AND users once
the search they’ve
engines. arrived.

7. Catching Your Users
The Bait: The Hook: The Catch:
Creating How to use Using the
content that content to right tools to
attracts your engage your ultimately
users AND users once drive your
the search they’ve users to your
engines. arrived. success
metrics.

8. The Bait
The Bait

9. The Bait
Your Target Audience
Make sure you know WHO you want to attract and WHY
Persona Who are they? What is their pain? How do you serve them?
Would fish everyday
Avid fisherman – Show him the latest
if he could – but has a
heads out at least and greatest – and
hard time justifying
once a month – has give him tools to
continued time and
all the gear, reads all create wishlists for
the books. expenses to the wife. the wife.
Family fisher – Heads Just wants to keep Show him your child-
the kids happy. The
fishing a couple of sized poles, and offer
times each summer, easier the better up books and
when it comes to
on camping trips with activities to keep the
the kids. these stressful trips. kids busy.
Cooler fisher – Looking to relax with Books on fishing hot
his buddies – but
Considers beer as spots, the best bait
necessary gear when would love to show for those spots and
them a thing or two
fishing - heads to the tips for reeling in the
lake a few times each about fishing. fish.
summer.

10. The Bait
What Bait is Best
» Analyze your options
» See where your audience is SEO Email
» Understand how to speak to
your audience using that
bait
Social PPC
Offline PR

11. The Bait
Sample Bait: SEO
The Bait
Understanding how your audience searches for your products/services

12. The Bait
Attracting Your Audience
Making sure your audience AND the engines visit you
Relevant title – Clearly something that
will give me the information I need.
Clear, enticing description – Where the
fish are biting? Exactly what I’m looking
for.
Trusted URL – Weather.com? Didn’t know
they did fishing reports, but I’ll bite.

13. The Bait
Anatomy Of The Bait
Creating the bait that attracts users AND engines
Title Tag: Write friendly,
digestible headlines using the
keywords your audience does.
A string of keywords may not
suffice – engines need to
understand AND users need to
click.
Meta Description: Front
load your keywords – people
read the first few words – make
sure they interact well with
each other.
URLs: This example is less
than ideal – get your target
terms toward the front and
make the URL easy to read.
Your URL is where you can
convey your brand – and trust.

14. The Hook
The Hook
The Bait: The Catch:
Creating content Using the right
that attracts your tools to
users AND the ultimately drive
search engines. your users to
your success
metrics.

15. The Hook
The Hard Part: Keeping Them There
Writing engaging content that is meaningful to your audience
» People read differently online
» Short, concise, to the point
» Call out terms that matter – use those ‘bait’ phrases
» Use bullets, emphasize words with <strong> and <em>
» What information are they really looking for
» How can you address their pain
» Avoid ‘forcing the sell’ – you’ll lose them as you reel them in
» Leverage related content, with in line links

16. The Hook
Write For Your ONLINE Audience
People read differently online – copying and pasting won’t cut it
Fishing with Kids: A Guide Guidelines in Getting Kids Started Fishing
Recommended Fishing Supplies For youngsters, an hour or two fishing provides quite a
• Spincast Reel thrill. And you needn't be a fishing expert to teach a child to
• Lightweight fishing rod fish. Simply follow these fishing guidelines:
• Bobbers – 1-1/2” diameter
• Sinkers – ½-oz. size Begin with spincast equipment. Spincast reels are easy to
• Hooks – Sizes 6 to 10 use and are generally trouble free. choose a fishing rod that
• Bait is lightweight and flexible, yet rugged enough to survive
hard use. A beginner's rod should bend freely when shaken.
Fishing Rods and Line Select a premium grade fishing line. Beginning fishermen,
Fishing rods for kids should be lightweight and flexible – but especially kids, seem to catch the largest fish in the lake.
rugged enough to survive hard use. Make sure the rod bends usually it's something nearly impossible to unhook, like a 50-
freely when shaken. pound catfish. A clear, flexible line, rated to break between
8 and 12 lbs., performs admirably. A 275-yard spool is
Select a premium grade fishing line – a clear flexible line plenty.
rated to break between 8 and 12 lbs. are best for young
fishermen. A 275-yard spool is plenty. Other items you'll need to complete a fish-catching system
include bobbers (1-1/2" diameter), a few sinkers (1/2-oz.
size), a package or two of hooks (sizes 6 to 10), some bait
and a few cooperative fish.

17. The Hook
Persuasive Content
Leveraging integrated analytics to deliver relevant content
What we know: Fishing report: Knoxville, TN Shrek Fishing
The user entered from Pole
October 30, 2010 Durable and
natural search, looking light weight,
for “kids fishing pole” perfect for
beginning
fishermen
Where they are:
The user visited a page A Kid’s Guide to
Fly Tying
about fishing reports. Step-by-step
guide to teach
kids how to tie
What can we do flies.
now: Offer relevant
content based on that
segment. Kids fishing
poles, links and tips for
taking kids fishing. Top times to fish: 9 a.m., 2:30pm, 6 p.m.
Local Lakes: Norris, Cherokee, Dale Hollow,
Relevance = Douglas, Watts Bar, Center Hill, Kentucky,
Persuasive. Pickwick, Watauga.

18. The Catch
The Catch:
Using the right
tools to
ultimately drive
your users to
your success
metrics.

19. The Catch
Understanding What You Really Want From Your User
» The first question to ask in any online effort – what do you
want from your user?
» Loyalty/Impressions: Come back to this site for fishing information
» Money: Buy a fishing pole from us
» Information: Give me your e-mail address so I can continue to market to
you
» Representation: Tell your friends about the products/information we
provide
Now that you know what you want,
ask your USERS how to get it

20. The Catch
» The UCD (User Centered Design) Process
» User Interviews
» What kinds of things could a site offer you that you would be
willing to provide your e-mail address for?
» What kinds of content would prompt you to return to this site
frequently?
» What are you looking for when making a purchase?
» Structure Your Content To Match What Your Users Want
» Loyalty: Unique, useful information
» Money: Feature products that fit specific needs / budgets
» Information: Carrots to prompt user to give information (downloads,
updates)

21. Summary: Reeling Them In
» Figure Out What You Want To Catch
» Define success metrics up front
» Use UCD process to establish content and functional
priorities
» Make Sure You Have a Good Hook
» Content is the key to Web Engagement – don’t just
copy and paste
» Leverage Persuasive Content tactics
» Use The Right Bait
» Understand your audience segments
» Research how your audience searches for your
products/services

22. PART 2
Tactics to make
your content rule

23. Ann Handley
• Author, Content Rules
• Chief Content Officer,
• MarketingProfs.com
• Twitter:
@marketingprofs

24. NOT Tina Fey!

27. Today’s Agenda
• It’s true: Your brand is a publisher.
• What’s happening now. (Charts! Numbers!)
• How can your brand’s content…well, RULE?
* BONUS: Free parting gifts!

28. But first, a story…

29. “Hey Ann, buy this one!” – Kodak

30. Which mower is right for you…?

31. Which grapple skidder…?

32. The Rules HAVE Changed…
Prior to the web,
organizations had only
two significant choices
to attract attention: buy
expensive advertising or
get third-party ink from
the media. But the web
has changed the rules.”
- David Meerman Scott

33. Shifting Expectations, Behavior…
Your clients are
looking for you.

34. You are a publisher!
Now, YOU are the
publisher.
As brands, we
become media.”
– Brian Solis, Engage
(Wiley, 2010)

36. Wait a Sec…
I’m a
Publisher!?

37. Kind of like having a
baby

38. …and bearing responsibility
for them, forever and ever…
no matter what.

39. In other words,
it’s worth it.

40. What Is Content?
Merriam-Webster:
“Content (noun): Anything created and
uploaded to the web; i.e.: the pages of
your site; the things you create as
marketing (blog posts, videos, photos,
whitepapers, podcasts); anything
published at outposts like Facebook,
Twitter, LinkedIn group page.”

41. Content Is...
“Anything an individual or organization
creates and shares to tell their story.”
41

42. No Expiration Date

43. “The one who has
the more engaging
content wins,”
-- Joe Pulizzi
(Get Content, Get
Customers)

44. Good Content
is The Soul of
Who You Are

45. What Engaging Content
Will Do

46. More visitors…

47. More links…

48. More indexed pages…

53. The State of Content
The problem: I Don’t know what to say….
(Or how to say it.)

54. The State of Content
The problem: I Don’t know what to say….
(Or how to say it.)
It’s often difficult to find topics that have not
already saturated the market.”

55. The State of Content
The problem: I Don’t know what to say….
(Or how to say it.)
It’s often difficult to find topics that have not
already saturated the market.”
“Our biggest challenge is finding things for our
potential clients to get excited about.

56. The State of Content
Content
marketing…
… is like sex in high school: Everyone
claims they are doing it, but few are
doing it well.

57. So how can your Content Rule?

59. American Express
Content as opportunity: Be a resource.

60. Focus on Helping your reader.

61. Sharing not shilling.
(Lighten up on the promotion.)

62. Roberts & Durkee law firm

63. Content before contact.

64. As opposed to…

66. Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board
How does your product live in the world?

67. Or like this?

68. Or this? (Use video.)

69. Vitality
Tell the stories of your customers.

70. This means you, too, B2B.

72. Lose the Frankenspeak, Buzzwords
and Words that Make You Sound
Like a Tool...
“Impactful” “Learnings” “Synergistic”
“Revolutionary” “Proactive” “Drill down”
“Incentivizing” Any word that ends in “-ize”
“Open the kimono at the end of the day while you
are peeling back an onion…”

73. Have a broader mission.

74. There’s value
in perspectives,
experts
from outside your
own company.

75. …and also within.

76. Is your stuff compelling to
humans…?
Run your web site like a magazine.

77. Daxko

78. “Daxko Nation comes to life through our blog (a.k.a.
The most intriguing company blog in the Western
Hemisphere!)”

79. Who are these people?
Real people with real blog “beats.”

81. OpenView Labs
Reimagine what you create into other forms.

82. Can you create 5 things out of 1 thing? YES!

83. Kinaxis
How about 10 things out of 1 thing?

85. Hubspot
Create triggers to action.

86. Targeted, specific offer follows each post.

87. Further the conversation.

88. Modern Architects
Create momentum: Early stage prospects.

89. Admet
Other triggers: Warmer prospects.

91. Blue Sky Factory
Big opportunity for B2B. (Huge.)

92. Agilent

94. P&G
Create a campfire.

95. What do they care about?

96. Lisa Johnson
Fitness
Update regularly,
with both kindling
and logs.

98. Marketo
Wings to soar ( & social validation.)

99. More
options.

100. Exact Target
Create social
objects.

101. Grow
strong
roots.

102. 2 final
things

104. Gary Vaynerchuk
Do at least ONE thing… really, really well.

105. Have fun

106. “If you are consuming old
media, you are consuming
it on your couch.
“If you are consuming new
media, you are consuming
it on your horse.”
– Arianna Huffington

107. What now?
Download free stuff:
• 12-Point Content Rules Checklist
• Content Rules blog post template
• http://www.contentrulesbook.com/extras/
Free chapter:
http://www.contentrulesbook.com/free-preview/

108. Thank You
Ann Handley
ann@marketingprofs.com
Twitter: @marketingprofs
www.annhandley.com
www.contentrulesbook.com