This document summarizes a webinar about capitalizing on the top content marketing trends of 2018. The webinar covered 5 trends: 1) big rock content, which are large flagship pieces of content; 2) video content, which is increasingly important; 3) values-driven content, where brands take a stand on social issues; 4) personalization of content for individual users; and 5) using content marketing in other business functions like sales and HR. Examples were provided for each trend, such as Nike's "Breaking2" documentary and USAA's personalized content hub. Attendees learned how to create content for each trend and maximize its impact.

1. How to Capitalize on the Top
Content Marketing Trends of
2018
April 12, 2018
WEBINAR:

2. Howto Capitalize on the Top
Content Marketing Trends of 2018
1. Big rock content
2. Video content
3. Values-driven content
4. Personalization
5. Content transformingotherbusiness functions
Agenda

3. 3
HEATHER ENG
Executive Editor
MELISSA HOWARD
Content Director,
Financial Services
Your
NewsCred
Team

4. 1 Big Rock
Content

5. Big Rock Content
Big rock content is a piece of content so epic that your
audience won’t be able to ignore it. The topic should be
something your brand reallywants to “own” in your space.
Big rock content can be:
• A whitepaper
• An e-book
• A short or long film
• An interactive piece of content
• An infographic
• A printed book or magazine
Whateverit is, it has tobe big!
Big rock content requires substantial time and resources,
but it deliverson the investment.

6. With the “Big Rock”
cornerstone piece at
the center of your
strategy,you can
build an ecosystemof
related content and
own youraudience.
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7. The ROI on Big Rock Content
Big rock content can drive:
• Brand buzz, awareness,andimpressions
• Leads
• Sales
• Operational efficiencies for content marketing teams
LinkedIn’s downloadable guide, “TheSophisticated
Marketer’sGuide ToLinkedIn,” achieved an ROI of
18,000 percent when it launched back in 2014.
It’s still LinkedIn’s number one asset today.

8. Top 50 Example: Nike’s Breaking2
Going big with one truly epic piece of content
On May 6, 2017, Nike dared to attempt the
impossible: Shatterthe2-hour marathon mark.
• 2 years in the making
• 13.1 million livestream viewers on Twitter
• 1.5 million views of National Geographic
documentary
• 6.5 million views of post-race teaservideo on
Facebook
• 400,000 #Breaking2 hashtags
• 2 trillion social media impressions

9. Top 50 Example: KLM’s Annual “Where to Fly” Interactive
Driving annual ROI from a big rock content marketing franchise
Each year, KLM releasesan annual “Where toFly”
interactive that highlights 50 destinations to see.
According to KLM, the piece consistently breaks
company records:
• More than half a million visits
• Average engagementtime of more than five minutes
• Above average referrals to the KLM site

10. NEXT STEP
How to CreateBig Rock Content
Brainstorm ideas. What is a major topic that you’re seeking to own, and where can your brand reallyshine in
terms of domain expertise? Consider your brand messaging, SEO strategy, and other upcoming campaigns.
Establish goals and KPIs.How will you measuresuccess?Make sure you’re producing your content with this
goal in mind and that you have a measurementand distribution plan in placebefore launch.
Map out your timeframeand project plan. Take into account budget, resources,and how you can tie this
campaign into other major initiatives.
Determineyour launch plan. It should ideally be an integrated marketing campaign with social, email, SEM,
and event components. After all, big rock requiresa largeinvestment and you want to really make it sweat.
Think about how you’ll “chunk out” pieces of your big rock content throughout the yearto extend its
reach and your investment, utilizing licensed content, evergreenarticles, multimedia content, and
interactive formats.

11. 2 Video
Content

12. Video Content
At this point, video needs to be part of every content
marketing strategy.
People this yearwill watch
25percent more video on phones
and tablets than last year. (Recode)
Sevenin 10 YouTube viewersturn to the platform
for solutions to problems they encounter with
work, studies, or hobbies. (Think with Google)
But we know it’s easier said than done.

13. The ROI on Video Content
Yet, video can be a strong driver of key
performance metrics:
• Brand awareness andimpressions
• Brand sentiment and reputation
• Engagement
• Leads
• Sales
Video is also a content format that can be
repurposed acrossdistribution efforts – the same
budget you spend on a video for your content hub
can be cut down into a seriesof social clips or
teasersat minimal additional spend.
Using “video” ina
newsletter subject line
canincrease open rates
by 19 percent.
(Digital Information World)
95 percent oftech
decision-makers
watchtechnology-
related videos. (IDG)

14. Top 50 Example: Farmers Insurance, “Stranger Claims”
Infusing fun and pop culture into a “boring” industry’s content marketing program
FarmersInsurance’s “Stranger Claims”
campaign is notable for several reasons:
• It plays off the relevance of the viral
“Stranger Things” Netflix series, making it
hyper-relevant for Gen Z and millennials
• It’s a quirky, clever, bottom-of-funnel
way to illustrate the “we’ve
seenalmost everything and know
how to cover almost anything” brand promise
• A 360-degree-videocomponent further establishes
Farmers as a brand willing to innovate
Individual videos garnered tens of thousands
of views.

15. Top 50 Example: Goldman Sachs
Building thought leadership and a unique content library from repurposed content
Goldman Sachs uses content marketing
to showcaseits thought leadership.
The“Talks atGS” video series demonstrates the
company’s worldliness by featuring influencers
from all walks of life:
• Uber’s Chief Brand OfficerBozoma Saint John
• Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella
• Ballet dancerMisty Copeland
• Actor EdwardNorton
Videos on Goldman Sachs’ YouTube channel
have earned more than 30 million plays.

16. NEXT STEP
How to CreateVideo Content
Determinegoals and KPIs.Why are you creatingvideo? What are you hoping it will do for your brand? Build
awareness?Entice people to take an action like download a gated assetor contact you for more
information? Your goal will influence the video you create and how you promote it.
Consider your audience. What will make them stop and watch your video? What are they seeking from you?
Source appropriate partners. You may not have the in-house resourcesto produce and edit a video –
especiallyif you’re hoping to include motion graphicsand other more complex, innovative features.
Establish a video feedback process and project plan to ensure the timeline stayson track.
Craft your launch plan to ensure that the investment will result in positive ROI.

17. 3
Values-
Driven
Content

18. Values-Driven Content
Today, more than ever, consumers want brands
to take a stand on social issues.
58percent ofconsumers
responded that they were receptive
to brands communicating social
and political messages onsocial
media. (Sprout Social)
Two-thirds of consumers
say that it is either “Somewhat
Important” or “Very Important”
for brands to take a stand on
social/political issues.
(Sprout Social)

19. The ROI of Values-Driven Content
Communicating your values through content marketing can result in increased:
• Brand sentiment
• Brand loyalty
• Sales
While taking a stancewith values-driven content can involve risk, choosing the right area
to introduce your brand’s values can createbrand saliencewith your target audience.

20. Top 50 Example: Patagonia
Seeing a sales spike from taking on the President
After the Trump administration reduced the size of two
protected national monuments, Patagonia created a
visually stunning interactive film experience called
"This is Bears Ears" that urged people to take action.
In addition, Patagonia shared dedicated posts about
this topic on its blog and socialmedia.
Results:
• “The President Stole Your Land” Instagram post received
234K+ likes and 11,512comments
• Press coverage in major publications, including the
Washington Post, USA Today,CNBC, CNN, and Fortune
• A spike in sales

21. Top 50 Example: Ben & Jerry’s
Building brand love (and driving sales) while tackling numerous social issues
Though Ben & Jerry’s could go the easyroute
and createa feel-good site filled with ice
cream-themedcontent, it instead fills its blog
with topical issues, including:
• Racial justice
• Climate justice
• LGBT equality
• Democracy and voting rights
• Fairtrade
In 2017, Ben & Jerry’s reported a double-digit
growth rate.

22. NEXT STEP
How to CreateValues-Driven Content
Consider your brand. What makes sense coming from you?
Consider your audience. Who are they and what issues do
they care about?
Know that you may lose some people. Chances are, they
may not be your target audience.But it is likely.
Think carefully about your message – even if you’re well-
meaning, your content may not convey your sentiment.
Take Pepsi’s 2017 short film that featured Kendall Jenner
ending a protest by sharing a Pepsi with police officers,
which was quickly likened to an appropriation of the Black
Lives Matter movement on socialmedia.

23. 4 Personalization

24. Personalization
People increasingly expecta personalized experience
when they interact with brands. They want the
content they see on their phones, social feeds, and in
their emails to be relevant and timely.
“Personalization” can be broadly defined as
delivering theright content to theright person atthe
right time. Simple concepts such as using one’s name
or personal information to tailor messagingtoward an
individual can also be highly impactful.

25. The ROI of Personalization
When done correctly, personalization can drive increased:
• Engagement
• Leads
• Sales
By 2020, smart personalizationenginesusedtorecognize customer intent will enable
digital businesses to increase their profits by up to 15 percent. (Gartner)
58percent ofconsumersare more likely to make a purchase in-store or online when a retailer
recommends options forthem basedon their past purchases or preferences.The key is to
provide your customers with the right marketing, offer,content, or product recommendations
basedon their actions, preferences,andinterests. (Accenture)

26. Top 50 Example: USAA Stories
Improving the customer journey with personalized content
In February, USAA relaunched its
content hub, USAAStories.com.
The new site includes personalization
on the homepage, article sidebar, and
recommendation module.
By offering people relevant content,
USAA is building deeper engagement
with customers.

27. Top 50 Example: IKEA Place
Helping customers see exactly how furniture will look in their homes
Perhaps the hardest part about furniture shopping is
imagining how a product will look in your space. To solve for
that – and createa fun, engaging experience– IKEA developed
IKEA Place,an augmented reality (AR) app that lets people
see how different products will look in their homes.
In addition to boosting user engagement, personalized
applications like this mayincreasesales by making people feel
more confident about potential purchases.

28. Top 50 Example: Sephora Virtual Artist
Giving customers the in-store experience wherever they are
Sephora’s Virtual Artist performs a similar function: bringing
the in-store experienceto fans wherever they are.
With the Virtual Artist, userscan try on different lipsticks,
eyeshadows, false eyelashes– and click to purchase products
that look good.

29. Top 50 Example: Fidelity’s Financial Checkup
Offering readers lightly personalized content after collecting personal information
Interactivequizzes are a way to give audiences
a lightly personalized experiencewithout going
all-in with a major product like an AR app or
personalized content hub.
Fidelity’s interactivequiz is a win for both the
company and its users:Fidelity learns more about
who they are and usersreceive content that’s
relevant to their financial situations.

30. NEXT STEP
How to Get Started with Personalization
Realistically consider your budget and resources. Major personalization initiatives, like AI-powered content
hubs and AR apps, require substantial time and resources.If you can’t dedicate them at this time, then
consider “personalization light” options, like interactive quizzes.
Think about whatyour audience wants.How and where do they consume content? Would they be likely to
download an app? Or would they prefer to see emails tailored to them?
...while also considering how you canachieveyour own goals and KPIs.What areyou hoping to accomplish
with personalization? Do you want to shorten your sales cycleby engaging customers more frequently? Or
increasesales volume by giving people personalized content recommendations that they can easilyshop?
Craft your promotion plan. Whether you’re going all-in with personalization or testing a light version, set it
up for successby making sure your audience can navigate to it easily.
Collect user insights and leveragethemto inform your strategy. You’ll likely gather a lot of data from your
personalization; make sure to gather and store those inputs in a way that can ladder back to your larger
marketing efforts.

31. 5
Content
Transforming
Other Business
Functions

32. Content Transforming Other Business Functions
Content marketing has been proven to
increasebrand awareness, leads, and
sales, and createoperational efficiencies.
So it makes sensethat content marketing
is starting to transform other areasof
business, too.

33. The ROI of Content Transforming Other Business Functions
When used in other areasof your business, content marketing can help drive business-oriented solutions. Think
about it – your sales team probably sends emailsto clients and prospects, right? And how about the information
your company publishes on your customer serviceor support-based resource center? That’s content marketing!
We’ve seen content marketing drive growth most specificallyin these areas:
Sales:
• Increasedleads
• Higher-quality leads
• Increasedsales
Human resources:
• Stronger company culture
• Increasedinterest from potential hires
• Improved employee morale and retention
• Diversity and inclusion

34. Top 50 Example: Bloomberg D&I
Attracting and retaining diverse employees and fostering a culture of inclusion
To prove its commitment to diversity and inclusion,
Bloomberg usescontent marketing asa corestrategy.
The team frequently updates the Bloomberg D&I blog
with articleslike:
• Why women and minorities are the future of tech
• Difference is beautiful: Where we came from leads us to
where we’re going
• Workers’ trash-talk goes down whenleadership diversity
goes up
The audience is both current and potential Bloomberg
employees.With this investment, Bloomberg is
showing just how serious it is about D&I and where it
stands on timely issues.

35. Top 50 Example: Adidas’ GamePlan A
Building a company culture with an athlete’s heart
In the past, Adidas tried to serve all target audiences
through content marketing, from investors to
journalists, employees, and potential candidates.
In 2016, it streamlinedits strategyto focus on building
company culture and attracting and retaining
employees through the GamePlan A content hub.
The result: the GamePlanA content hub.
Results:
• 33,000+LinkedIn followers (up from 10,000) along with
673,000 general followers

36. NEXT STEP
How to Introduce Content Marketing to Other Business Functions
Determinewhere content marketing makessense.Some corporate goals are more attainable via content
marketing than others.
Consider internal champions. Which teamsare alreadybought in to content marketing and see the potential
of using it in their functions?
Takestaffing into account. Content marketing requires dedicated resources in order for it to be successful.
Is it appropriate for your marketing team to take on more responsibility with different groups? Should you
establish an editorial council or consider bringing on more teammembers to make the most of your
opportunity to cascadecontent efforts through your organization?
Startputting together acontent marketingstrategy. In doing so, you’ll align teams and key stakeholders on
why you’re launching a content marketing program, what it entails, and how you’ll execute on that plan.

37. 37
HEATHER ENG
Executive Editor
MELISSA HOWARD
Content Director,
Financial Services
Thank You
for participating today!
Questions or feedback:
@NewsCred
@NewsCred
@NewsCred
@NewsCred