This document summarizes key points from sessions at SXSW Interactive 2015 related to content marketing strategies. It discusses different types of content in terms of effort level and conversion rates. It provides tips for different content formats and platforms like blogs, videos, and social media. Finally, it lists additional details and recaps from several sessions on topics like content creation, analytics, management, and more.

1. SXSW INTERACTIVE 2015
Highlights Relevant to Our Communications

2. CONTENT MARKETING

3. HIGH EFFORT CONTENT
• Costs the most.
• Moves “visit” traffic to “lead”
• Examples:
Blog, paid content, video

4. MEDIUM EFFORT CONTENT
• Performs best for search
engine optimization
• Higher “visit” to “lead”
conversion
• Example: Q & A

5. LOW EFFORT CONTENT
• 9.1% conversion from “visit”
to “lead”
• 13.5% conversion rate from
“lead” to “customer”
• Best for cross-channel
distribution
• Examples: user-generated
content, curated content

6. HOW MUCH CONTENT
DOYOU NEED?
Content Categories
Audience Personas
X Stages in Sale Funnel
# of Content Pieces

7. WHERE DOYOU FOCUS?
• Have communications managers & content
creators focused on what type of stuff works
best for your goals.
• Aggregate content. It’s not possible to create
it all yourself.
• Leverage internal resources.

8. CONTENT CODE STRATEGY
Three Steps
1. Find an un-saturated niche.
2. Conduct an aggressive
strategy based on key
words.
3. Nurture an audience to
ignite by paying attention. Image credit: amazon.com

9. Six Elements of the Content Code
1. Brand Development (Build trust by being true to self,
consistent and serving the audience.)
2. Audience & Influencers (Identify your top 2% who will
share your content.)
3. Distribution,Advertising, Promotion & SEO
4. Authority
5. Social Proof & Social Signals
6. Shareability of the Content

10. AUDIENCE

11. MILLENNIALS
• Want more transparency,
attribution, community
• Want a craft, not a job - A job
pays the rent.A craft leaves you
feeling fulfilled. (See next slide.)
• 50% of buyers by 2020
• Trust friends, not brands
• More likely to get news from
multiple resources
Image credit: Flickr UserTed Eytan

12. ZEN DIAGRAM
Image credit: zendiagram.co

13. BEYOUR AUDIENCE
• Would you re-share it? If you
won’t, they won’t either.
• Your voice = the sum of all
parts (all platforms, all shared
content - even if it’s curated
from external sources)
• Always be on the lookout
for potential brand
ambassadors
Image credit: Flickr User Marco Gomes

14. MESSAGETIMING
• Don’t worry about
saturation.Twitter traffic is
very episodic.
• Test, test, test.
Image credit: Flickr User Janos Balazs

15. ANALYTICS

16. USING ANALYTICS
• Evergreen content - if it’s trending we can repackage.
• Look at trendline data and theme/vertical performance to
guide future content.
• When testing, have a written hypothesis. Reiterate tests.
• Manual analytics are fine. If it works for PBS, it should work
for us. It just takes more elbow grease.

17. TOOLSTO CHECK OUT
• Google Ripples
• Chart Beat
• Twitter Search w/
Geolocation
• Tabula
• CrowdTangle
• Simple Charts
Image credit: Flickr User j

18. MANAGEMENT

19. MANAGINGYOUR
CONTENT PRODUCTION
• Have a schedule, but be
flexible.
• Have guidelines and/or an
ethics contract.
• Provide best practice
guidelines to staff.
Image credit: Flickr UserVFS Digital Design

20. HOWTO BE AN INNOVATOR
• AssociationalThinking
• Add two things together.
• Catalytic Questioning
• Choose one challenge.
• Brainstorm questions only.
• Prioritize questions.
• Take action. Image credit: Flickr User James Bowe

21. CONTENT CREATIONTIPS

22. GENERAL CONTENTTIPS
• Don’t try to shoehorn
content into a format in
which it doesn’t belong. Not
everything should be a
video.
• Have a standard brand
design. Design serves as a
proxy for the organization.
Sloppy brand = sloppy
organization. Image credit: Flickr User Anonymous Collective

23. FACEBOOKTIPS
• Decline in organic reach
from brand pages.
• Fallen from 26% in
2011 to 6% in 2014.
• Could hit 0% by end of
this calendar year.
• We can’t rely on Facebook
unless we look at paid ads. Image credit: Flickr User Maria Elena

24. TWITTERTIPS
CHECK LIST FOR WRITING TWEETS
• Does the tweet have a
singular goal?
• Does the tweet have a clear
call-to-action?
• Did you include relevant
hashtags?
• Have you leverage text
over image?
• Does your copy say
something different from
your rich media?
• Did you include relevant
@mentions?
• Will this tweet stand out
from the crowd?
• Why would someone engage
with us on this tweet?

25. VIDEOTIPS
• Upload videos toYouTube
and Facebook natively. Don’t
just link on Facebook.
• Use Adobe Audition to edit
out white noise from sound
tracks.
• Launch day:YouTube &
Facebook; blog post w/
embed; teasers onVine &
Instagram Image credit: Flickr User See-ming Lee

26. TOOLSTO CHECK OUT
• Canva - Add text to images for blogs, Pinterest, etc.
• Social Flow - Used by large brands to distribute content
• Medium - Alternative blog platform (long-form text driven)
• Tumblr - Alternative blog platform (image / meme drive)
• Storehouse - Described as “Medium for photography”

27. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

28. FOR MORE DETAILS ON
SELECT SESSIONS I ATTENDED:
• Blog post noting key takeaways per session
• Storify Recaps & Sketchnotes:
• Simple Ways to Massively Increase Content
(featuring CBS Sports)
• New Media Ethics: Journalism in the Age of GIFS

29. • Failure as a Creative Catalyst
• Behind the Social at PBS’ Largest Content
Provider
(featuring MasterpieceTheater,Antiques
Roadshow, PRI’sThe World, and American
Experience)
• The Art of Social Media
(featuring Guy Kawasaki)

30. • Social Media: Breaking News or Fixing News?
(featuring Marketplace Radio,The NewYork
Times,The Wall Street Journal, andThe
Associated Press.)
• Data-Driven NewsroomsThat Don’t Drive
Off Writers
(featuring Refinery29 & National Public Radio)
• Making Social Media POP! withVideo
(featuring Okay Samurai)

31. • Big PictureTesting: Beyond the One-Off
Result
• Captivology:The Science of Capturing
Attention
• Fear and Creativity: FindingYour Craft
• Slacktivism: Monster or Myth?

32. • NPR and PBS: Public Media, Reaching New
Publics
(featuring PBS Digital Studios &
NPR’s Code Switch)
• The Case for DesignThinking in
Communications
• Telling Stories withVisualization and
Interactivity
(featuringThe NewYorkTimes)

33. • Beyond 140 Characters: How to Stretch
Your Limits
(featuringTwitter, RGA and Big Fuel)
• Content is the Starting Line, Not the
Finish Line
• Where’s Waldo’sVoice: Social Media for
Mascots
(featuring AFLAC and Chick-fil-A)

34. • The Innovator’s DNA:The Five Innovation Skills
(featuring Hal Gregersen of the
MIT Leadership Center)
• Breaking the News in the Age of Snapchat
(featuring Dan Rather,Andrew Bleeker, &
Former White House Sr.Advisor Dan Pfeiffer)
• Infinity and Beyond: Pixar 20Years SinceToy
Story
(featuring Pixar executives)