Chances are you've heard the buzz phrases "content marketing" and "content is king" in the last year or two. A lot of big brands from Coca-Cola to Gap are talking about their content marketing strategies they're using to reach their customers. But what does it even mean to have a content marketing strategy? And how can you use one at your small business, with limited time and a limited budget? Kabbage's Head of Inbound & Content Marketing, Jeanna Barrett, will unlift the veil of how we use content marketing at Kabbage and share the exact tips and strategies she's used to double website traffic and triple customers. In this webinar, you'll learn practical content marketing tips you can use for your business such as: What content marketing is and why it matters to Google Key components to your strategy - from keywords to content calendars and themes Free to inexpensive tools to get the content job done right How to source freelancers, and create content inexpensively Managing and distributing your content Small business content marketing case studies and best practices

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Rock Content Marketing for Your
Business:
How to Double Website Traffic & Triple Customers
@jeannabarrett
Guest Speaker:

2. Jeanna Barrett
Head of Inbound & Content Mar
keting
Kabbage, Inc.

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What is content marketing?
…the creation & sharing of content for the purpose of
acquiring or retaining customers
Blog
Site Content
Newsletter
Social
Media
eBooks, webinars,
white papers

4. Why should your business do “content marketing”?
• GOOGLE LOVES CONTENT
• More than 80% of clicks in Google are organic search results
• 81% people search online when making purchasing decisions
• Helps customers find your business through organic search results
• Positions you as a thought leader in your industry

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Get Started with a Business Blog
Make sure you have a content
management system (CMS).
• WordPress is our favorite.
• SquareSpace is a great option for
small business
It’s always better to have your blog
on your domain:
• MyBusiness.com/Blog
• vs. Blog.MyBusiness.com
(subdomain)

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Who is my customer and wh
at are
their challenges?
Customer
Persona 1
Psst… this is how you’ll create your content!

8. Think about your content calendar like a magazine you’re
publishing – what are your regular monthly features?
5% = 2 posts
Small Business Advocacy
Company News
Financial Advice
Small Business StoriesGeneral Small Biz
30% = 15 posts
15% = 8 posts40% = 20 posts
100% of 50 Posts/Mo
10% = 5 posts
Business Verticals

9. Carefully Categorize Your Blog
Content

10. • Oct:
• Customer
Loyalty
• Nov:
• Holiday
Marketing
• Dec:
• Green
Marketing
• Jan:
• Starting a
Business
• General small
business
• Financial advice
• Small business
stories
• Business
verticals
• Company news
• Grow Your
Business
• Manage Your
Business
• Innovate Your
Business
• Fund Your
Business
• Rock Your
Business
• Start Your
Business
• Blog post
• Guest post
• eBook
• eNewsletter
• Curated
• Interview
• Video
• Webinar
• Survey
• Infographic
1. CONTENT
THEMES
2. CONTENT
BUCKETS
3. CONTENT
TYPES
4. CONTENT
CATEGORIES
Balance Your Content Strategy

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Know Your Keywords (!)
Ask Yourself:
1. What are your business’ most valuable keywords?
2. How would you describe problems your business
solves?
3. How do your customers talk about your product or
service to others in blogs, articles, forums and
social media?
4. What do you think your ideal customers might type
into Google when looking for a product or service
like yours?
5. Are there specific products names you sell?
6. What keywords do your competitors use on their
sites and in their ads?
Create Your List

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Use Google AdWords Keyword Tool
Set up a free AdWords account :
• In the “Word or Phrase” field at
the top of the main section, paste
all of the keywords you’ve
generated
• Leave “Website/Category blank
• Do not click “Only show ideas
closely related to my search
terms”
• Under “Match Types” in the left
column, select “phrase”
• Click “Search”
Be sure to:
• Filter out keywords with too little
or too much traffic
• Delete keywords that have too
much organic search competition
• Delete keywords not relevant to
your business

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Broad vs. Long Tail Keywords
• Austin Pet Store
• Kitten Supplies
• Dog grooming
• Dinosaur collar
• How to bathe a dog
• Can a kitten eat tuna
• Train your dog to fetch a ball
• What are the best catnips?
All Content, When Possible
Especially Website Content Blog Content

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Website
Searches
Team
Brainstor
m
Find Popular Content Top
ics:
• Curated Content/Newsjacking
• Trending Facebook/Twitter
• Google Instant search
• Hashtag convos online
• ContentGems.com
Customer
Service
Google
Analytics

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18. Free/Inexpensive Content Calendar Tools:
• Trello, SmartSheet, CoSchedule (for WordPress)

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Tips for Finding Content Writers
• Use websites to source inexpensive content:
o Fiverr, Élance, Scripted
o Post a job – ProBlogger job board
o Connect with college job boards –
journalism departments
1. Negotiate prices that fit for your budget
2. Ask for examples of what they’ve written
3. Look for writers who might have an online
following to help get word out
4. Put a contract in place (RocketLawyer)

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Pay Attention to
Your Headline
“8 out of 10 will read your headline, but
only 2 out of ten will read the rest of your
content.” – CopyBlogger.com
coschedule.com/headline-analyzer
1m headlines analy
zed
and here's what wo
rked:

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Other Content Creation Tips
1. Create content consistently, but
keep quality in mind
2. Use pop culture references
3. Naturally use keywords in a
post, but do not keyword stuff
4. If optimizing blogs for keywords
bogs you down, just write
5. Find free images for your blog
posts at PhotoPin.com
6. Breakup your post to be easily
digestible
• Bullets, sub heads, images

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• Schedule social media posts with custom
social images (Canva, Pablo)
• Feature content in email newsletter
• Work to build a blog subscription list!
• Ask your employees to share – include link
to content in email signatures
• Leverage brand ambassadors
• Leverage social influencers (build
relationships)
• Share it in LinkedIn groups – be active

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KISS (Keep It Simple, Silly)
Choose top 2-5 things you want to measure,
and don’t overcomplicate it. Examples:
• How much organic traffic/new users to site
(brand awareness)
• How many people converted from content
• What content was most read/shared
• Keyword rank & change
#1: Install Google Analytics
(WordPress plugins can do this for you)
*Content marketing is a marath
on, not a
sprint, so expect results 3-9 mo
nths after
starting content creation

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Create content th
at
solves your custo
mers’ challenges
Incorporate key
words & basic S
EO
Create content
consistently & util
ize
freelancers, if nee
ded
HUSSLE to distrib
ute
your content
KISS your measur
ement
FIVE TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS
WEBINAR

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Get a COMPLIMENTARY
Small Business Content Calendar T
emplate
• Color code your content
calendar with a birds-eye
view of your blog posts,
webinars, email newsletters,
company events, holidays,
social media posts, and
more.
• Create and follow your
monthly publisher buckets.
• Track writers and cost per
piece of content.
• Fill out a brief for each piece
of content.
• Keep track of keywords you
want to focus on.

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by @jeannabarrett
Thank you!