This presentation describes in 7 simple steps how to use content marketing and social media to "play bigger than you are" in your competitive space.

1. Score with content marke/ng
and social media
Leverage your exper/se, the web and social media
to ‘play bigger than you are!’
Didi Yunginger
@LuminComm
hCp://lumincommunica/ons.com

2. ‘Playing bigger’
Didi Yunginger
@LuminComm
hCp://lumincommunica/ons.com
• Like athletes who give up height or speed or strength to an
opponent, businesses can use strategies to ‘play bigger’ in their
compe//ve spaces
• By embodying the truth in today’s world that everyone is a
publisher and any person or organiza/on can establish itself
as a thought leader
• By engaging customers and turning them into ambassadors
for your brand
• By leveraging a combina/on of
content marke/ng + social media

3. What does that mean?
Didi Yunginger
@LuminComm
hCp://lumincommunica/ons.com
Obviously, Starbucks is
the “bigger” brand here.
But on their Facebook
presence alone, how
different does the global
brand look from
Community
Coffee? A 92-year-old,
family-owned coffee
company out of Baton
Rouge, Louisiana, with
30 coffee house
locaIons and a very
acIve social relaIonship
with their customer
(fan) base!

4. Here’s how
to ‘play bigger than you are’
with content marke/ng & social media,
in 7 simple steps:
Didi Yunginger
@LuminComm
hCp://lumincommunica/ons.com

5. #1 Take stock
Didi Yunginger
@LuminComm
hCp://lumincommunica/ons.com
• Consider your exper/se (keeping in mind
your en/re staff)
• Do an audit of your exis/ng content assets
(case studies, reports, ar/cles)
• Now, how might you leverage these
resources more fully by repurposing using
different formats and promo/ng via more
and different channels?
• i.e., blog, webinars, a podcast, even by securing a speaking
engagement, perhaps on a panel or workshop at an upcoming
trade show

6. #2 Claim your spot
Didi Yunginger
@LuminComm
hCp://lumincommunica/ons.com
• Even if you’re not ready to deploy your content strategy, set up all your social
media accounts
• Claim the names (i.e., @yourbrand on
TwiCer, etc.) and do the basic account
setup
• Start gathering or planning art files: your
logo, as well as cover/banner graphics and
other suppor/ve images
• The appropriate channels for you will vary
depending on your industry but generally, and
for now, the ‘big 3’ might be considered TwiCer,
LinkedIn and Facebook

7. #3 Calendar
Didi Yunginger
@LuminComm
hCp://lumincommunica/ons.com
• Commit to crea/ng and pos/ng content on
a regular basis
• Think about industry trends and ques/ons
your customers or prospects frequently ask
• Then, begin crea/ng a list of topics –
including repurposing of any exis/ng materials you have that might
be refashioned effec/vely as blog ar/cles, press releases, reports
for external distribu/on, etc.
• Begin reshaping your list into a calendar, taking into considera/on
your sales cycle, other seasonal issues, etc.

8. #4 Find the influencers
Didi Yunginger
@LuminComm
hCp://lumincommunica/ons.com
• Conduct research to iden/fy influencers opera/ng in your subject
area online (one good tool is BuzzSumo)
• Add them to the list of people you wish to be Following on TwiCer
• Pay aCen/on to their posts, Retweet and Comment so you’re
taking an ac/ve part in the community and the conversa/on
• You will learn and uncover countless resources while you nurture
awareness for your own brand and influencer status
Influencers: Individuals who have the power to affect purchase
decisions of others because of their (real or perceived) authority,
knowledge, posi<on, or rela<onship [businessdic/onary.com]

9. #5 Curate
Didi Yunginger
@LuminComm
hCp://lumincommunica/ons.com
• Use all the resources at your disposal to curate relevant, valuable
informa/on (trade magazines, business publica/ons, industry blogs,
list servs, enewsleCers, etc.)
• Share those golden nuggets via a Resource Center on your
website, through commentary on your own blog and posts on your
social accounts, par/cularly on TwiCer
• Be sure to use a link shortener such as bit.ly or ow.ly or a
social media management plaiorm such as Hootsuite or
TweetDeck that performs that func/on automa/cally to avoid
sharing overly long URLs

10. #6 Be precise: Words maCer!
Didi Yunginger
@LuminComm
hCp://lumincommunica/ons.com
• Do keyword research to understand specifically how people use online search and social
tools to go about finding answers to key ques/ons in your field
• Free keyword research tools include those from SpyFu and SEMRush
• Google’s Keyword Planner is the most widely known and probably used, but you
must set up a Google AdWords account to access it
• Then, use these keywords and keyword phrases in planning and crea/ng your content
• Incorporate them into alt tags on any images you use (which will make these findable by
search engines as well)
• Use them with hashtags in your Tweets to make your posts findable beyond your exis/ng
followership
• In the example at right, the link I’ve shared and
called out with the # mark will be seen by my fol-
lowers but also anyone who uses TwiCer as a news
and research tool and searches #contentmarke/ng

11. #7 Be your own source
Didi Yunginger
@LuminComm
hCp://lumincommunica/ons.com
• Consider whether you have an
opportunity to collect and present
original research that would be useful
to others and compelling to local or
trade press
• Publicity – or “earned” media –
amplifies your reach and your credibility

12. One more criteria…
Didi Yunginger
@LuminComm
hCp://lumincommunica/ons.com
• This one’s a bit of an intangible
• Believe in yourself and your teammates (colleagues, in the
organiza/onal world) – and exude that belief through your ac/ons
and tone
• Get ready, play BIG!

13. Didi Yunginger
@LuminComm
hCp://lumincommunica/ons.com
Thank you!
About Didi Yunginger
With 25+ years in wri/ng and marke/ng, Didi has carefully honed the skills to build
successful content marke/ng + social media campaigns. Those skills include
researching, planning and organizing, wri/ng/edi/ng, in addi/on to up-to-the-minute
knowledge and experience with digital and social media strategy.
About Lumin Communica4ons, LLC
Lumin specializes in content marke/ng – fresh, search-op/mized website copy,
regular blog ar/cles on /mely and relevant topics, white papers/case studies/reports
that posi/on your organiza/on as a leader, etc. – and social media services for small-
to mid-sized businesses and nonprofits to help them clarify and amplify their
messages to enhance both reach and impact.