With the rise of “content marketing”, and an estimated average spend of $18 billion annual by marketers paying to reach people through search, everybody is in the pool–and companies need an edge to retain web traffic and mindshare with consumers.
To remain competitive, brands need to forecast consumer cycles, generate content and achieve good search/news engine placement. In this presentation, Leslie and Tom will address:
• What IBM had done right to be accepted into the Google News program
• Why hiring expert writers is crucial to success – and how to find them
• The importance of SEO and social promotion for content performance
• How to provide real value to your consumers with the content you create
• How to do everything right to get picked up by Google News
How Generative AI Is Transforming Your Business | Byond Growth Insights | Apr...
“How IBM’s Content Strategy Got IBM Midsize Insider into Google News and Sent Traffic Soaring”
1. Brand evolution in a search and
socially driven world
How IBM reaches customers today
Tom Gerace, CEO, Skyword @tomgerace
@lcreiser
Leslie Reiser, Program Director, WW Digital Marketing, IBM
#cmworld
5. How to Be The Most Interesting
Brand in the World
• Be in the right places…
• With the right people…
• Have extraordinary experiences…
• And something interesting to say
• It‟s not about you, it‟s about what fascinates them
@tomgerace
@lcreiser
5
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7. Search is the Primary Gateway
to Consumers
• 2011 US Internet Ad
Revenues were $31B
• 2011 US SEM investment
($14.8B) represents 46.5% of
total.
• Mobile is fastest growing
segment +149% Y/Y to $1.6B
• Retail is largest industry
category by online ad spend
at 22%.
• 69% of ad spend is
performance based http://www.iab.net/media/file/IAB_Internet_Advertising_Revenue_Report_FY_2011.pdf
(e.g. Traffic acquisition)
@tomgerace
@lcreiser
7
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8. Consumers Are Searching for Information
18 billion searches for information each month
200 million per day
36 billion times information is shared through
social channels each month
2.7 billion per day
@tomgerace
@lcreiser
8
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12. Original, High-quality Content Reaps
Rewards
All those people who have been doing, for
lack of a better word, „over optimization‟ or
„overly‟ doing their SEO, compared to the
people who are just making great content
and trying to make a fantastic site, we
want to make that playing field a little bit
more level.
Matt Cutts, Google‟s spam chief (March 2012)
@tomgerace
@lcreiser
12
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13. In Fact…It Ranks as the #1 SEO Tactic
#1
@tomgerace
@lcreiser
13
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14. Quality Content Builds SEO
Organic Keyword Results: Skyword health and beauty client
30.0K
Our site quality algorithms are aimed at
helping people find “high-quality sites” by
reducing the rankings of low- quality content.
JAN 2012
22.5K Amit Singhal, Google Fellow
Google‟s
Panda 3.2
update
15.0K
JAN 2011
OCT 2011
Content marketing
Google‟s
program launches on site
Panda 2.5
7.5K update
Source: Spyfu.com
MAR 10 JUL 10 NOV 10 MAR 11 JUL 11 NOV 11 MAR 12 JUL 12
@tomgerace
@lcreiser
14
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15. Quality Content Engages Consumers
The right content provides
consumers with the info they
seek and builds trusted
relationships before they even
think of making a purchase
@tomgerace
@lcreiser
15
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16. Quality Content Takes Different Forms
News vs. Evergreen
Beauty advisors providing tips to
consumers on Walgreens‟ web site
Connected technology bloggers
providing analysis of breaking tech
news on IBM‟s microsite for SMBs
@tomgerace
@lcreiser
16
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17. How IBM is Becoming The Most Interesting
Brand in the World To Midsize Businesses
@tomgerace
@lcreiser
17
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18. IBM Business Challenge
To generate interest and demand for
IBM's midsize business portfolio by
increasing awareness and
“findability” through popular search
engines and news services
@tomgerace
@lcreiser
18
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19. IBM Influencer Program
Influencers
• Business Partner – IBM Midmarket
Business Partners who have graduated
Business Partner 58% Social Media Bootcamp
• Blogger – Identified and compensated to
Blogger 3% author blog posts related to IBM‟s
Midmarket prioritized solutions
Owned 1% • Owned – Conversation Managers and
Curators speaking from the IBM Voice (in
News Writer 4% LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Spiceworks)
• News Writer – Creating news articles
Forward Thinker 1% optimized for Google News aligned to
IBM Midmarket agenda
Comm/Press 29% • Forward Thinker – IBMers represented as
Forward Thinkers on Midmarket ibm.com
websites
Analyst 4%
• Communications/Press
• Analyst
@tomgerace
@lcreiser
19
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20. IBM: Content Strategy
Well choreographed and activated content becomes the missing
connective tissue between decision makers and IBM
IBM has a
solution for
me
ACTIVATE
CURATE CREATE
MM IT
CONTENT Profession
• Re-imagine existing content assets al
• Leverage IBM influencers
• Fuel new creative
• Maximize IBM owned channels
• 8 week / 8 days / 8 hours / 8 minutes
@tomgerace
@lcreiser
20
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21. IBM Midsize Insider
• Identify and engage leading
industry writers
• Leverage unbiased voices
• Create news content that
addresses technology needs
of audience
• Tier-based on
reach, influence and
objective
• Forge strategic partnerships
@tomgerace
@lcreiser
21
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22. How to Be Seen in the Right Places
@tomgerace
@lcreiser
22
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23. Content Fuels POE
PAID
Display Ads
SEM
Sponsorships
OWNED
content Web Site
Mobile Site
Blog
Twitter Account
EARNED
WOM
Buzz
Viral
@tomgerace
@lcreiser
23
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24. Publish Everywhere
250 million members
130 million members
850 million members
2 million members
60 million monthly visitors
@tomgerace
@lcreiser
24
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25. Speak the Audience’s Language
Who‟s primarily responsible for
finding and implementing CRM in
your organization?
This article says IT is often the group charged
with buying and implementing CRM. Is that the
right way to go about it?
Take our poll: Who should “own” CRM?
Sales…Marketing…IT…Customer Care…
How to #fail at #CRM – The most common
mistakes to avoid. http://bit.ly/McJoBs
@tomgerace
@lcreiser
25
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26. Results
1,158 news articles publishes on Skyword Platform
56X monthly content growth
38 expert contributors
70,000 visits and 95,000 page views from 171 countries from 3/22– 6/18 2012
1.2% CTR to IBM.com compared to .5% industry average @tomgerace
@lcreiser
26
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27. Stay Thirsty… for Information… My Friend.
@tomgerace
@lcreiser
27
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Hinweis der Redaktion
All of us as marketers today are trying to reach and build relationships with our customers. And just as with people, some companies are better at it than than others. Brands need to evolve in order to reach customers in a way that is compelling and interesting…For instance
There’s what we call the brand narcissist. I’m sure you’ve all been at a party cornered by the man or woman who does nothing but talk about themselves. It’s only a matter of time before we want nothing to do with them.
And, then there’s the guy that is so boring that you literally want to run in the other direction as they approach you.
And then there’s the most interesting man in the world. So the question is, how in a world search and socially driven world do brands become the most interesting brand in the world.
Well,There are four ways.
In fact, search engines and social media have become primary ways that people discover information today. In the U.S. alone, there are 18 billion searches each month. And when people find something they like, they share it through their social channels -- 36 billion times each month. So while quality and providing a great experience for your customers is extremely important, it’s also critical that online content is created with search in mind, and that it can easily shared and distributed through social media.Client’s customers are looking for information and they are finding it everyday through Search and Social. If a company doesn’t provide that information to customers and make it available where they are looking for it, those customers will find it elsewhere.
Content creation ranked as the single most effective SEO tactic – by a significant margin -- in a survey of B2B marketers conducted by Marketing Sherpa
A content marketing strategy was launched on this health and beauty site in January 2011. The content produced as a result of this marketing effort has enabled the site to rise up the ranks in Google and grow the number of referring keywords from roughly 4,000 to more than 25,000 over the course of a year and a half.
The right content bridges the gap between what consumers are searching for and what products and services your company providesThis will be a build.
She’ll tell you how iBM is becoming the most interesting brand in the world to MidSize Companies