This document outlines various marketing tools and content sources for an organization's digital marketing strategy, including a content library from Jess3 & Eloqua and SmartInsights, an editorial calendar from Kapost, influencer outreach services, and paid social, video, mobile, and retargeting ads using platforms like Kapost, Marketo, and Retargeter.
Surveys and panel data (like Compete or Simmons) reveal different demographics and attitudes of customer typesIn-depth Interviews reveal more nuanced attitudes, as well as behaviors that may cut across multiple segments
Lea is about unique dining experiences Rual is about nutritionSteve is about convenienceCriss is all about the kidsYou can start to imagine content that aligns well with each of these persona
Here’s a little more detailed look at a person that reveals more attitudes and behaviors. For instance, she likes social contests, and she likes brands that support causes. She is also apt to be a brand advocate, if asked to share. So the goal is to try to segment people based on these behaviors and send them similar content – which works particularly well in email.
Purchases that have a high conversion value tend to have longer, more complex customer journeys. For instance, the home buying process provides great opportunities for content creation. By providing this content, not only will you capture SEO traffic, but you’ll also help move people further along the path to purchase
Ands as you can see, Tthese types of products and services provide a ton of opportunity for content. You could write about saving for a home, create a buying guide for choosing a lender, create a video about what to look for in an agent, and develop an infographic about evaluating a neighborhood.
Here are are couple of cheat sheets for the type of content that works well during different phases of the path to purchase. On the left is a grid focused on B2B and on the right one form SmartInsights focused on B2C
Kapost & MarketoAfter you solve for the customer journey, you can expand to other lifestyle topics that relate to your customers interests and needs. Of course, you want it to relate in some way to your brand expertise and value, but it shouldn’t be all about you and your products.Identify opportunities based on the most linked-to non-brand content in the verticalIdentify opportunities by monitoring news alerts, Google trends, and social news sites (like Reddit, StumbleUpon, Delicious)Monitor key competitor and industry publisher sitesCreate “content bundles” Each topic could be supported by several cohesive content pieces (video, article, infographic, interview)Create an editorial board to identify trending/future topics important to the business
Kapost
So the first step in executing a content distribution plan is to acquire a base of subscribers, fans, and followers. It’s important to let people connect with you via the channel they want. And then give them even more options to personalize their experience through a profile center.
YouTube and Google Plus are missing, but I’ll let Max speak to that
You can use a tool like BlogDash,GroupHigh, Vocus, BuzzStream to identify and reach out to bloggers and influencers. Don’t purely focus on MozRank or inbound links though. Find influencers with strong social networks and target them those too. Remember that visibility will lead to links. Know that some of these influencers want to get paid to review your content for editorial merit. But…
So I won’t comment on that here.
But there is a totally legitimate way to pay for links. Not directly, but through paid content distribution, which will lead to more visibility for your content, and if done strategically, more links. Something that Marty Weintraub from AimClear Blog tipped me off to.
Retargeter.com Everyone knows about retargeting these days. But you can make this more sophisticated by targeting specific campaigns to people that view a specific set of content, that tells you something about their stage in the path to purchase, or their lifestyle interests. For instance, in the customer journey example I showed earlier, you could retarget people that view content about mortgage-focused content, with a mortgage rates focuesd ad. But somebody that views neighborhood information could be retargeted with homes available in that neighborhood.