What’s the key to influencing buying decisions?
Good Public Relations?
Great SEO?
Better Social Media Marketing?
The answer is all of the above. Online marketing has become less about gaming the system and harvesting links, and more about engaging your audience through powerful storytelling.
Are you equipped with the skills necessary to create breakthrough content?
Jason Falls, founder of Social Media Explorer, and Patricia Travaline, vp of marketing at Skyword, will discuss the Convergence Imperative: How success today requires marketers to develop sustainable content creation strategies that include PR, SEO, and social media marketing best practices.
4. Tricia Travaline | @skyword | #ContentConvergence
86
% OF PEOPLE
WHO SKIP TV ADS
% DECLINE IN
TECH TRADESHOW
SPENDING
% OF DIRECT
MAIL NEVER OPENED
SOURCES: THE GUARDIAN,. TSEA.ORG,, & EPA.GO,
46 44
11. IABC OMAHA OCT 17, 2013
CONVERGENCE
Succe
ss
(on and
offline)
Public
Relations
Content
Marketing
Social
Media
Jason Falls | @jasonfalls | #ContentConvergence
12. IABC OMAHA OCT 17, 2013
SEO HAS EVOLVED.
Jason Falls | @jasonfalls | #ContentConvergence
13. IABC OMAHA OCT 17, 2013
GOOGLE: NO LONGER FOOLED
> In 2011, Google launched major
updates designed to stop spammers
– specifically unearned links
> As more updates rolled out, tactics
that had been effective became a
liability
> As a result, SEO has become an
earned media approach
Jason Falls | @jasonfalls | #ContentConvergence
14. ENTER PR + SOCIAL
Jason Falls | @jasonfalls | #ContentConvergence
15. IABC OMAHA OCT 17, 2013
HOW GOOGLE WORKS
Ranking in 2014
IABC OMAHA OCT 17, 2013
Become a thought leader1
2 Create great, unique content
that your audience will care
about
4 Do the basic technical stuff
right
3 Market your content to
promote it with your audience.
Share it in social media
Jason Falls | @jasonfalls | #ContentConvergence
16. IABC OMAHA OCT 17, 2013
LET’S DISTILL THAT: WHAT DOES IT TAKE?
1. Creative content
2. A great user experience
3. Relationships + Storytelling
4. A dash of technical geekery
Jason Falls | @jasonfalls | #ContentConvergence
17. IABC OMAHA OCT 17, 2013
WE’RE ALL IN THE CONTENT BUSINESS
Public Relations
Messaging
Press Releases
Pitches
Blog Posts
White Papers
Social Content
Events
Digital Marketing
Blog posts
Social media
Ad Copy
Website copy
Email marketing
Video
White papers
Jason Falls | @jasonfalls | #ContentConvergence
18. IABC OMAHA OCT 17, 2013
“Content is the
currency for
building social
relationships
that boost
earned media.”
Jason Falls | @jasonfalls | #ContentConvergence
19. IABC OMAHA OCT 17, 2013
SO, WHAT MAKES CONTENT “GREAT”
Original Simple
Valuable &
Useful
Entertains Emotional
Jason Falls | @jasonfalls | #ContentConvergence
20. IABC OMAHA OCT 17, 2013
ABOVE ALL, CONTENT
MUST BE
RELEVANT
TO YOUR TARGET
AUDIENCE
Jason Falls | @jasonfalls | #ContentConvergence
21. IABC OMAHA OCT 17, 2013
KEY CONSIDERATIONS
Who is the audience that you need to reach?
Why will they care about you?
What are you doing to earn their interest?
What incentive do they have to share?
Finding Topics
> Ask your sales team
> Map the buying cycle
> Q/A Sites – Quora,
Yahoo! Answers, etc.
> Mine social media
> Follow industry, peers
Jason Falls | @jasonfalls | #ContentConvergence
22. IABC OMAHA OCT 17, 2013 Jason Falls | @jasonfalls | #ContentConvergence
23. IABC OMAHA OCT 17, 2013 Jason Falls | @jasonfalls | #ContentConvergence
24. IABC OMAHA OCT 17, 2013 Jason Falls | @jasonfalls | #ContentConvergence
25. IABC OMAHA OCT 17, 2013
TELLING YOUR STORY
Leveraging PR
> PR should be involved
from outset
> Ensure content aligned
with audience
> Build and nurture
relationships
> Custom pitches
> Utilize social media
Jason Falls | @jasonfalls | #ContentConvergence
26. IABC OMAHA OCT 17, 2013
TWEET THIS:
YES, SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTLY
IMPACTS HOW SITES RANK.
(ACCORDING TO GOOGLE)
Jason Falls | @jasonfalls | #ContentConvergence
27. IABC OMAHA OCT 17, 2013
CONCEPTTHE ZERO MOMENT OF TRUTH
“Shoppersmakeuptheirmindsabouta
productinthreetosevenseconds.
Thistimelapseiscalledthe“FirstMomentof
Truth,”andisconsideredthemostimportant
marketingopportunityforabrand.
-WallStreetJournal
Jason Falls | @jasonfalls | #ContentConvergence
28. IABC OMAHA OCT 17, 2013
WINNING THE MOMENT OF TRUTH
Find your
moments of truth1
2 Get your message out
to the right to the right
people at the right time
LocalPaid
Organic Paid
[Brand] Reviews!
www.brand.com
Real reviews from real users.
Get the facts first.
29. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Jason Falls | @jasonfalls | #ContentConvergence
30. IABC OMAHA OCT 17, 2013
CONVERGENCE
SEO &
Public
Relations
Content
Marketing
Social
Media
WO
M
Jason Falls | @jasonfalls | #ContentConvergence
31. IABC OMAHA OCT 17, 2013
TWEET THIS:
SEARCH CANNOT EXIST IN A
VACUUM.
PR, SEARCH & SOCIAL MUST
BE INTEGRATED TO SUCCEED
Jason Falls | @jasonfalls | #ContentConvergence
32. IABC OMAHA OCT 17, 2013
SIX TAKEAWAYS
> If you want earned media, become the media.
> Create a content strategy, not just a blog. Get creative.
> Be willing to fail repeatedly before you find what works.
> Build (and nurture) relationships before you need them.
> Use Google Authorship.
> Research and manage your ZMOT.
1
2
3
4
5
6
Jason Falls | @jasonfalls | #ContentConvergence
33. IABC OMAHA OCT 17, 2013
TWEET THIS:
The only way to truly win search is to
ultimately deserve it. Be awesome
and do things that make people want
to talk about you.
Jason Falls | @jasonfalls | #ContentConvergence
34. Follow @Skyword on Twitter to learn more
about the latest in content marketing
Access our resource center for additional
presentations and materials
www.skyword.com/resources
Or contact us directly:
learnmore@skyword.com
www.skyword.com
people are actively avoiding marketing messages, and it shows in marketing effectiveness…
Today people are hit with 3,000 brand messages each day. Technology enables them to escape and seek out content they love without being interrupted.
Why did we create Skyword? We, as marketers, strive to get our brand to stand out and get into the purchase consideration set. But it’s getting harder to break out through modern media
Shift in strategy is needed.
Stories build brands. Always have, always will.
First, let’s start with a few myths.
But, there’s no doubt that it has changed dramatically. I’ve been involved in search marketing for more than a decade. And, in the past three years, I’ve seen some very fundamental shifts in what it takes to achieve higher rankings, more traffic and more conversions.
Of course, that couldn’t last. Google released some updates to change how they ranked sites. Their mission is relevance. And, they thought that the deluge of spammy content and links were hurting users. Which it was. So, they cleaned house. They started punishing sites that had “bad” links. And, nearly overnight, brands large and small that had been using these tactics found their visibility dramatically reduced.
Links still matter, but how you get them – how you earn them, has fundamentally changed how marketers should think about SEO in 2013 and beyond.
FACTORS: CONTENT, RELATIONSHIPS, SOCIAL, DASH OF TECHNICAL
Hummingbird
Meaningful content delivered to a specific audience, designed to elicit a specific outcome.
Meaningful content delivered to a specific audience, designed to elicit a specific outcome.