Take my lead generation & content marketing strategy … please! Ok … I don’t expect content marketing grommets of recent employ to get this Henny Youngman reference in the title, but my hope is that the words stand alone as an offer that both neophytes and know-betters can’t refuse in their rush to impress or fill space. You see, along with the content marketing hype machine comes the churn of blogs, eBooks, infographics, white papers, videos and other vehicles all destined for the digital landfill because they shared the common trait of being untethered and painfully unencumbered by even a modicum of strategy or end goal. You know how these conversations start because you are either forced to start them or weather them from above. Try this: Current data puts anywhere from 60 to 80 percent all content being created in business-to-business companies in the unread pile. (http://www.siriusdecisions.com/blog/its-not-content-its-a-lack-of-buyer-insights-thats-the-problem/) A not-so-gentle reminder to know your audience first... The pitfalls of falling into tactics before having a strategy are as old as marketing itself, I know, but in the age of “We need a Facebook page/LinkedIn Profile/Twitter handle/Instagram or Vine account,” it warrants this passionate plea: "Please, for the love of all that is good and right in the world, let’s start with a plan complete with a beginning, a middle and a measurable end before settling on what we need to do or how you’re going to do it." Before you create anything … I suggested last time – aided by the wisdom of Joe Pulizzi of the Content Marketing Institute – that having a point in the form of a Content Mission Statement is a good place to start. After you know what you intend to do with your content, let’s also agree to start content planning sessions by doing this or something like it before attacking the keyboard: 1. Review recent sales data to understand the buying stages for your product, the most common buyer titles, content consumption patterns, and key influencer/decision maker requirements during the sales process. 2. Ask questions like this in relevant industry, title or topical groups in LinkedIn and Quora: “What information do you need before you make a significant purchase at work?” 3. Research content preference data to get a sense for what your prospects might want instead of what you believe they need. 4. Ask current and former customers which types of content helped them become purchasers. 5. Use this information to inform a content creation and distribution strategy tied to an editorial calendar, and then bring it all together in an integrated marketing plan. In an effort to payoff my headline for this, and give you a head start on #5, I created this SlideShare deck for you.

1. (C4)
A proven content
marketing strategy ready
to steal + an offer to lend
a hand.
Digital C4 - digitalc4.com
Proven Content Marketing Strategy – 2014
Copyright. All Rights Reserved.
Digital C4 LLC
4804 NW Bethany Blvd, STE i2140
Portland, Oregon 97229
503.351.8995

2. (C4)
But, first, what the heck
qualifies as “good content?”
WTH?
 Words & images that help make someone
smarter about a given topic so they feel
empowered to take an action
 Information delivered at the appropriate
time/place in the buyer’s journey from
awareness to purchase
 Knowledge that can be absorbed and
shared to widen net of influencers or
prospects
 Always evolves based on prospect/industry
pulse of business or personal needs
Proven Content Marketing Strategy – 2014
Copyright. All Rights Reserved.
Digital C4 LLC
4804 NW Bethany Blvd, STE i2140
Portland, Oregon 97229
503.351.8995

3. (C4)
Common Content Marketing Formats
B2B Content Marketing Grab Bag.
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Proven Content Marketing Strategy – 2014
Copyright. All Rights Reserved.
Web pages
Blog posts
White papers
Position papers
eBooks
Online/offline published
books & articles
Case studies
Online Videos Channels
Podcasts
Marketing/sales
collateral
Infographics
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eNewsletters
Webinars
Podcasts
Mobile applications
& games
 Text messages
 Social media micro-blogging
(Tweets, LInkedIn posts, Google+
and Facebook Updates, etc.)
 Thought leadership forum
participation (Quora, LinkedIn,
influencer blog comments)
Digital C4 LLC
4804 NW Bethany Blvd, STE i2140
Portland, Oregon 97229
503.351.8995

4. (C4)
Why Should You Care?
Because…
 Your prospects and customers need help solving
business challenges; not vetting your product offers
 Peer guidance on how to solve those challenges
creates rapport & sales opportunities
 Marketing plans need buyer-relevant content
across the spectrum that can be discovered online (blogs,
downloads, streams, etc.) and connected to your sales
funnel to determine marketing spend effectiveness.
Proven Content Marketing Strategy – 2014
Copyright. All Rights Reserved.
Digital C4 LLC
4804 NW Bethany Blvd, STE i2140
Portland, Oregon 97229
503.351.8995

5. (C4)
Why this is more than hammering
out a white paper or brochure …
Like all endeavors, a tactic without a
strategy for measureable success is a
waste of time and money. Before attacking
content needs, you need:
 A content creation and distribution strategy tied to
an editorial calendar and your prospects’ purchase behavior
 A commitment to help prospects first by creating
buy cycle-relevant information that educates & alleviates
business/personal pain
 The guts to put your company and its products in the back
seat until someone shows interest in starting up a
discussion
Proven Content Marketing Strategy – 2014
Copyright. All Rights Reserved.
Digital C4 LLC
4804 NW Bethany Blvd, STE i2140
Portland, Oregon 97229
503.351.8995

6. (C4)
Pretender or Contender?
To separate content pretenders from
contenders, ask for help with:
 New assets for new initiatives or buyer persona
purchase triggers
 Information tailored to prospects based on their job
role and specific to each step in their own purchase decision
process
 Guidance and execution assistance with content
distribution & digital info discovery
 A proven lead nurture plan based on buyer data
research (e.g. B2B prospects often need as many as 10
marketing touches before they make a purchase.1)
1. Aberdeen Group: Marketing Lead Management: From the Top of the Funnel to the Top Line
http://aberdeen.com/Aberdeen‐Library/7603/RA‐marketing‐lead‐management.aspx?camp=BL02#sthash.o6TFrDSc.dpuf
Proven Content Marketing Strategy – 2014
Copyright. All Rights Reserved.
Digital C4 LLC
4804 NW Bethany Blvd, STE i2140
Portland, Oregon 97229
503.351.8995

7. (C4)
A Content Bundle at a Glance
Blogs are the most obvious and
prominent tactic these days. They
play a vital role in both creating
awareness and serving as a
content distribution mechanism.
That said, the key to content
consumption success is
catering to the
preferences of your
audience. That means variety
dictated by buyer data. Videos?
Maybe. eBooks, probably.
Games? If your prospects play
‘em. Just mix it up!
Proven Content Marketing Strategy – 2014
Copyright. All Rights Reserved.
Digital C4 LLC
4804 NW Bethany Blvd, STE i2140
Portland, Oregon 97229
503.351.8995

8. (C4)
A Content-Fueled Lead Nurture
Click image or here to see larger view online.
Proven Content Marketing Strategy – 2014
Copyright. All Rights Reserved.
Digital C4 LLC
4804 NW Bethany Blvd, STE i2140
Portland, Oregon 97229
503.351.8995

9. (C4)
Scoping and Pricing
As is the case with all Digital C4 content
projects, pricing your project occurs after an
expressed interest. We price our content services
based on industry averages and typically include:
 an audit of existing content and messaging
 key buyer and purchase trigger research
 writing and design costs of the assets selected
 a weekly or monthly blog post to engage prospects and
promote content downloads
 a content distribution plan
Your plan and costs will be custom with details addressed in a Statement of
Work (SOW).
Proven Content Marketing Strategy – 2014
Copyright. All Rights Reserved.
Digital C4 LLC
4804 NW Bethany Blvd, STE i2140
Portland, Oregon 97229
503.351.8995

10. (C4)
Want to talk more about this?
If you do, we do!
 Take a look at Slide 7 to get an idea of what you might
need.
 Determine need for research and recommendation services
outlined on Slide 9
 Contact Digital C4 for help in defining your project and
customized content.
Proven Content Marketing Strategy – 2014
Copyright. All Rights Reserved.
Digital C4 LLC
4804 NW Bethany Blvd, STE i2140
Portland, Oregon 97229
503.351.8995

11. (C4)
Questions?
Mark Evertz
Chief Content Officer
Demand Gen Director
mark@digitalc4.com
http://digitalc4.com
Proven Content Marketing Strategy – 2014
Copyright. All Rights Reserved.
Digital C4 LLC
4804 NW Bethany Blvd, STE i2140
Portland, Oregon 97229
503.351.8995