1
Driving growth and engagement
with content marketing
Natalie Roper
January 2016

2
One of the greatest challenges of the 21st century is
understanding the balance of your financial value
versus the value you bring to your customers and the
wider society.
Only then can you really understand the role of your
brand within the new digital space, where control has
been lost and authenticity and trust matters.

3
A changed world (and a bad one in which to be a
newspaper)

4
…there has been 5 refreshes of the paper in nearly 200 years
1821 1959 1988 1993 2005
From 1821
1996 1999 2003 2013 2014

5
…there has been 6 refreshes of the paper in 18 years
From 2010

6
"Content marketing is the only marketing left." Seth
Godin
• Audiences are switched off from traditional marketing, they skip ads and ignore banners
• Ad blockers mean that display is being seen less
• People don’t want to be sold to – they want relevant, useful content or they’re not interested

7
Objectives of content marketing
Conversion or consideration
Influence to
drive change
Brand awareness and
buzz
Changing perceptions,
driving brand affinity

8
The rules of content creation
(or, often selection in our case)
platforms and
formats
authenticity
audience
KPIs
££
optimisation

9
May 2015 Elections – the challenge
The Guardian’s UK 17 – 24 target audience comprises 3.4 million young adults – we currently reach just
over half of them.
TRUSTED
SOURCES
JUST FOR
FUN
FAMILIAR
UNFAMILIAR

10
Young people do not see the Guardian as relevant and
often struggle to see themselves reflected in the brand
When I look at the Guardian I
see a flamboyant, artsy, older
gentleman who has something to
say… or an architect, the
Guardian would be kind of a
funky professional.
Non-reader,17-24

11
General election 2015 - what our target audience told
us
We want news to
come to us, generally
through their social
media feeds
We want quick hits
of video, pictures,
facts and stats (with
an option to click
through)
Big personalities
are powerful
influencers for us
We want help to feel informed
- Guardian should provide
clear, simple guidance about
the election parties and issues
We do not want to feel as
though we are getting a
different treatment to
“adults”

12
General election 2015 – our approachnd
Identifying relevant
content and
tailoring it so that
the messaging and
aesthetics appeal to
younger audiences
Bringing the news to
young people on the
social channels
that they are familiar
with
Influencing
editorial to
ensure subject
areas of interest
were being
addressed
1 2 3

13
General election– our results
• 28m impressions
• 1.9m engagements vs planned 444,000
engagements
• Average CPE of £0.05 vs planned average of
£0.22
• 4,655 mobile app installs
• From April to May Comscore reported that our
volume of 18 - 24 mobile users grew by
18%
• After 3 months, the new visitors brought in by
the campaign had an average of 8 visits per
visitor (vs. 4.4 site average)

14
General election 2015 – our results

15
Driving growth and engagement with content
marketing - what we’ve learnt
1.Don’t assume you know what your audience like or need
Get insights on what they want from you and research their technographics
2.Be you, don’t embarrass yourself
Authenticity is key to gaining respect, and only play on the platforms that suit you
3.Moment marketing could be your best friend
Timing could be everything, both reactive and planned
4.Remember you’re in a world of scarcity vs abundance
Less is more – be succinct and consistent
5.You don’t need loads of £££, you just need to be great at data
Watch where and how your conversions are happening. Optimise, never stop learning