SEO and Digital PR - How to Connect Your Teams to Maximise Success
Developing a content marketing strategy for associations
1. Developing a content
marketing strategy.
How to be more efficient and effective
with your association communications
By Roslyn Atkinson
Head of Client Services & Strategy
Mahlab Media
AuSAE Conference & Exhibition 2015
9. Expectations are higher because we have less time.
We’re busy consuming content across multiple
channels.
10.
11. We are empowered.
If content isn’t relevant or interesting enough,
we simply do this…
12.
13. Associations no longer have a captive audience
that can only be reached by advertising in your
print magazine/journal.
Few associations can rely on advertising to cover
the cost of their communications, content and
publishing any more (if in fact it ever did).
17. So what’s at the
bottom of the
sales funnel for
associations?
18. 1. Member engagement.
2. Membership renewals.
3. New members.
4. Brand profile and perception of value.
5. Sales of products and services
(events, courses, insurance etc)
6. Advertising revenue.
Six ways content creates
value for associations.
19. If you want your member communications to
deliver a return on investment, they must
motivate action.
21. 1. The power of INFORMATION to help your
audience.
2. The power of STORIES to emotionally influence
decisions.
3. The power of SHARED CONTENT to create
community.
4. The power of EXPERIENCES to build trust.
22. 1. Information.
• News
• Technical articles
• Infographics
It’s all about being useful, relevant and timely.
26. 2. Stories.
• Profiles
• Opinion pieces
• Case studies
It’s all about being emotive and creating empathy.
Demonstrate shared values and build trust.
28. 3. Shared content.
• Shared content on social media.
• User-generated content.
• Comments.
• Forums and discussion groups.
Help people help each other and generate social
proof to influence buying decisions.
32. 4. Experiences.
• Print magazines - if these aren’t a great
experience in terms of content, design and paper
stock, they’re a waste of time.
• Videos - make sure they’re worth the time
people invest in watching them.
• Webinars, events - ensure they are great
experiences, not just vehicles for learning.
34. Perception of value.
You (probably) wouldn’t go to a meeting
with a member or prospective member
wearing trackie daks.
Your brand profile should be just as well-
dressed as you would be, to match your
organisation’s personality.
39. Level 1 goals: support strategic goals
12 months +
Level 2 goals: support marketing goals
6-12 months
Is your audience taking the right actions to achieve
on your objectives?
Level 3 goals: support tactics
1-6 months
What is working best?
40. For example:
Level 1 goal: Increase Convention registrations.
Level 2 goal: Drive traffic to Convention landing
page.
Level 3 goal: Determine which stories are the most
effective in driving traffic to the Convention landing
page.
45. What weighs more - a tonne of bricks or a
tonne of feathers?
Some content is more valuable than others,
like an ebook or a video compared to a tweet.
47. Only two questions really matter:
• What are their challenges?
• What do they care about?
Are your ready surveys telling you this
information?
Do you need better member research?
49. Dynamic content - single enewsletter template
that shows personalised content based on
individual preferences.
Marketing automation - tailoring content to
specific audience segments based on past
behaviour.
50. Demographics - e.g. young, business owner, women.
Areas of interest - e.g. mining, finance, retail.
Value - e.g. highest paying/most engaged members.
Behaviours - e.g. everyone who has clicked on a
specific article or downloaded a piece of content.
Ways of segmenting.
61. Owned channels.
Website: search-engine optimised so content can
be found through searches.
Emails: what’s the best frequency for your
audience and budget?
Social media: where does your audience hang out?
Print magazines.
62. Earned channels.
PR: articles shared with other publications and
media.
Social sharing: shareable content passed on by
your audience.
Influencers: third parties and influential people
who are happy to share your content.
67. New members: Increased by 1,000 over 12
months.
Consumer profile: Traffic to ‘Find a broker’ page up
by 98%.
Annual convention: Registrations up by 75%
compared to last convention held in same location.
Annual awards: Record no. of nominations.
Results.
68. Follow Roslyn on LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/roslynatkinson
Thank you.
For more great tips on content marketing for associations, visit
www.mahlabmedia.com.au and subscribe to the enewsletter Curiosity.