Building the Perfect Content Marketing Mix - Part II - Execution Tactics

EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 1 of 16
BUILDING THE PERFECT
CONTENT MARKETING MIX
PART II
Execution
Tactics
Now
Playing

BUILDING THE PERFECT CONTENT MARKETING MIX
Top Priorities for 2015 — Part II
INTRODUCTION
FEEL LIKE IT’S TIME TO MIX UP YOUR MARKETING PLAYLIST?
While there’s a lot you could be doing, sometimes it’s hard to know which tracks to
start, stop, or pause. To help you find the right mix to meet your marketing goals,
we consolidated responses from the 2015 Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets,
and Trends research report section — “Which content marketing initiatives are
you working on now, and in the next 12 months?” We broke out the results
as follows:
• By priority
• By business type (B2B, B2C and nonprofit)
• By geography (North America, Australia, United Kingdom)
Part I covered two “playlists”: Internal Processes and Content Marketing Strategy Tactics. From channels to
platforms to audience segmentation, we discussed how you can best establish your content marketing strategy and
structure your team internally for more efficient processes.
Part II: Playlist 3 is where we show you how to mix things up a bit with different Execution Tactics. See how to create and
deliver the best content to meet your business objectives.
While some geographies and business types have similar priorities, others are finding their own unique beats — and the
differences may surprise you. We hope you find the following findings insightful and inspirational as you make your plans for
the year ahead.
Enjoy!
Joe Pulizzi

PLAYLISTS
Creating more engaging/
higher-quality content....................................................4
Finding more/better ways to
repurpose content............................................................6
Increasing website visitor conversions ......................8
Organizing website content........................................10
Becoming better storytellers......................................12
Creating visual content................................................14
Becoming stronger writers..........................................16
Optimizing content.......................................................18
Gaining a better understanding of
what content is effective..............................................20
Creating a greater variety of content.......................22
Marketing automation/lead nurturing....................24
Curating content ...........................................................26
Personalizing content ..................................................28
Understanding/using paid content..........................30
Leveraging user- or fan-generated content...........32
Real-time content marketing.....................................34
PLAYLIST 3: EXECUTION TACTICS
How you can create and deliver the best content that will meet your business obectives:
BUILDING THE PERFECT CONTENT MARKETING MIX
Top Priorities for 2015 — Part II

EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 1 of 16
CREATING MORE ENGAGING/
HIGHER-QUALITY CONTENT
WHAT THE NUMBERS SAY...
Creating better content is something most of the marketers we surveyed — regardless
of location or business type — are focusing on this year. Over 80% of respondents in
every group we surveyed indicated that they’re either focusing on this now or plan to
in the next 12 months.
WORKING ON
THIS NOW
WORKING ON THIS
IN NEXT 12 MONTHS
North America B2B 69% 19%
North America B2C 62% 27%
North America Nonprofit 62% 22%
Australia for-profit 67% 23%
UK for-profit 69% 22%
It’s no surprise that a top priority
for most of the marketers we
surveyed in this year’s report was
creating better content for their
audience, since creating engaging
content was a top challenge.
As more companies are entering
the content marketing game (and
producing high volumes of content
as a result), it’s become vital for
marketers to find ways to “stand
out” amongst the clutter with
unique, engaging methods.
In addition, readers have the option
to be selective about the content
they consume, meaning the quality
of your content needs to meet their
higher expectations.
TACTIC
13

EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 1 of 16
From 5 Tips for Quality Content Creation and 6 Ways to Reinvigorate Your Stale Online Content Marketing:
Before you start creating more and more content, take the time to examine your existing content’s quality.
Here’s where a little advance planning can help. Take the time to catalog all of the content you’ve created,
and measure how each piece has performed to see what to keep, revise, or remove. This will allow your team
to take a close look at your current content rather than just continuing to create in a vacuum.
For more engaging content, try a few of these simple tips:
Don’t be afraid
to change your
focus if something
is not working.
How to Create More Engaging, Higher-Quality Content: Quick Tips13
TACTIC
Focus on doing
one thing
exceptionally
well.
Put one person in
charge of a content
workstream (like
your blog), and try
not to over-manage
him or her.
Narrow your focus
so you’re not trying
to cover everything
at once (resulting in
muddy messaging).

TACTIC
14
EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 2 of 16
Over half of all the marketers we surveyed, regardless of location, are focused on finding
more or better ways to repurpose content right now, with even more choosing to focus
more on this tactic in the year ahead. B2B marketers in North America had a notably
higher percentage working on this now versus the other segments, but the numbers
indicate that overall, almost all marketers — regardless of business type or location —
will be working on this tactic within the next 12 months.
WORKING ON
THIS NOW
WORKING ON THIS
IN NEXT 12 MONTHS
The challenge is to create
enough content to keep your
readers engaged, month after
month. The solution is to
repurpose the great content
you’ve already created in
new, exciting ways. This trick,
used by content marketers
everywhere, is one of the best
solutions to the question,
“How can we possibly create
more, new content?” and is
a tactic many marketers are
adopting now, or plan to adopt
in the near future.
FINDING MORE/BETTER WAYS
TO REPURPOSE CONTENT

From How Engineering Principles Can Revolutionize Your Content Strategy:
Though we may want to create unique, groundbreaking content each and
every time we write, the truth of the matter is that resources, time, and even
inspiration can be hard to come by. Scott Abel, author of The Language of Content
Strategy, argues that marketers are spending too much time and effort focused on
creating content, rather than adopting more “efficient content product processes.”
Scott emphasizes the importance of “content engineering,” or using technology
and structured processes to automate your content distribution versus wasting your
time manually trying to convert it for every distribution channel you use. The time
spent setting up such a system will be paid back ten-fold once the programs you set up start repurposing
your content in multiple formats faster than you ever could.
Alternately, you may be able to get more mileage from the content your company has already created.
Consider working with a content curator, who can refresh, repackage, and repurpose your content into
different formats and for use on multiple content channels. (Additional details on content curation can be
found in Tactic #24, below.)
EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 2 of 16
Learn more about the role of the content curator.
How to Repurpose Your Content: Quick Tips14
TACTIC

TACTIC
15
Almost all of the marketers surveyed indicated that finding better ways to convert
website visitors was a tactic they are working on now. For those not working on this
now, the numbers show that they will likely be adding this to their content marketing
mix within the next 12 months. Though North American nonprofit marketers may be
focusing on this a bit less for the time being, their numbers indicate that they’ll be
working to catch up with their for-profit peers in the year ahead.
WORKING ON
THIS NOW
WORKING ON THIS
IN NEXT 12 MONTHS
Creating content that brings
visitors to your website is
important, but the real win
comes when those visitors
convert. That’s why finding the
right content that converts is a
significantly important tactic
for many of the marketers we
surveyed, whether it be now or
in the near future. The reason
for this prioritization is clear:
Without a defined strategy for
how content will be used to
drive business results, even the
most talented of marketers can
fail to build a truly successful
content marketing program.
INCREASING WEBSITE VISITOR CONVERSIONS
EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 3 of 16

EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 3 of 16
Adding urgency:
The “fear of missing
out” (FOMO) complex is
real, and it’s something
you can use to your
benefit on your website.
Incorporating limited-
time offers, a free
download to the first
100 people to register, or
other similar strategies
can help drive your
visitors to action sooner.
Eliminating
distractions:
Though you may want
to fit everything possible
on your website, keep it
simple and make it easy
for visitors to convert.
This means limiting
links that lead away
from a landing page, or
pop-ups when you’re
trying to gather critical
information.
Adding other voices
to your website:
Including a testimonial,
video, or other outside
voice can help build
credibility among your
visitors, especially if they
come from well-known
industry influencers.
From 10 Tips for Creating Content That Converts Like a Champ: In a 2014 CMI post, James Scherer
outlines 10 ways marketers can create content that converts. Some highlights include:
How to Convert Visitors on Your Website: Quick Tips15
TACTIC

EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 4 of 16
ORGANIZING WEBSITE CONTENT
Finding ways to better organize website content is a top priority for every marketer we
surveyed, regardless of business type or location: Over half of marketers are working on
this tactic now, with even more adding it to their list in the year ahead.
WORKING ON
THIS NOW
WORKING ON THIS
IN NEXT 12 MONTHS
All the incredible content
being created needs a home,
and for many marketers that
home is their website. So
it’s no surprise that a lot of
these websites can start to
feel a little crowded, or even
disorganized, as new content
continues to be added. Finding
the right ways to organize the
content on a company website
is a big priority for most
marketers, and can be one of
the most challenging, time-
consuming projects tackled.
TACTIC
16

EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 4 of 16
From Orbit Media Studios’ Content Hubs: How to Beat the Big Boys in 7 Steps: Organizing content on
your website takes a delicate balance of design, architecture, and copywriting skills. You want the right
content to be made available to the right visitors exactly when they’re looking for it. For this reason,
Andy Crestodina calls for a more focused approach to content on your website. He argues that too many
marketers try to write about all sorts of topics instead of concentrating on being an expert in just one.
To become an expert, he encourages marketers to build content hubs: web pages organized around a
specific topic that create fewer pieces of high-quality content versus lots of smaller-sized, yet sometimes
repetitive, pieces. To build a content hub:
How to Organize Website Content: Quick Tips16
TACTIC
See what your
competitors are saying
about it, and find a way
to differentiate (if the
topic is dominated by
someone else, choose
another one).
Find the right
influencers to help
co-create content.
Create simple,
strong pieces
of content.
Pick a topic
(yes, one topic).

EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 5 of 16
BECOMING BETTER STORYTELLERS
Most of the marketers surveyed this year indicated that they are working on becoming
better storytellers now, with nonprofit marketers in North America leading the pack at
66%. Though Australian marketers had slightly lower percentages working on this now
(56%), they had the highest number indicating they will work on this tactic in the next
12 months. Overall, over 80% of all marketers indicated this tactic is important enough
for them to be focusing on within the year.
WORKING ON
THIS NOW
WORKING ON THIS
IN NEXT 12 MONTHS
The “what” and the “who”
of your content marketing
are important, but never
underestimate the importance
of style. Becoming a better
storyteller means you’re able
to present your content in
a way that breaks through
to your target audience; it
resonates with their needs
and objectives and compels
them to save, share, and utilize
the content you’ve provided.
Becoming a better storyteller
is no small feat, but it’s more
than worth the effort.
TACTIC
17

EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 5 of 16
From GE’s Executive Director of Global Brand Marketing, Linda Boff:
Be human — aim for transparency and openness in your content marketing: As Boff
states, “The more people know about us, the more interested they are in partnering with us,
investing in us, and coming to work with us.”
Share your passions: For GE, sharing stories about services beyond what they are typically
known for was extremely effective in their content marketing. Boff shares: “Part of our job... is to
make sure people know GE is a leader in these exciting high-growth industries like health care
and energy,” and are using social media to share these stories on a broader scale.
Give a peek behind the curtains: Why just tell people what you’re doing, when you can show them.
GE Garages is a way to give people a hands-on experience in a GE lab, and as Boff states, “We had an
insight, and we matched it with an opportunity. It’s been a great way to make the brand real.”
How to Become Better Storytellers: Quick Tips17
TACTIC
For more storytelling tips, visit CMI’s storytelling archives.

EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 6 of 16
CREATING VISUAL CONTENT
Most of the marketers surveyed indicated that they were focusing on creating visual
content now, with even more adding this tactic in the next 12 months. UK for-profit
companies had a noticeably higher percentage working on this tactic now when
compared with their peers, with U.S. companies (both B2B and B2C) having a higher
percentage focusing on this tactic in the year ahead.
WORKING ON
THIS NOW
WORKING ON THIS
IN NEXT 12 MONTHS
The content landscape is
cluttered, and most people
simply don’t have the time to
sift through lengthy articles or
white papers. That’s why visual
content has been on the rise as a
popular content marketing tactic.
It’s a great way to get your target
audience engaged in your content,
since you’re presenting it in new,
compelling ways.
TACTIC
18

EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 6 of 16
From the Visual Content Marketing Look Book: The CMI Visual Content Marketing Look Book shares nine tips
and 25 best-in-class examples of how to create more captivating visual content for your audience.
Some tips include:
How to Create Visual Content: Quick Tips18
TACTIC
Inspire your audience with new ideas on how to use your products,
like how Callaway Golf creates instructional golf-tip videos on their YouTube
channel.
Tap into the creativity and passion of your consumers by encouraging them
to share user-generated content. Providing a platform for those stories to
be shared is an excellent way to drive engagement and interest as well.
Be unique, and avoid stock photography if you can. Whether you use
fan-sourced content or custom images, finding a unique way to present your
content will help you really connect with your consumers.

EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 7 of 16
BECOMING STRONGER WRITERS
Regardless of business type or location, most of the marketers we surveyed are focused
on becoming better writers now or in the next 12 months. In North America, the percentage
of marketers focusing on this tactic in the next 12 months is lower than their international
peers.
WORKING ON
THIS NOW
WORKING ON THIS
IN NEXT 12 MONTHS
In order to create better,
higher-quality content, there’s
a critical skill marketers
need to focus on: becoming
better writers. While having
content-development partners
is always a plus, at the end
of the day you need solid,
talented writers in-house to
help improve the effectiveness
of the content you’re creating.
This will not only help your
content stand out in a cluttered
landscape, but it also improves
your reputation as a credible
leader in your industry.
TACTIC
19

EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 7 of 16
From 3 Strategies to Stand Out From the Content Creation Crowd: If you’re like most marketers,
you may feel it’s becoming increasingly difficult for your voice to be heard, so as a result you may
be creating more and more content while trying to distribute it more broadly. James Scherer
argues that you may be focusing on the wrong things. He recommends looking for ways to
make your content truly stand out from the crowd. One way to accomplish this is by strengthening
your writing skills and habits; in his article, James offers a few tips to help get you started:
How to Become Stronger Writers: Quick Tips19
TACTIC
Rather than focusing on
everything, find your
“thing” that makes
your content unique and
identifiable to you (like a
certain persona, niche topic,
or unique POV) and stick it.
Look for ways to not only
write better, but also
differently than your peers.
This can mean adding a bit
more “flavor” to your tone of
voice or approaching a new
topic that hasn’t been covered
before. Don’t shy away from
adding your honest opinion.
Consider a little “training,”
such as taking a class in
writing essays or short stories
at your local community
college, or taking a typing
course to make your writing
process go more smoothly.

EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 8 of 16
OPTIMIZING CONTENT
The majority of survey respondents, across all business types and locations, are focusing
on content optimization as a top tactic. Over half of marketers in most categories stated
that this is something they are working on now, with a strong number saying that they’ll
be focusing more on this tactic in the next 12 months. Nonprofit marketers — who are
generally still working to ramp up their content marketing efforts — had a slightly lower
percentage working on this tactic now, but like their peers are planning to add this to the
mix in the year ahead.
WORKING ON
THIS NOW
WORKING ON THIS
IN NEXT 12 MONTHS
Content optimization is an
important component of any
content marketing program.
If you aren’t thinking critically
about how your content
can be found and shared,
you’re missing out on a huge
opportunity to reach new
audiences and rank highly
on search engines. Think of
content optimization as the
“engine” of your content
marketing machine: You may
have all the bells and whistles
to make your content “look”
effective, but it’s what’s under
the hood that really drives your
content’s success.
TACTIC
20

How to Optimize Your Content: Quick Tips20
TACTIC
EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 8 of 16
From Optimize Your Online Content: Quick Tips You Haven’t Thought of Yet: In addition to making sure you have
the right infrastructure to optimize your content (i.e., meta descriptions, keywords, optimized images, title tags,
and other things to help your content get noticed by search engines), you should also consider how easy it is to
share your content. By optimizing this process, you can ensure that anyone who comes across your content can
help promote it quickly and easily.
Here are a few tips:
For more suggestions, check out the full transcript from our #CMWorld Twitter chat on optimization with guest Ian Cleary.
Include sharing
buttons for all social sites —
not just the “big ones.”
Consider offering a minimum
of five options to help maximize
the chances that your content
will be shared.
Use counters to show
how your content is being
shared. These add credibility
to your content and will
encourage others to share it
as their peers have done.
Don’t ignore that
people often share your
content by copying and
pasting text. Adding a customized
“read more” attribution link when
a piece of your content gets copied
and pasted can help drive users
back to your website and
give you credit where
credit is due.

EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 9 of 16
GAINING A BETTER UNDERSTANDING
OF WHAT CONTENT IS EFFECTIVE
Over half of the marketers we surveyed are focusing on this tactic right now, with
more choosing to take on this tactic in the next 12 months. There’s not a lot of
distinction in these results over geography or business; regardless of whether a
marketer was in the U.S., overseas, in for-profit, B2B, or B2C, they indicated that this
tactic was a big focus for them in the very near future.
WORKING ON
THIS NOW
WORKING ON THIS
IN NEXT 12 MONTHS
Any successful content marketing
strategy should have “checkpoints”
in place — a pre-established process
that encourages your team to stop,
review your content’s performance,
and find ways to optimize based on
the results. All too often, though,
we can create content in a vacuum,
following a strategy that six months
ago may have made a lot of sense
based on what you knew about
members of your audience and their
goals at that time.
However, a lot can change in six
months (or even less), so taking the
time to understand what’s working,
and what’s not, can help save you
from wasting your already limited
time creating ineffective content.
TACTIC
21

EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 9 of 16
From Effective Content Marketing: 5 Steps to Track Your Efforts: Rather than just “throwing your content out there
and hoping for good results,” take the time to periodically take a look at your content marketing’s performance to
understand what’s working, and what you can ditch. This might take some time away from creating new content,
but the good news is it’ll save you from wasting your time creating content that no one cares about.
Understanding your content’s effectiveness is different than tracking KPIs (though it’s also important
to measure and monitor those frequently). To understand effectiveness, you need to dig deeper and look
at each and every piece of content you create. Here’s how:
How to Understand Your Content’s Effectiveness: Quick Tips21
TACTIC
• Audit all the content you have
by platform: Document each piece,
arranging by title or type (i.e., you could
start by just analyzing blog posts).
• Decide what information you
want to collect from each piece of
content, such as authors, format, topic,
and type (like “brick” vs. “feather”).
This can help you start to identify
patterns for what might be contributing
to some pieces of content performing
better, or worse, than others.
• Identify some key metrics to
analyze for each post, like number of
subscribers gained, shares, etc.
• Calculate a baseline: Once you’ve
started tracking your key metrics, figure
out what your average performance
number is for each, so that you can
see which content performs above, or
below, that indicator going forward.
• Update on a regular basis: Add
regular reminders to your calendar
to update this spreadsheet; a good
time might be while you’re doing
your content planning for the month
ahead. And don’t forget to update
your team on performance so
everyone is aligned with your metrics
and goals, and understands what
content should be created to help
drive efficiency going forward.

EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 10 of 16
CREATING A GREATER VARIETY OF CONTENT
Over half of the marketers we surveyed stated that they’re working to incorporate more
variety with their content right now, with even more adding this tactic in the year ahead.
The UK for-profit segment skewed slightly higher than their peers, with over 90% of
respondents stating they are either working on this now, or plan to in the next 12 months.
WORKING ON
THIS NOW
WORKING ON THIS
IN NEXT 12 MONTHS
If you want to avoid reader
fatigue, the best thing to do
is mix your content up a bit,
right? Experimenting with
different types of content can be
a fun exercise for your content
marketing team and may seem
like the best way to capture
your audience’s attention;
however, you may run the risk
of alienating your most loyal
readers. That’s why finding the
right ways to incorporate variety
in your content calendar is so
important, and must be thought
of as a strategic plan versus an
experimental undertaking.
TACTIC
22

From A Guide to Creating Content in the Formats Your Audience Loves: The key to creating more
content variety is an understanding of which content types are more flexible when it comes to
format. As Michele Linn writes, “While all content marketing programs need to be consistent, there
are certain content tactics that work best if you can deliver new content frequently and on an
expected schedule.” She further outlines which content pieces are more open to experimentation,
versus which ones have more stringent expectations on them among readers.
How to Create a Greater Variety of Content: Quick Tips22
TACTIC
CONSISTENCY
IS EXPECTED:
• Blogs
• Newsletter (print and digital)
• Magazines (print and digital)
• Podcasts
CONSISTENCY IS HELPFUL
BUT NOT REQUIRED:
• Videos
• White papers
• eBooks
• Online presentations
• Webinars
• Infographics
CONSISTENCY IS
NOT CRITICAL:
• In-person events
• Games
•Branded content tools
• Guest posting
• Research reports
• Books
• Apps
EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 10 of 16

EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 11 of 16
MARKETING AUTOMATION/ LEAD NURTURING
WORKING ON
THIS NOW
WORKING ON THIS
IN NEXT 12 MONTHS
Understanding what content
your audience needs at
what point during your sales
cycle is an important part
of any content marketing
strategy. However, making
this determination can be
extremely time-consuming,
which is why using marketing
automation and finding other
ways to effectively nurture
leads is rising in importance
with marketers around the
world.
TACTIC
23
Over half of the marketers we surveyed, with the exception of the nonprofit segment, are
implementing marketing automation/lead nurturing tactics this year. While only a small
portion of nonprofit marketers (18%) said they are working on this tactic now, there was
an increase in those who stated they will start working on this tactic in the next 12 months.

EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 11 of 16
How to Optimize Your Marketing Automation/Lead Generation Efforts23
TACTIC
From the Demand Generation Users Guide: The best way to drive better results from your lead generation
efforts is simple: Build the demand for your content. In an article in CCO Magazine, Jay Hidalgo identifies one
of the biggest challenges when it comes to building a demand generation strategy: lack of focus on your buyer.
Clarifying that focus will not only help you create better content, but will improve your marketing automation
and lead nurturing efforts as well, as they will all be structured around the core needs of your consumers.
He states that marketers need to focus on three processes when looking to boost effectiveness:
• Develop a buyer persona:
The first step in building a
demand generation strategy
is understanding who your
different buyer groups are.
Put all this information in a
matrix.
• Define the buying process:
What are the specific steps or
decisions a buyer will go through
when looking for your solution?
Keep asking these questions
until all these steps have
been identified, and
validate them with actual
buyers to make sure it
resonates.
• Develop a content framework:
Identify what information your
buyers need, and at what point
during the sales cycle they need
it (this will help you build your
marketing automation plan by
identifying different content types for
each buyer group). Make sure you’re
thinking through all the questions
they might ask, and know how your
content can respond to those needs.
Learn more about how marketing automation can be used to support lead generation efforts.

EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 12 of 16
CURATING CONTENT
WORKING ON
THIS NOW
WORKING ON THIS
IN NEXT 12 MONTHS
When you can’t create,
curate! One of the best tricks
in any content marketer’s
toolbox, content curation
has quickly become a go-to
strategy for those who lack
the time, budget, or resources
to consistently create new
content. Not only is this
strategy a time-saver, but it
can be a very effective tool as
well. It’s so effective, in fact,
that 2014 Curata research
indicates that curated content
should account for one-quarter
of the content marketing your
business produces.
TACTIC
24
The results are mixed when it comes to how marketers are focusing on curation strategies
this year. Approximately one-third of marketers (in all business types and locations) are
focusing on this tactic now, with another one-third stating that they will be working on this
in the next 12 months. Marketers in Australia seem to be focusing on this tactic a bit more
in the year ahead, but only at levels slightly above their peers.

EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 12 of 16
From 9 Content Curation Ideas for Bulking Up Your Editorial Calendar: While curating content isn’t always a quick
or free tactic, it can still be much more effective than starting from scratch every time you have a content need.
Here are a few ways you can get more mileage from your content:
How to Curate Your Content: Quick Tips24
TACTIC
Share on social
media, highlighting
different statistics,
key points from
the piece, or other
commentary.
Create new content
by adding your own
commentary to relevant
third-party content; by
associating yourself with
outside resources,
you’re improving your
credibility as well.
Ask for expert
opinions and ask
your community to
help create social
content.
Aggregate
curated lists featuring
content pieces that
are about similar
topics (content should
be from a variety of
resources).
Create a
gallery for your
top pieces of
visual content.

PERSONALIZING CONTENT
WORKING ON
THIS NOW
WORKING ON THIS
IN NEXT 12 MONTHS
The ability to target content
to specific consumers can
be an extremely effective
content marketing tactic.
Otherwise known as content
personalization, this
practice allows marketers
to understand who certain
individuals are, where they
are accessing your content,
when, and why. Knowing this
information will ensure you are
serving up the right content,
in the right formats, based on
their needs and preferences,
and is truly the next phase in
content marketing efficiency.
TACTIC
25
Over half of the marketers we surveyed, regardless of location or business type, are looking
to incorporate more content personalization tactics into their marketing mix this year.
The numbers remain extremely consistent across all the groups we surveyed, with a fairly
even number focusing on this now, versus in the next 12 months.
EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 13 of 16

From Content Marketing Personalization: When and How to Use It: While still a newer practice, there are
some best practices when it comes to using personalization effectively with your content marketing. A few
of these tips include:
How to Incorporate Content Personalization: Quick Tips25
TACTIC
EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 13 of 16
• Secure information about
individuals: Go beyond
an audience persona and
systematically get to know more
about your actual site visitors.
• Monitor what your audience
is interested in, and continue
to deliver it: Seeing what
web pages a person visited or
links a reader clicked on from a
newsletter can help you gather
valuable insights about what
additional information that
visitor may find useful.
• Start small: Before you try to
adopt a massive personalization
technology, try it with your
audience to see how it resonates.
This may mean writing some
(OK, a lot) of personalized emails,
but it’s worth knowing how your
audience will respond to such an
effort going forward.
• Be human: Don’t overwhelm
with too much information,
but rather consider that you’re
trying to build a long-lasting
relationship. Provide helpful
content based on the goals
of members of your
audience, showing that
you’ve actually listened
to their needs and are
interested in helping them.

UNDERSTANDING/USING PAID CONTENT
WORKING ON
THIS NOW
WORKING ON THIS
IN NEXT 12 MONTHS
As a marketer, you spend a lot
of time and effort producing
high quality content for your
readers. But with so many
competing resources available
out there, it’s challenging to
find ways to break through
the noise and ensure that your
messages are getting into the
hands of your target audience.
That’s why many marketers
are leveraging paid content
opportunities to amplify
distribution — and, when the
efforts are targeted to the right
groups, they are seeing a lot
of success.
TACTIC
26
Almost half of the marketers we surveyed are looking to better use paid strategies in their
content marketing plans within the next year. Australia and B2C North America marketers
had slightly higher results than their peers, with nonprofit North America marketers having
the lowest percentages working on this tactic.
EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 14 of 16

How to Optimize Your Paid Content Strategy26
TACTIC
From How to Amplify Your Content Strategy with Social Media Advertising: Dan Stasiewski, Technology Director
at Kino Creative, shares a helpful process flow for utilizing advertising in a content marketing ecosystem. He
explains that with this new flow, social media isn’t just a content distribution tool, but also a way to funnel
potential buyers to your website. Here’s how the process works:
Dan also says that you can support this process with your traditional PPC efforts to further boost traffic
to your site. One final word of wisdom: Have KPIs in place before you start your advertising efforts to help
justify your spend after the fact.
EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 14 of 16
Create valuable
content (Like you’re
already doing!).
Share the
content on your
social channels
(Already have
that one down,
too, right?).
Determine
which content is
most popular based
on interactions
(“likes,” shares,
clicks). Promote the
most popular
content using the
appropriate ad
units for the
platform.
Capture new
visitors and leads
that engage with
your content
via social
advertising.
1
2
3
4
5

LEVERAGING USER- OR FAN-GENERATED CONTENT
WORKING ON
THIS NOW
WORKING ON THIS
IN NEXT 12 MONTHS
If this year’s survey results told us
anything, it’s that many marketers
are challenged with creating
enough quality content to fill their
growing number of channels. One
powerful solution that’s rising
in popularity is sourcing user-
generated content to help drive
content creation, helping amplify
your brand’s messaging without
overwhelming people with too
many branded messages. The
key is to find the right balance
between your (and your users’)
content — and to find the right
ways to encourage others to share
their stories with you for broader
distribution.
TACTIC
27
Leveraging user- or-fan-generated content is not a large focus for many of the
marketers we surveyed. With the exception of B2C marketers in North America, about
20% of the marketers we surveyed indicated they are working on this tactic right now
(nonprofit North America was slightly higher at 28%). However, the results do show an
increased interest in this tactic for the year ahead: Over 30% of the marketers surveyed
indicated that they will be working on this in the next 12 months, with, again, the
numbers skewing higher in the B2C North America group.
EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 15 of 16

EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 15 of 16
From CCO Magazine’s Community Content: While sharing fan photos or quotes can be a quick, easy way to share
user-generated content on your platforms, many brands have more content-heavy objectives. Here are a few
examples of brands using user-generated content to develop more high-quality editorial content:
Learn more about turning customers into loyal brand fans.
Forbes created a digital channel for reader contributions, and as a result has expanded
its reach, while spending far less than the cost of hiring a staff of in-house writers.
Lucky Magazine created a community-driven content section on its
website, where bloggers and influencers share advice and style tips.
Pepsi aggregates photos and blog posts from summer music festival
attendees (and music influencers) on its Tumblr.
How to Leverage User-Generated Content: Quick Tips27
TACTIC
One thing to watch
out for: Have a solid
review/approval plan in
place if you’re working with
outside content contributors.
This can help keep any
“surprises” at bay.

REAL-TIME CONTENT MARKETING
WORKING ON
THIS NOW
WORKING ON THIS
IN NEXT 12 MONTHS
One of the top buzzwords for
2014, real-time marketing, can
often be dismissed as a fad or
frivolous endeavor. However,
real-time marketing means
more than just jumping on a
trending hashtag or writing
about popular events topics.
It means that you’ve adopted
an “always on” approach to
your content; you’re ready and
willing to listen and respond to
what’s happening real-time in
the world of your consumers.
TACTIC
28
The practice of real-time marketing is still growing according to the results from this
year’s survey. Approximately 50% of marketers across all locations and business
types are either working on this tactic now, or planning to in the next 12 months.
B2C companies in North America seem to be adopting this slightly more quickly
than their peers, but overall the numbers remain consistent across the board.
EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 16 of 16

How to Adopt Real-Time Content Marketing28
TACTIC
From 25+ Tools for Real-Time Marketing: One of the most challenging parts of any marketer’s job is trying to keep
up with what’s happening real-time while also trying to complete their regularly scheduled duties. Taking the time
to sift through data and find out what topics are trending and what consumers are saying about your content can
become a rabbit hole, stealing precious hours from your workday that you need to focus on other priorities.
Having the right tools can help. Here’s a list of the types of tools to consider
as you build your real-time marketing activities:
Website analytics tools:
Learn which pages on your
website are attracting the
most visitors and what
content is helping boost
conversions.
Social media tools:
Monitor what your fans
and followers are saying and
identify potential topics that
seem top-of-mind to your
target audience in
that moment.
Big data aggregation:
Data management platforms
(DMPs) help you make sense
of the data from your various
content sources and identify
the personas and interests
of the people interacting
with your content.
EXECUTION TACTICS
Track 16 of 16
The key here is to go beyond what’s trending for the entire universe, and tap
into what’s really relevant for your target audience at any given point in time.

About Content Marketing Institute
Content Marketing Institute (CMI) is the leading global content marketing
education and training organization. CMI teaches enterprise brands
how to attract and retain customers through compelling, multi-channel
storytelling. CMI’s Content Marketing World event, the largest content
marketing-focused event, is held every September, and Content
Marketing World Sydney, every March. CMI also produces the quarterly
magazine Chief Content Officer, and provides strategic consulting and
content marketing research for some of the best-known brands in the
world. CMI is a 2012, 2013, and 2014 Inc. 500 company.
To see all of CMI’s original content marketing research, visit our
Research Page. Learn how to create a documented content marketing
strategy, a key component for improving overall content marketing
effectiveness.
In case you missed it,
read Part 1 of Building
the Perfect Content
Marketing Playlist:
Top Priorities for 2015.
If you would like to learn more
about how to tackle the top
content marketing priorities, sign
up for CMI’s weekly newsletter,
or join us for our weekly
#CMWorld Twitter chats.

Building the Perfect Content Marketing Mix - Part II - Execution Tactics

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Was ist angesagt?

Was ist angesagt? (20)

Andere mochten auch

Andere mochten auch (8)

Ähnlich wie Building the Perfect Content Marketing Mix - Part II - Execution Tactics

Ähnlich wie Building the Perfect Content Marketing Mix - Part II - Execution Tactics (20)

Mehr von Content Marketing Institute

Mehr von Content Marketing Institute (20)

Kürzlich hochgeladen

Kürzlich hochgeladen (20)

Building the Perfect Content Marketing Mix - Part II - Execution Tactics