How do you make sense of content? By focusing on the research before the creation. Content creation is not a strategy. Creating a content strategy should be a data driven exercise robust in data.

1. Defining your Digital Content
Strategy
Content is king, but it isn’t everything.

2. How do you make sense of
content?
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3. Content creation is not
a strategy.
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4. Content is not an island.
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5. @pearl_higgins
content

6. Contents:
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THE
PROCESS
Keyword research
Competitive analysis
Content inventory
Analysis of need states
Content creation
Promotion

7. Step 1- Keyword Research
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8. Keyword research starts at
home
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9. Free Tools for Keyword
Research
– Webmaster Tools
• search traffic- top queries
– Google Analytics
• acquisition- keywords
– Internal Site Search
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• if enabled
– Google Autocomplete
• for variations on a keyword
– Uber Suggest
• http://ubersuggest.org/, and others like it
– Google Ad Tool
• suggested queries

10. Paid Tools for Keyword
Research
– SearchMetrics
– Spyfu
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11. Free and Essential Tool: Excel
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12. Collect your keyword data across as many
different platforms as possible. The more,
the merrier.
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13. Step 2: Competitive Analysis
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14. Who are your competitors?
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15. Not just industry BUT SERP too.
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16. Collect competitor analysis
SearchMetrics & SpyFu
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17. Eliminate branded terms
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18. Compile data & create a pivot table
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19. Check for overlap to see what
keywords are popular
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20. Dump back in to Ad tool for search
volume, then rank those that are
higher priority
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21. Once you have a sense of overlap
among your competitors, focus on
gaps in your campaigns.
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22. Weed through competitor keywords
for opportunities that make sense
for you
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23. Take all that new keyword data and
begin grouping and analyzing.
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24. Bucket keywords for user intent
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Is the keyword:
– Transactional? Buy snack box subscription
– Navigational? Graze or nature box
– Informational? Healthy snack options

25. This will yield a list of keywords
with search volume, type of search,
and existing content. This is the the
starting point for your content
strategy.
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26. Your content spreadsheet:
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27. Step 3: Content inventory
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28. Content inventory is all about
figuring out what you need, what
you have, and what your audience
is looking for.
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29. Crawl your site
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30. Bucket the types of content you
have on site
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31. Cross reference against keyword
data
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32. Make note of pages that support
the keywords you want to target
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33. Identify gaps & opportunities
Keyword: food gifts for the holidays
Only existing content:
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34. Step 4: Analysis of need states
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35. Need state:
A way of understand the topology
of the market, and the driving
needs that determine brand choice
in a particular market.
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36. Shopper/buyer need states
Awareness
Familiarity
Consideration
Purchase
Loyalty
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37. Different need states lend
themselves to different content
types
Snacks
Healthy Snack Options
Snack Delivery
Buy Snack
Subscription
Snack of the
month club
perks
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38. After identifying pages to be
improved or created, identify what
type of content you are creating to
meet the need state of the keyword
targeted on that page.
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39. @pearl_higgins
Process:
What is the keyword intent/need state?
What kind of content would support that?
What does that look like?
*Food Gifts*

40. For Example:
Familiarity- Healthy Snack Options:
– Articles on healthy sweet and savory snacks
– Video tutorials on preparing healthy snacks
– Food pyramid and nutritional serving
illustrations
– Resources for how to meal plan, and
incorporate snacks into a day to day menu
plan
– Expert nutritionist interviews about snacks,
food, and making time to exercise.
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41. Step 4: Content creation
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42. Now that you have all that data, try
to forget it at least a little bit, and
think about the user.
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43. What types of content are most
shared:
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44. Think beyond the blog post
– Tutorials: illustrated, video, step-by-step, etc.
– Interviews: with experts, customers, etc.
– Resources: lists of related industry vendors,
upcoming events, tools, etc.
– Guides: buying guides, care guides, gift
guides, etc.
– Interactive Pieces: quizzes, guides,
resources, contests, etc.
– Photo Series: behind the scenes, upcoming
work, employee spotlights, etc.
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45. Video tutorials
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46. @pearl_higgins
Interviews

47. @pearl_higgins
Resources

48. @pearl_higgins
Guides

49. Interactive pieces
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50. Photo series
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51. Think big within your budget
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52. Step 5: Promotion!
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53. Outreach is simple.
Remember your user?
Find them and reach out to them as a
person.
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54. How do you find them?
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55. @pearl_higgins
Trackur

56. @pearl_higgins
BuzzStream:

57. @pearl_higgins
Topsy

58. For the love of dog, please don’t automate
your outreach programs.
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59. Don’t discount the possibility of paid
promotion for boosting good content
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60. @pearl_higgins
Takeaways:
– Give yourself a solid base for any strategy by
really doing your keyword research.
– The more competitive analysis you can do,
the easier finding the gaps in the market and
your own content will be.
– A need state analysis will be the framework
for how you build your content.
– Think beyond the blog post.
– Promote as an individual.

61. @pearl_higgins
Questions?