CONTENT MARKETING

by Tuhin Ghosh
MBA (XLRI), Guest Faculty (IIM-L), Digital Marketing
Strategist and Consultant
CONTENT MARKETING

INTRODUCTION
Content Driven Inbound
Marketing
CONTENT MARKETING > INTRODUCTION

“75 percent of marketers are allocating the same or an increased budget

for inbound this year.” – John Hall in Forbes (2015)

Today’s marketers cannot just rely on outbound and interruption marketing to build the
audience and sell products or service. Hence it necessitates to focus on Inbound
Marketing through great content that:
 Brings new customers
 Provides great experience to the audience
 Ensures business growth
CONTENT MARKETING

OBJECTIVES
Content Marketing
 CONTENT MARKETING > OBJECTIVES

At the end of this unit, you will be able to:

o Understand the importance of content marketing and
inbound in modern marketing
o Apply principles of Inbound Marketing
o Appreciate the effect of content marketing in other areas
of digital marketing
o Create audience persona
o Map the buyer journey
o Identify the role of different types of content
o Integrate important elements of good content
 CONTENT MARKETING > OBJECTIVES (CONTD.)

At the end of this unit, you will be able to:

o Map contents to buyer journey
o Amplify contents by going beyond publishing
o Describe the need and tools for inbound automation
o Measure content performance
o Understand the application of User Generated Content
and
Viral Content
o Use content for B2B marketing
o Plan for content marketing
CONTENT MARKETING

CONTENT MARKETING
The Modern Digital Marketing
CONTENT MARKETING > INTRODUCTION

Content Marketing is not only the present,

but also the future of marketing. It involves:

• Creating contents of value.

• Distributing to the targeted audience.
• Driving business objectives – branding
and sales.
A well-crafted content marketing strategy
helps in:
• Gaining customer attraction and retention.
• Reducing cost of outbound marketing
(traditional and digital) over a period of
time.
• Creating loyalty and brand advocacy.
CONTENT MARKETING > NEED FOR CONTENT MARKETING

Reason for content marketing:

• Exposure to various channels such as

Facebook, Emails, WhatsApp, News Site
etc.
• Too much content across these channels
• Low attention span
• Standout through useful content.

Source : Smart Insights

 CONTENT MARKETING > CONTENT MARKETING AND INBOUND

Inbound Marketing is a way to

convert prospects into customers.

This can be done

through:
• Great content.
• Owned media and social
media, SEO, emails and
paid promotions.
• Technology in real time.

Source : Ironpaper
CONTENT MARKETING > CONTENT AND INBOUND –ARE THEY DIFFERENT?

Content is the CORE of

inbound. They are both:

• Based on customer centric

approach.
• Integrated, connected, and often
used interchangeably.
• Supposed to bring cash, customer,
and context.
State of Inbound gives the reports and
One point where they differ recommendation of Inbound Marketing in a particular
substantially is the degree of year.
‘automation in inbound.’
CONTENT MARKETING

PRINCIPLES OF INBOUND
MARKETING
Moving from Interruption to
Engagement
CONTENT MARKETING > STAGES OF INBOUND MARKETING

HubSpot popularised Inbound Marketing through the 4 –stage process

 CONTENT MARKETING > ATTRACT

Need to target:

• At the right traffic

• As Right traffic = Right customers
• At the right place on web
• With useful content
• Through Blog, SEO, Social Media
Marketing, and Emails
CONTENT MARKETING > CONVERT

Need to convert:

• For making it easy for audience to

understand the offerings
• For linking it to the problems the
audience want to be solved by providing
key information in form of landing
pages, e-books etc.
• For making them leave their contact
details behind
 CONTENT MARKETING > CLOSE

Need to close:

• Transform leads into customers

• Communicate clear benefits
• Understand and customise
message/offering
• Develop a smooth ‘conversion’ process
 CONTENT MARKETING > DELIGHT

Need to delight:

• Focus on value beyond the 1st

conversion
• Encourage repeat or referral
• Convert customers into brand
ambassador
CONTENT MARKETING

CONTENT MARKETING IMPACT ON

OTHER AREAS OF DIGITAL
MARKETING
Implication on SEO, Social Media
and PPC Marketing
 CONTENT MARKETING > CONTENT MARKETING AND SEO
Getting in the search
engine results
Good content is inherent in SEO and
builds authority. It should be relevant
and crafted around keywords.

Visitors intrigued by
The areas where good content is title and description
essential:
• Page content – Needs to be useful
and engaging Visitors impressed with
Visitors visit your
• Title and meta description – Needs your Guest
Post/Infographics
webpage
to address ‘the what’
• URL – Short and succinct
• Guest post and Infographics – Visitors engage (and
Good link building strategies also possibly converts) with
your content
need good content
 CONTENT MARKETING > CONTENT MARKETING AND SOCIAL MEDIA

Good content needs Think of social media

to be promoted as a ‘new channel’
(amplified) in social which needs good
media. content.

The ‘snippets’ you Content can be

write requires good created for specific
content. social media groups.

Use formats within

Shareable contents social media channels
gives more e.g. LinkedIn Pulse,
Source : Content Marketing Institute
engagement. Instagram stories,
Facebook video.
CONTENT MARKETING > CONTENT MARKETING AND PPC MARKETING

PPC (Pay per click) marketing and

content marketing together creates
greater impact. Together they:

• Open possibilities of remarketing

• Decrease cost – CPC and CPA
• Can make targeting more efficient
• Can be used for rapid content
amplification
• Help in testing your contents Source : Techwyse
CONTENT MARKETING

CREATING AUDIENCE PERSONA

Stepping Stone in Content
Marketing
CONTENT MARKETING > NEED FOR A PERSONA

Not all audience is created

equal. The need for a
persona helps in:
• Targeting specific contents.
• Mapping content to the
stage of buyer journey.
• Personalising.
• Marketing to develop the
correct pitch.

Persona of an Audi buyer from Marketing Teacher

CONTENT MARKETING > POINTERS FOR CREATING PERSONA

Demographi
cs
• Age and gender
• Household income
• Family
• Education

Interests

• Work
• Hobby
• Support to any cause
Source : Centre for Sales Strategies
• Affiliation (politics etc.)
• Aspiration
CONTENT MARKETING > POINTERS FOR CREATING PERSONA

Consumer
Journey
• Pain or challenges (relating to
the need)
• How does consumer gets
influenced
• Role played by consumer in
purchase decision
• Benefits which resonates with
him/her
• Current provider

Source : Centre for Sales Strategies

CONTENT MARKETING > EXAMPLE OF A PERSONA

Values and Marketing

Fears Message
• Values Ultimate social
dependability, media
clarity, good UI, scheduling tool
fast support
• Objects to pricing
and poor value
proposition during
sales process
Elevator Pitch

Use buffer to schedule posts of favourite social

profiles. The best content to share will be shown
which can be easily added with one click.
Source : Example of a persona from
Hubspot
CONTENT MARKETING

MAPPING BUYER’S JOURNEY

Understanding the Needs and
Wants
CONTENT MARKETING > UNDERSTANDING THE BUYING JOURNEY

Awareness Interest Desire Action Loyalty

CONTENT MARKETING > UNDERSTANDING THE BUYING JOURNEY

Awareness Interest Desire Action Loyalty

Points to note on Awareness:

• Prospect does not know about the company or offering.
• They are still searching to meet their need or want.
• Content should create awareness, what to do, how to do it and how does that
help in solving prospect’s problem.
CONTENT MARKETING > UNDERSTANDING THE BUYING JOURNEY

Awareness Interest Desire Action Loyalty

Points to note on Interest:

• Prospect starts researching more about the company, its work, solutions and
clients.
• Content should give credibility and lead to consideration.
CONTENT MARKETING > UNDERSTANDING THE BUYING JOURNEY

Awareness Interest Desire Action Loyalty

Steps to note on Awareness:

Points to note on Desire:
• Prospect does not know about the company or offering.
• Prospect starts comparing products/services.
• They are still searching to meet their need or want.
• Asks for demo, prototypes and samples.
• Content should create awareness, what to do, how to do it and how does
• Content should connect with prospect’s pain point and challenges.
that help in solving prospect’s problem.
CONTENT MARKETING > UNDERSTANDING THE BUYING JOURNEY

Awareness Interest Desire Action Loyalty

Points to note on Action:

• Prospect starts negotiation, preparation etc.
• Prospect may also look for testimonials and references.
• Content should aim at efficiency, benefits, usage.
• Customer support helps in this stage.
CONTENT MARKETING > UNDERSTANDING THE BUYING JOURNEY

Awareness Interest Desire Action Loyalty

Points to note on Loyalty:

• Prospects get their pain addressed and start talking to others about your
product/solution.
• They can also become your evangelist.
• Contents should help them to propagate (case studies/success stories), set
up trial, help them to upgrade at this stage.
 CONTENT MARKETING > POINTERS FOR BUYING JOURNEY

In digital world
the journey is
not linear.

Different persona
may have different
triggers at the
same stage of
buying journey.

Rely on data to Source : Akoonu

understand online
behaviour on each
touch point.
CONTENT MARKETING

CONTENT TYPES
How They Play Out
CONTENT MARKETING > DIFFERENT TYPES OF MARKETING CONTENTS

Types of Marketing contents being used

(Source : Ironpaper)
 CONTENT MARKETING > SOME CONTENT TYPES

White
paper Detailed guide on a specific topic

Reports Heavy on data that supports

decision making
Articles/blo Consists of smaller write-ups on
gs opinions, how tos etc.
Best suited for awareness and
Webinars
interest stage
Can be crafted to tell stories on
Videos
customers, demos or point of
views
 CONTENT MARKETING > SOME CONTENT TYPES (CONTD.)

Infographic Represents data in a visually

s easy consumable form
Bait for collecting information in
Tips-sheet
and Guides
exchange of downloads in form
of guides and checklist

There are many forms such as tools, rich graphics,

ebooks etc. each catering to diffèrent objectives of
content marketing.
CONTENT MARKETING

VOICE, TONE, CONSISTENCY, AND

STORYTELLING
What Makes a Good Content
CONTENT MARKETING > VOICE

The benefits of using voice:

• Gives uniqueness to what you write

• Stands out and builds brand
• Sounds less mechanical
• Creates unique way to communicate
ideas
Some of the common voices
can be:
• Passionate – Enthusiastic, right from
the gut, actionable
• Quirky – Unexpected, contrarian,
humorous
• Authentic – Genuine and trustworthy Avinash Kaushik using a quirky voice in most
of his blogs.
 CONTENT MARKETING > TONE

Tone depends on the type of content and audience that you are aiming at. A few examples of
tones that you can use:
Witty Present a point in a fun and logical way

Create points for issues which

Serious
demand serious readers

Didactic Teach what to do

Empathet
Understand the pain point of the
ic
audience

Honest Identify limitation A post from Buffer giving an honest take on the
mistakes

Scientific Draft data with lot of proofs

 CONTENT MARKETING > CONSISTENCY

Consistency reflects in multiple

ways:
• The way to write/produce
• The frequency of publishing
• The opinion and view points one
holds

Consistency helps in planning.

It:
• Puts your research in the right
direction.
• Creates the unique positioning.
• Creates fan.
• Boosts the SEO.
CONTENT MARKETING > STORYTELLING

Stories have been the ancient

form of passing knowledge. It:

• Must stick, otherwise we tend to

forget.
• Makes the connect.
• Must have meaning.
• Must be relevant.
We are inundated with approximately
2900 pieces of content every day - that
means more than 100 per hour. So
stories can help us to stand out.
CONTENT MARKETING

MAPPING CONTENT TO BUYER

JOURNEY
Giving Them What They Want in
the Right Way
 CONTENT MARKETING > THE PURPOSE OF GOOD CONTENT

Entertain
Competitions, quizzes, branded videos etc.
meant to engage with the emotional side at the
early stage of buyer journey
Articles, books, reports etc. to make audience
Educate
empowered to take decisions

Reviews, testimonials etc. to inspire

Inspire
audience to engage with your brand

Case studies, tools, webinars etc. helping

Convince
in the buying decision
CONTENT MARKETING > MAPPING CONTENT

Source: Smartinsights
CONTENT MARKETING

CONTENT AMPLICATION
Just Not Enough to Produce and
Publish
 CONTENT MARKETING > WHY AMPLIFICATION

Marketing should not be limited to

producing content and publishing. It
should:

• Reach out to a wider audience.

• Use various channels.
• Give the ROI of the content
marketing.
CONTENT MARKETING > WAYS AND TOOLS FOR CONTENT AMPLIFACTION

Content amplification can be done

using:
• Paid-pushes in Search Engine and
Social Media.
• Influencers to reach out to the
network.
• 3rd party publishing platforms such as
LinkedIn Pulse and Medium.
• Native placement by services like
Taboola.
Source: Outbrain
• Services such as Contently to
connect to relevant networks.
• Tools such as Outbrain to reach out
to multiple publishers.
CONTENT MARKETING

INBOUND AUTOMATION
Tools That Help in Inbound and
Content Marketing
 CONTENT MARKETING > WHAT IS INBOUND AUTOMATION

Inbound automation can help

you to:
• Engage with relevant content.
• Identify and nurture sales leads.
• Analyse data and suggest actions.
• Monitor online interactions.
• Manage and track social media.
• Send customised e-mails based on
user actions.
Source : Pardot
 CONTENT MARKETING > TOOLS FOR INBOUND AUTOMATION

Infusion Helps in CRM, sales management,

Soft marketing management etc.
Helps in social media marketing,
HubSpot content management, analytics,
landing page creation
and
Has management, goal based
features of HubSpot and islead
very
Marketo
nurturing
efficient inetc.
analysing leads and
contextualising communication.

There are many more tools in the market from free

to premium.
CONTENT MARKETING

CONTENT KPI AND ROI

Measure and Improve
 CONTENT MARKETING > IMPORTANCE OF MEASURING CONTENT ROI

If you don’t Different metrics are

measure you will required across the
not know if your different stage of
content is giving content journey.
the dividends.

ROI should be in all

By tracking ROI
three important
you can repeat
components - Cost,
what is
Utilisation and
successful.
Performance.
 CONTENT MARKETING > SOME STANDARD CONTENT ROI

Early Stage Late stage Others

• Traffic • Enrolments • TAT

• Link to content • Participation • Cost
• Social shares • Leads • ROI
• Engagements • Pipeline
• Followers • Sales

Source: Marketo
CONTENT MARKETING

USER GENERATED CONTENT

Created by Audience and for the
Audience
CONTENT MARKETING > BENEFITS OF USER GENERATED CONTENT (UGC)

A few advantages of UGC. It:

• Is authentic.
• Has higher involvement by community.
• Can be re-purposed.
• Can lead to business
ideas/innovations.
• Can help WOM advertisement, at no
cost (almost).
• Can improve the web metrics - CTR,
CPC, CPA.
Millennials consider UGC 20% more
influential and 35% more memorable
than brand messages.
CONTENT MARKETING > SOURCING USER GENERATED CONTENT

Automatic

Social media sites, review, blog

comment etc.

Driven

There needs to be a proper

strategy and incentivising like
contest, event promotions etc.
Source: Newscred
 CONTENT MARKETING > UGC IN ACTION

Chobani asked its user to submit

video/images praising its (Greek)
yogurt. Contents were shared in
online as well as traditional
media ~ generated 225%
increase in topline.

(Source:NYT)
CONTENT MARKETING > UGC BEST PRACTICES

Note the best practises of

UGC:
• Promote in all media
• Encourage participation by
incentivisation
• Match promotion type with
audience
• Target contents which can be
re-used
• Keep the participation
painless

Benefits of Starbucks UGC (Source : McKinsey)

CONTENT MARKETING

VIRAL CONTENT
Science and Art of it
 CONTENT MARKETING > VIRAL MARKETING

A few points about viral

marketing:
• Emotional engagement
• Unique
• Shareable
• Presentation
• Titles and sub titles
• Promotion in peak hours
• Cross-promotion Source : Youtube

• Avoid negative
emotions/controversies for
brands
 CONTENT MARKETING > VIRAL MARKETING IN ACTION: TAG HEUER

“The Don’t Crack Under Pressure campaign

highlights athletic, science and art achievements of
Tag Heuer ambassadors. The incredible feats these
individuals have reached without succumbing to
pressure.”

Viral marketing was done by:

• Involving celebrities across generation.

• Tagging with other popular sporting events.

Source : Tag Heuer

CONTENT MARKETING

CONTENT DRIVEN B2B MARKETING

Creating Stickiness
 CONTENT MARKETING > WHY CONTENT DRIVES B2B MARKETING

The reasons why content in

important in B2B marketing are:
• Complex and long sales cycle which
needs constant engagement.
• Multiple people in the buyer
organisation needs different influencing
points.
• Content can be targeted for desirable
engagement.
• Content helps to stand out in the clutter.
90% of B2B marketers already consider
Content key to their marketing mix as per
Business Marketing Association.
 CONTENT MARKETING > PLANNING CONTENT MARKETING FOR B2B

Remember the points while

planning content marketing for
B2B:
• Create goals and sub-goals
• Create content around needs and pains
• Classify content based on the purposes –
inform, inspire, answer (the question),
convince, and convert
• Promote content through social media and
influencers
• Align promotion with traditional marketing
like trade events
• Measure and improve
Source- Slideshare
CONTENT MARKETING

CONTENT PLANNING
Putting it in Process
 CONTENT MARKETING > CONTENT PLANNING

Note the following points

while planning for content:
• Focus on audience first
• Determine the personas
• Understand the buying cycle
• Ideate the positioning
• Understand the capabilities of
channels for outreach
• Identify resources – external and
internal
• Identify the tools required
 CONTENT MARKETING > CONTENT PLANNING (CONTD.)

Note the following points

while planning for content:
• Put the content mix
• Plan the calendar for publishing
• Plan the production
• Identify vectors for content
amplification
• Measure the important metrics
• Audit content regularly
• Analyse and Improve
CONTENT MARKETING

CHECK YOUR
UNDERSTANDING
CONTENT MARKETING > CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

1. One of the following is NOT a benefit of content marketing:

a. It creates higher engagement

b. It is always cheaper than other approach to marketing

c. It induces brand loyalty

d. It can drive both branding and sales

Content Marketing is not ALWAYS cheaper, but over the time cost reduces and it can become cheaper than
other forms of marketing
CONTENT MARKETING > CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

2. Content Marketing helps SEO effort by

a. Decreasing page load time

b. Increasing page crawl

c. Decreasing bounce rate

d. Decreasing time on page

Well crafted content marketing should engage visitors more on the landing page and hence bounce rates
should decrease.
CONTENT MARKETING > CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

3. A visually rich content which simplifies understanding of lot of complex data is called

a. White paper

b. Case study

c. Infometer

d. Infographic

That's the definition of infographics

CONTENT MARKETING > CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

4. An Instagram photo competition is an example of a content which

a. Entertains

b. Educates

c. Inspires

d. Convinces

Competition type contents are meant for entertainment

CONTENT MARKETING > CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

5. User generated content happens automatically and need not be driven

a. TRUES

b. FALSE

Sometimes UGC needs to be driven by incentives

CONTENT MARKETING > SUMMARY

Key points discussed in this module:

o Introduction and importance of content
marketing and inbound
o Principles of Inbound Marketing
o Effect of content marketing on other areas of
digital marketing
o Audience persona creation
o Buyer journey
o Different types of contents and their roles
o Important elements of a good content
CONTENT MARKETING > SUMMARY

Key points discussed in this module:

o Amplifying content
o Need and tools of inbound automation
o Content measurement and ROI
o User Generated Content
o Viral Content
o Content driven B2B Marketing
o Planning for content marketing
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