Our third annual industry study, 2014 Content Marketing Tactics Planner, revealed what over 500 marketers are planning this year. Here are the top nine content marketing tactics of these first-class professionals.

1. 9 Content Marketing Tactics to
become a Best-In-Class Content
Marketer

2. Source of Insight
Curata’s third annual study, Content Marketing Tactics Planner 2014 dove deep
into the tactics of digital content marketing practices.
Study Methodology and Demographics: Curata surveyed a total of 502 marketers
in the fall of 2013. Participants included:
– B2B vs. B2C: 53% marketers who took the survey were B2B companies, 12%
were B2C and 28% listed themselves as both.
– Thought leaders surveyed included CMI, B2B MarketingProfs and Industry
Analysts.
The results revealed that 71 percent of marketers
are increasing their spend on content marketing
this year. What are best-in-class marketers
spending their increased content budget on?
Read on for 9 top-notch
content marketing tactics to
include in your 2014 strategy!
Curata's 2014 Content Marketing Tactics Planner
© Curata, Inc. 2014 All rights reserved.
2

3. Tactic #1: Hire a Content Marketing
Executive
The survey revealed that 43 percent of organizations have a lead in place who is
directly responsible for an overall content marketing strategy. The first-class
marketers that have a content executive in place are better equipped to manage the
content production and distribution process. Hire a marketer solely dedicated to
content to organize the creation process and get more relevant, brand-aligned
content out the door.
Do you currently have an
executive in your
organization who is
directly responsible for an
overall content marketing
strategy? (e.g., Chief
Content Officer, VP or
Director of Content)
Curata's 2014 Content Marketing Tactics Planner
© Curata, Inc. 2014 All rights reserved.
3

4. Tactic #2: Build a Content Marketing Team
Once you have a content marketing lead in place, work on building out your
content team.
• Hire strong writers that can create valuable content for your audience that
aligns with brand messaging.
• Build a team of dependable, marketing-minded freelancers who create content
that require minor editing.
• Avoid “cheap” content:
• Ensure that all the content developed for your brand is high quality and
aligned with company standards.
• Align your content marketing efforts internally by including writers and idea
contributors across your organization in your content workflow.
© Curata, Inc. 2014 All rights reserved.
4

5. Tactic #3: Content Marketing Specific
Software
56% of marketers are using
content marketing specific
Which type of technology do you use for your content managementsoftware to manage their
process? (e.g., editorial calendar, internal and external collaboration)
content workflow and
(select all that apply)
distribution. Using technology
to find relevant
sources, organize your content
workflow and publish content
56%
consistently makes you a go-to
source for information.
Which content marketing
technology can help turn you
into a thought leader? Check
out The Ultimate List.
Curata's 2014 Content Marketing Tactics Planner
© Curata, Inc. 2014 All rights reserved.
5

6. Tactic #4: Think About the Buyer’s Journey
Consider the buyer’s
journey when developing
and publishing content.
Driving leads was found to
be content marketers’
number one priority, but
they have not lost sight of
the importance of
engagement (priority
number two here!). With
engaging content for
potential buyers and
industry influencers, will
come a higher quantity
and quality of leads.
Engaging customers is the
name of the game for
content marketing.
Rank the following content marketing objectives for your organization in
order of priority: (1 = top priority)
Highest
Priority
Lowest
Priority
Curata's 2014 Content Marketing Tactics Planner
Remember: Content isn’t finished once it’s published.
It has to be measured and promoted. Here’s insight on
how to reach more potential buyers and find out what
content draws them in.
© Curata, Inc. 2014 All rights reserved.
6

7. Tactic #5: The Content Marketing Mix
What is your [desired] content marketing
mix for each type of content?
Syndicate
d Content
10%
0%
Curated
Content
25%
Created
Content
65%
First class content marketers aim to
create only 65% of content, with the
reminder being 25% curated and 10%
syndicated. It’s nearly impossible to
create 100% original content and keep up
with the rest of the content published in
your industry. Adjust your content
strategy to include more curated and
syndicated content to better leverage
resources, engage buyers through higher
value content and improve the ideation
process.
Curata's 2014 Content Marketing Tactics Planner
© Curata, Inc. 2014 All rights reserved.
7

8. Tactic #6: Curation Annotation
Many marketers are struggling with content curation; contextualizing content for their
audience being the top challenge. Annotated curated articles, however, can provide
your readers with diverse perspectives, add credibility to your brand and provide
additional value with your added insights.
How effective is your organization at executing across the
following stages of content "curation"?
Here are six different ways to
annotate curated content.
Additionally, with the increased
budget for content marketing, more
marketers will be able to implement
content management tools to help
find, organize, annotate and share
content for their audience.
Curata's 2014 Content Marketing Tactics Planner
© Curata, Inc. 2014 All rights reserved.
8

9. Tactic #7: Content Curation Frequency
Top-notch content marketers (16%) curate every day, and 48% curate every
week. Audiences want fresh, relevant content daily; and if you’re not providing
them with it, they’ll look elsewhere (perhaps to your competitors).
How often do you curate/share content from 3rd party sources
such as blogs, social media, industry publications or news sites
with your customers and/or prospects?
25%
48%
% of Participants
20%
15%
10%
5%
If you can’t publish original created
content daily, curate it! Supporting
your created content strategy with
curation takes only minutes a day and
can increase your brand
awareness, buyer engagement and drive
more leads. Creation should stand as the
backbone of your content strategy, but
curation helps content marketers get
quality content out every day.
Check out this eBook for 100+ tips on
how to Feed the Content Beast.
0%
Daily
3 days per
week
Weekly
Monthly
Quarterly or
less
Never
Content Curation Frequency
Curata's 2014 Content Marketing Tactics Planner
© Curata, Inc. 2014 All rights reserved.
9

10. Tactic #8: Content Curation Dedicated Time
Curate content for 20 minutes per day (or less!).
Many marketers (46%) are spending over
2 hours per day on curation. These
marketers are most likely spending too
much time searching for credible
sources, annotating content that isn’t brand
relevant and manually sharing to multiple
channels. Implementing a content curation
platform can help these marketers spend
less time curating and more time
publishing.
For more information on how to curate
content in under 20 minutes a day, check
out this eBook, 5 Simple Steps to
Becoming a Content Curation Rockstar.
How much time do each of your team members spend on
average, per day, curating content on days when they are
curating? (i.e., finding, annotating, contextualizing and
publishing/sharing content)
Curata's 2014 Content Marketing Tactics Planner
© Curata, Inc. 2014 All rights reserved. 10

11. Tactic #9: Sharing Curated Content
Social media, blogs, newsletters and corporate sites are the top places
marketers are choosing to share their curated content. Best practice is to
publish this content on multiple channels in order to reach a wider target
audience. Here are templates on how to curate content for various channels.
On what channels do you currently share your "curated" content?
Curata's 2014 Content Marketing Tactics Planner
With content
management platforms
that have a one-click to
multiple channels
feature, it’s getting
much easier for
marketers to publish
curated content for a
wider audience.
© Curata, Inc. 2014 All rights reserved. 11

12. Additional Resources
eBook: 2014 Content
Marketing Tactics
Planner
eBook: Look Book
Content Curation
Case Studies
eBook: Content
Marketing Done Right:
Ethical Curation
Guide: Content
Curation Annotation
Methods
eBook: 5 Steps to
Becoming a Content
Curation Rockstar
eBook: Open & Shut
Case for Curation
eBook: Stop Egocentric
Marketing: Content
Marketing Strategy
Industry Resource & News:
Content Curation Marketing Site
www.contentcurationmarketing.com
…and more online at: www.curata.com/resources
Email: marketing@curata.com Twitter: @GetCurata
LinkedIn Group: Content Curators
12