While content strategy and content marketing are two different practices, both are integral for success. In this short deck, prepared for the San Mateo B2B Bloggers Meetup, I outline some of the differences and similarities between content strategy and content marketing, shine a spotlight on mavens Kristina Halvorson and Joe Pulizzi, and recommend next steps.
1. Content Strategy Is Not
Content Marketing
(And why B2B bloggers should know both)
Rich Schwerin
Digital Content Strategist, VMware
San Mateo B2B Blogger Meetup
June 8, 2016
2. Says Who?
My Content Tour of Duty
• Ziff Davis editorial (‘92-’99)
• Corporate Computing
• PC/Computing
• ZDTV, author, freelancer
• A few dot-bomb startups (‘99-01)
• Founding editor
• Marketing communications
• Oracle (‘01-’14)
• Web editorial
• Oracle Publishing
• Brand & Creative
• Product Marketing
• Live video broadcasting
• Social content marketing
• Digital content strategy
• VMware (‘14-present)
• Digital Content Strategist
Rich Schwerin
@Greencognito
Linkedin.com/in/RichSchwerin
3. Content: What your audience is reading, learning, watching, hearing,
or experiencing. It’s all the critical information on your website,
blog, or any other communication channel.
As for Content Strategy and Content Marketing…
5. Three Things Content Strategy Does
Defines how
you’re going to
use content to
meet your
business goals
and satisfy your
users’ needs.
Guides decisions
about content
throughout its
lifecycle, from
discovery to
deletion.
Sets benchmarks
against which to
measure the
success of your
content.
1 2 3
"Content strategy guides your plans for the creation,
delivery, and governance of content."
- Kristina Halvorson, Content Strategy for the Web
6. How Does Content Strategy Work?
How/who makes key
decisions?
How is change
initiated/communicated?
Prioritization
Organization
Formatting
Display
Processes
Tools
Team Members
Roles & Responsibilities
Topics
Types
Sources
Messages
Credit: Kristina Halvorson, Content Strategy for the Web
7. Core Elements of Content Strategy
5
• Audit: Close-up of current content
• Analysis: Content goals, audience, competitors
• Strategy: Map the content journey by persona, decision points, &
source
Plan
• Workflow: How will content happen
• Writing: Content for humans (not copywriting)
• Delivery: Start with the content (not tools or channels or SEO)
Create
• Metrics: Data makes the case for better content
• Iterations: Continual analysis drives iterative recommendations
• Maintenance: Full lifecycle (not launch & leave)
Measure
8. The Content Matrix: Your Secret Weapon
Map the most impactful content types to journey stages, personas, channels
Leverage empirical data + Third-party research/surveys/best practices/frameworks*
Content inventory > audit > identify content gaps per channel (on & off property)
Plan, create, measure performance of new asset(s)
Technology
Decision-
Maker
Awareness
(Pre-req;
education)
Consideration
(Reqs; eval
options)
Preference
(design; build
business case)
Purchase (buy;
approve and buy)
Post-Purchase
(implement;
deploy, support)
Dotcom • Product overview
• Features/Benefits
• Comparisons
• Customer case
studies
• Analyst reports • Pricing &
promotions
• Support/docs
Support • User groups,
forums
• User groups,
forums
• User groups,
forums
• Optimization
tips
Blog • Thought
leadership
• High-level
products/solution
• Business benefits • Upgrades/new
releases
Social • Peer-to-peer;
related topics
• Peer-to-peer;
related topics
• Peer-to-peer;
related topics
• Peer-to-peer;
related topics
• Peer-to-peer;
related topics
[Generic sample]
ChannelsPersona
Buyer’s Journey Stages
* TechTarget, IDG, SiriusDecisions
10. Content Marketing Techniques
Maximize value & visibility of core content
• Drive awareness/demand generation
• Increase engagement
• Extend reach
• Social-ready derivatives drive traffic to core content
• Identify core assets
• Create derivative assets (often visual)
• Serialize, synchronize, syndicate on social & other channels
10
“Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing
valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly
defined audience to drive profitable customer action.”
- Joe Pulizzi, Content Marketing Institute
Kapost content pillar approach
11. Content Marketing: Maximizing Mileage
12
Core
Asset
Webinars,
Podcasts
eBooks,
White
Papers,
Checklists
Slides on
SlideShare
YouTube
Videos
(full, cut-
downs)
Serialized
Blog Posts
Infographics
& Images
Not more content. More mileage from existing core content
via searchable, snackable, shareable derivatives
which are serialized & syndicated via social.
Credit: Skyword’s Three
S’s of Successful Content
12. Example: Putting It All Together
Content Strategy: Identify & Fulfill Content Need
Content Matrix: Identified gap (Awareness, Tech Decision Maker, on property)
Plan: Interactive infographic; collaborate with PMM stakeholders
Create: Fund & manage vendor to create interactive infographic
Publish: After iterative edits, accept final deliverable and publish
Measure: Traffic, engagement, bounce, personas, geos, industry
Content Marketing: Amplify & Extend Content Reach
Goal: Increase content performance via content marketing
Phase One: Organic social
Two posts/week; 10 weeks; Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Google+
Increased traffic 61%, lowered bounce 40%; doubled time spent; increased next page interaction
Phase Two: Organic + paid social
Create derivatives (e.g. storyboard SlideShare) & amplify via social ads
13. Thanks! And Now Your Next Steps…
SHARE your content ideas
Blog, tweet, publish your content strategy/marketing ideas
FOLLOW the mavens & hashtags
@halvorson @joepulizzi #ContentStrategy #ConfabMN
@CMIcontent #CMworld Twitter chat every Tuesday 9am Pacific
JOIN the meetups
meetup.com/topics/content-strategy/ (357, 98K ww)
meetup.com/topics/content-marketing/ (606, 185K ww)
READ the books
Content Strategy for the Web, Kristina Halvorson
Epic Content and Content Inc, Joe Pulizzi
Everybody Writes, Ann Handley
ATTEND the events
ConfabMN, May, Minneapolis
Content Marketing World, September, Cleveland
Rich Schwerin
@Greencognito
Linkedin.com/in/RichSchwerin