Content Marketing for PR Pros

Content Marketing for PR Pros YouToo Social Media Conference 2011 – April 15

Presented by Paul Roetzer, PR 20/20 Twitter: @PaulRoetzer

#YouToo2011

Content Marketing: Changing the PR Industry Forever

“Content marketing, which requires expert copywriting and strategic planning, is the single largest growth opportunity for PR agencies (and professionals).”

10 Public Relations Trends That Will Change the Industry Forever Dec. 7, 2008

Twitter: @PaulRoetzer

Content Marketing Tools

• Articles

• Blogs

• Case studies

• eBooks

• Photos

• Podcasts

• Press releases

• Videos

• Webinars

• White papers

Hybrid Professionals – 10 Traits • Social-web savvy •  Inbound marketer • Publisher • Analyst • Relationship builder • Lifelong student • Thought leader • Risk taker • Tech savvy • Game changer

Source: 10 Traits of an Emerging PR Pro

The Numbers

•  More than 16 billion core searches each month

•  1.9 billion videos streamed each month

•  Americans watch 3.5 hrs/week of online video

•  5 billion photos hosted by Flickr

•  85 million LinkedIn members

•  152 million blogs on the Internet

•  145 million Twitter users

•  600 million Facebook members

•  More than 30 billion pieces of content shared each month on Facebook

Sources: Facebook, comScore, Arbitron, Flickr, Royal Pingdom

“We all have a story to tell.”

Stand Out From the Crowd . . .

Win Their Hearts and Minds . . . Twitter: @PaulRoetzer

1.  Define & differentiate your brand.

2.  Build your content creation team.

3.  Profile your buyer personas.

4.  Connect content to your goals (and theirs).

5.  Choose your publishing tools.

6.  Develop your editorial calendar.

7.  Integrate your search, social & PR strategies.

8.  Establish your budgets (time & money).

9.  Launch, measure & evolve.

Win with a Persona-Based Content Strategy

1) Define & differentiate your brand.

What is a brand?

Brand = experiences + perceptions

How to define your brand?

•  Who are we (in 160 characters or less, and without meaningless jargon)?

•  What are the three greatest strengths/weaknesses of our brand?

•  What are our greatest opportunities for growth?

•  What makes us different, remarkable?

•  What value (i.e. expertise, resources, guidance, tools) can we bring to our audiences?

•  What makes customers buy from us the first time (acquisition)? What keeps them coming back (retention)?

2) Build your content creation team.

Source: Driven By Content video series

Potential content creators

•  Internal: Marketing, communications, sales, executives, customer service, technical, journalism school interns

•  Outsourced: Freelance writers, publishers, journalists, PR firms

Importance of an editor

•  Maintain the editorial calendar

•  Keep the team on track

•  Proof all content prior to publishing

•  Ensure consistency of style, format, tone & messaging

•  Can be internal or outsourced Source: What Your Blog May Be Missing

What makes for great content?

•  Strategic

•  Brand centric

•  Buyer persona focused

•  Optimized for search engines

•  Technically sound

•  Creative

•  Results driven

Source: 7 Key Elements of Great Business Content

Buyer persona focused content

•  Make personal connections

•  Address pain points and bring value

•  Demonstrate a clear understanding of your audiences, and know how to engage them

•  Promote and deliver in their preferred format

3) Profile your buyer personas.

Defining your buyer personas

• What are their goals and aspirations?

• What motivates and inspires them?

• What are their problems/pains/obstacles?

• How do they consume information (online and offline)?

• What/who influences their buying decisions?

• What's important to them?

Other buyer persona criteria •  Geography

•  Demographics

•  Title/responsibilities

•  Industry

•  Preferred communications

•  Technographics (social media activity)

•  Buying cycle

•  Alternatives/competition

•  Success factors

•  MAD-R (Money, Authority, Desire, Response)

How do you research personas?

•  Analyze customer database

•  Talk to sales reps

•  Read industry publications, blogs & analyst reports

•  Check magazine editorial calendars

•  Monitor/participate in social networks

•  Run a keyword analysis

•  Review organic traffic reports

•  Assess competitor websites & content

•  Ask them

•  Type: Old school/laggard

•  Title: CEO, president

•  Industry: Finance, insurance, accounting, legal

•  Pains: Business flat or declining

•  Causes: Economy, lack of innovation/vision

•  Sources: WSJ, trade magazines

•  Influencers: Peers, media

•  Technographics: Inactive

•  Success: Bottom line

•  Content: Case studies, press releases, original reports

“ROI Ivan”

“Engagement Erin” •  Type: New school/early adopter

•  Title: Marketing director, community manager, owner

•  Industry: Technology, retail, arts & entertainment

•  Pains: Information & inbox overload, multitasking, platform confusion, too tactical

•  Causes: Lack of training, following the “experts/gurus,” reporting to “Ivans”

•  Sources: Social, blogs, webinars

•  Influencers: Peers, bloggers

•  Technographics: Creator

•  Success: Leads, inbound links, engagement, speaking opportunities, website traffic

•  Content: Blog, videos, mobile apps, webinars, eBooks

4) Connect content to your goals (and theirs).

Their goals

•  Knowledge

•  Confidence

•  Peace of mind

•  Efficiency

•  Differentiation

•  Competitive advantage

•  Growth/ROI

5) Choose your publishing tools.

• Participate in the community • Publish original research • Distribute email newsletters

• Get a blog • Provide how tos, tutorials • Make a few videos

Source: Google Webmaster Central Channel

Content-driven link building

6) Develop your editorial calendar.

The value of abstracts

•  Topic: How to handle negative comments about your brand online.

•  Categories: Social Media, Brand

•  Audience/Buyer Persona: Execs (Executive Eddie) and brand managers (Brandy Brand Manager) who are nervous about social networking because of the loss of brand control.

•  Goal: Education

•  Abstract: This blog post will provide actionable tips for brand managers on how to react to negative comments online — whether on review sites, personal blogs, social networks or in response to company postings.

•  Date: TBD

7) Integrate your search, social & PR strategies.

Source: How to Build Your Inbound Marketing GamePlan

8) Establish your budgets (time & money).

Primary budget factor = content creation

•  Internal = time

•  Outsourced = money

What does content cost?

•  Traditional = $1/word

•  Today = ???

9) Launch, measure & evolve.

Measurement & Impact

• Content downloads • Donations •  Inbound links • Keyword rankings • Leads

• Reach • Referring sites • Registrations • Speaking opportunities • Website visitors

The Case of Matt Cutts

Sources: Is Matt Cutts the Most Powerful Man in PR?

The Platform

• 106,000+ Twitter Followers • Gadgets, Google & SEO blog with Alexa Rank of 3,219 • Google Webmaster YouTube Channel with 24,000+

subscribers and more than 2.3 million channel views • Frequent speaker, and media source

The New Model PR Pro

• Strong personal brand • Value creation through multi-media content • Use of social media to reach, influence and engage • Thought leader and industry expert • Trusted resource

Beware of the Content Flood

Some estimates indicate that in just a few years content on the Internet will double every 72 hours.

Closing Thoughts

•  Understand what makes audiences unique.

•  Have a plan and build a strong content team.

•  Be remarkable and memorable.

•  Take chances.

•  Put their needs and goals ahead of yours.

•  Bring value to their lives and help them find success.

Resources

•  Driven By Content video series

•  What Your Blog May Be Missing

•  7 Key Elements of Great Business Content

•  Google Webmaster Central YouTube Channel

•  How to Build Your Inbound Marketing GamePlan

•  2010 B2B Content Marketing: Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends

•  Content Curation: Bringing Order to Information Overload

•  10 Public Relations Trends That Will Change The Industry Forever

Thank You!

Paul Roetzer (216) 333-1242

paul@pr2020.com Twitter: @paulroetzer

www.PR2020.com

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