The State of Content Marketing 2015

THE STATE OF 20 CONTENT MARKETING 15 2015 promlses to be a great year for marketers as confidence In content marketing Is growlng slgniflcantly. In fact, 50% of B2C marketers expect thelr budgets to Increase! Content marketing was voted the top marketing activity to drive commerclal results In 2015 by Smart Insights readers, so competitlon wll be tough and the need to create a focused plan Is paramount. MOST COMMERCIALLY IMPORTANT DIGITAL MARKETING TREND FOR 2015? Content Marketing 29.6% Big Data 14.6% Marketing Automation 12.8% Mobile Marketing 11.0% Social Media Marketing 8.9% CRO 7.6% SEO 4.3% Communities 3.1% PPC 3.0% Partnerships 1.5% Display advertising 1.5% Other 1.3% Online PR 1.0% Source: Smart Insights 3 ONLINE MARKETING BRANDS LEADING THE WAY The online marketing industry show how effective DATA PROVIDED BY OSimilarWeb content marketing is at driving inbound traffic: Hubspót OKISSmetrics Receives 37% of traffic share to Receives 70% of traffic share to Their Research/tools and blog their blog compared to their their blog – featuring a mix of blogs, tools and infographics pages are most popular – both with 14% traffic share homepage which receives 13% STATE OF CONTENT MARKETING recent survey by the CMI revealed the key challenges B2C marketers are facing in North America. Unsurprisingly, measuring content effectiveness continues to be a major challenge moving into 2015. 51% 50% 46% 44% 40% Measuring content Producing Lack of budget Producing content consistently Producing a variety effectiveness engaging content of content ...... HOW ARE MARKETERS MEASURING SUCCESS? HOW THEY RATE THEIR CONTENT Website traffic 62% 8% Best in class Sales 54% 29% Content superstars Higher conversion rates 39% 36% Pros SEO ranking 39% 22% Intermediates Time spent on website 38% 5% Beginners Source: B2C Content Marketing: 2015 Benchmarks, Budget and Trends – North America THE 8 KEY GOALS FOR CONTENT MARKETING IN 2015 Marketers' top goals for 2015 focus less on lead generation and selling and more on engagement and developing long-term relationships with audiences and customers. 88% 88% 87% 77% Customer relationship/ loyalty Engagement Brand awareness Sales 69% 69% 61% 50% Customer evangelism (new for 2015) Lead generation Lead nurturing Upsell/Cross-sell Source: B2C Content Marketing: 2015 Benchmarks, Budget and Trends – North America http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/2015_B2C_Research.pdf DO MARKETERS HAVE A CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY OR PLAN? YES YES NO 32.3% 11.7% 56% It's integrated into our marketing It's defined in a separate document We are doing content marketing, but have no defined strategy communications or inbound marketing strategy Source: Smart Insights MOST POPULAR B2C CONTENT MARKETING TACTICS While social media content is rated the most popular tactic, it's actually in-person events that are proving most effective. Effectiveness Rating Social media content (other than blogs) 93% 58% eNewsletters 80% 66% Articles on your website 78% 53% Illustration/photos 75% 63% Videos 74% 54% In-person events 67% 63% Blogs 67% 54% Branded content tools 47% Not Rated Infographics 45% Not Rated Microsites 44% Not Rated Mobile apps 42% 49% Source: B2C Content Marketing: 2015 Benchmarks, Budget and Trends – North America http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/2015_B2C_Research.pdf TECHNIQUES AND TIPS 7 CONTENT MARKETING PLANNING TECHNIQUES In order to develop long-term relationships with customers, brands must analyse data to generate deep insights into their audience. This enables brands to plan, create and distribute content that is relevant, engaging and useful, thus meeting customer needs. Key Recommendation 1 Key Recommendation 5 Effective outreach analysis Customer persona creation bitly/smartpersonas bitly'smartoutreach Key Recommendation 2 Customer journey mapping Key Recommendation 6 Investing in content distribution bitly/smartjourneys bitly/smartdistribution Key Recommendation 7 Key Recommendation 3 ulll Using analytics for ROI/ value assessment Customer marketing matrix bitly/smartcontent bitly'smartcontentroi Key Recommendation 4 JAN Editorial calendars bitly/smartcalendars Source: http://www.smartinsights.com/content-management/ managing-content-marketing/competing-content-marketing-infographic INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES Once you've analysed your customers content needs you can decide how and where to invest your content marketing budget for optimum performance. 6 SMART CONTENT INVESTMENTS FOR 2015 Key Recommendation 5 Key Recommendation 1 Content promotion through Content creation (extemal source) eamed media (social media & PR) Key Recommendation 2 Key Recommendation 6 Paid Adwords or advertising Content creation (network promotion) (internal - headcount) Key Recommendation 7 Key Recommendation 3 #3 Paid social distribution (Facebook, Twitter, Buzzfeed, Outbrain) Strategy and editorial (planning a relevant, timely calendar of content for the above) Source: 7 Steps to content marketing success http://www.smartinsights.com/content- management/managing-content-marketing/competing-content-marketing-infographic/ WHAT MARKETERS MUST GET RIGHT Use our handy checklist to guarantee that every aspect of content marketing is being covered. A lot of the time, too much emphasis is placed on creation when strategy, planning and distribution are just as important. STRATEGY PLANNING V Document your content marketing strategy V Plan frequency of content V Source internalexternal help V Assign content marketing objectives & set KPI's to create content V Measure ROl using Plan content/ analytics editorial calendar CREATION DISTRIBUTION Utilise owned media (email/website/blog/social networks) to distribute content Create relevant content for the audience and channel V Increase reach of content via paid media (e.g. M Edit content to use again in different formats e.g. blog post/eBook/infographic 1 social advertising, promoted posts, content distribution platforms etc.) M Create content on appropriate/ timely themes for journalists Generate earned media coverage through influencers and journalists (e.g. social, media sites & PR) DOWNLOAD THE CONTENT MARKETING CHECKLIST VISIT JBH.CO.UK Source: http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/2015_B2C_Research.pdf Even though content looks set to take over the digital marketing landscape In 2015, brands stll need to get the fundamentals right. This means coming up with a clear strategy, researchIng consumer data, distributing content In the right places and measuring campalgn effectiveness. By dolng so, B2C companles can overcome challenges such as creating engaglng content, whlch resonates and appeals to customers, on a regular and consIstent basls. BROUGHT TO YOU BY Smart Insights JBH CREATING COMPELLING ACTIONABLE DIGITAL CONTENT FOR BRANDS MARKETING ADVICE JBH.CO.UK SMARTINSIGHTS.COM