9789401495479_00167f0cbca802 by Uitgeverij Lannoo

D/2023/45/258 – isbn 978 94 014 9547 9 – nur 802

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Interior design Banananas

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5 TABLE OF CONTENTS FOREWORD BY GUIDO EVERAERT 13 PART I: PREPARE 15 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 17 WHAT IS DIGITAL CONTENT MARKETING? 17 WHY IS DIGITAL CONTENT MARKETING IMPORTANT? 19 HOW DOES DIGITAL CONTENT MARKETING DIFFER FROM OTHER MARKETING TACTICS? 20 CHAPTER 2: DEVELOPING A DIGITAL CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY 23 CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY PLAN 23 FROM BUSINESS GOALS TO CONTENT MARKETING OBJECTIVES 25 CASE: MOONLIT APPAREL AND THE S.M.A.R.T. FRAMEWORK 29 DEFINE YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE THROUGH BUYER PERSONAS 32 TEENAGER NOAH 33 ACTIVE SENIORS IRIS AND JOHN 33 BUSY MOM EMILY 34 FROM BUYER PERSONA CANVAS TO CONTENT CHANNELS, FORMATS AND TACTICS 35 DEMOGRAPHICS VS DEVICE AND MEDIA USE 36 PSYCHOGRAPHICS VS CONTENT TYPES 38 JOBS TO BE DONE VS CONTENT TOPICS 41 INFLUENCERS AND ADVOCATES YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE LOVES 44 TOOL: TRAACKR 46 CHANNELS USED DURING THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY 47 FRAMEWORK: TOFU-MOFU-BOFU 51

6 CONTENT MARKETING LIKE A PRO CONTENT THEMES AND TOPICS 52 CONTENT FOCUS, TILT AND NICHE 53 CONTENT THAT IS TAILORED TO YOUR AUDIENCE’S NEEDS 56 THE IMPORTANCE OF UP-TO-DATE CONTENT 57 CONTENT CHANNEL MIX 58 YOUR CONTENT NEEDS A HOME 59 PAID MEDIA 61 OWNED MEDIA 62 EARNED MEDIA 63 A CONTENT CALENDAR FOR THE COMING YEAR: HERO, HUB, HELP 65 CONTENT FORMATS AND TOPICS 68 FREQUENCY AND CONSISTENCY 70 CREATING A CONTENT CALENDAR 70 REVIEWING YOUR CONTENT CALENDAR 73 METRICS AND ANALYSIS 73 EXAMPLE: MOONLIT APPAREL’S CONTENT MARKETING PLAN 73 CHOOSING THE RIGHT DIGITAL CONTENT FORMATS 75 AUDIENCE PREFERENCES 75 CREATE FOR MOBILE FIRST 76 TRANSACTIONAL OR RELATIONSHIP-BUILDING CONTENT? 77 TEXT OR VISUAL? 78 AUDIO FORMATS? 79 VERTICAL OR HORIZONTAL VIDEO? 80 LONG-FORM OR SHORT-FORM? 82 EXAMPLE: RICOLA’S SHE’S (COUGH) JUST A FRIEND CAMPAIGN (2014) 84 CASE IN POINT: KFC’S TENDER WINGS OF DESIRE BOOK 85 CASE IN POINT: YUME CAMPING YOUTUBE SHORTS AND TIKTOK VIDEOS 85 STOCK OR FLOW? 86 GATED OR UNGATED? 87 PERMANENT OR TEMPORARY? 88 INSOURCED OR OUTSOURCED? 90

93 CHAPTER 3: CREATING EFFECTIVE DIGITAL CONTENT 97 IDENTIFYING YOUR BRAND’S VISUAL STYLE 97 IDENTIFYING YOUR BRAND’S CONTENT STYLE 98 TRUSTWORTHINESS AND RELIABILITY 99

PART II: RUN

7 TA b LE O f CONTENT s FUN AND PLAYFUL 100 BOLD AND INNOVATIVE 101 LUXURIOUS AND SOPHISTICATED 102 ALIGNING YOUR BRAND’S VOICE AND TONE 103 WHERE TO FIND CONTENT INSPIRATION 104 TOOL: FEEDLY 105 KEYWORD RESEARCH AS A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION 106 PAY HEED TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR CONTENT IDEAS 107 WATCHING (BUT NEVER COPYING) YOUR COMPETITORS 108 CUSTOMER FEEDBACK AS CONTENT INPUT 109 DATA BASED STORYTELLING 110 EXAMPLE: OKCUPID 111 TOOLS FOR CONTENT DISCOVERY 112 INSPIRING NEWSLETTERS 112 REDDIT, ALLTOP, QUORA AND TRENDSPOTTR 113 CONTENT TACTICS 115 CONTENT TACTICS WITH A BRAND FOCUS 115 MODEL: BRAND NARRATIVE FRAMEWORK 115 COMPANY PAGES 116 PRODUCT AND SERVICE PAGES 117 CASE STUDIES 119 PRODUCT DEMOS AND TUTORIALS 119 FAQS 120 ADVERTISING IN 3 BEATS MODEL 121 CASE: COCA-COLA ADVERTISING 122 CAMPAIGN MATERIAL 122 SHORT VIDEOS E.G. FOR TIKTOK 124 EXAMPLE: APPLE’S ‘SHOT ON IPHONE’ AND ‘THINK DIFFERENT’ CAMPAIGNS 126 CONTENT TACTICS WITH AN AUDIENCE FOCUS 127 EXAMPLE: YAMASA’S 10,000 STEPS PER DAY 128 CASE IN POINT: SIGNIFICANT OBJECTS (2012) 128 TACTIC: STORYTELLING 129 MODEL: THE STORY SPINE (KENN ADAMS) 130 MODEL: KURT VONNEGUT’S SHAPE OF STORIES 131 MODEL: 3D STORYTELLING 133 CASE IN POINT: JOHNNIE WALKER’S THE MAN WHO WALKED AROUND THE WORLD VIDEO 135 CASE IN POINT: BUDWEISER SUPERBOWL AD BEST BUDS (2014) 136 CASE IN POINT: LYNDON JOHNSON’S DAISY AD (1964) 137 CASE IN POINT: VISIT SCOTLAND: THE SPIRIT OF SCOTLAND VIDEO (2016) 137

8 STORYTELLING FORMAT: ENTERTAINING VIDEOS 138 CORE NARRATIVE 138 COMPELLING VISUALS: WIDE SHOTS, CLOSE-UPS, POINT-OF-VIEW SHOTS, AND B-ROLL 141 STRONG AUDIO: MUSIC, SOUND EFFECTS, AND VOICEOVERS 141 HUMOUR: SARCASM, SELF-DEPRECATION, AND PHYSICAL HUMOUR 142 CASE IN POINT: OLD SPICE GUY 143 STORYTELLING FORMAT: EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS 144 CASE IN POINT: THE STORY OF STUFF 145 STORYTELLING FORMAT: CUSTOMER STORIES 146 WRITTEN TESTIMONIALS 146 VIDEO TESTIMONIALS 147 CASE IN POINT: NIKE’S ATHLETES 149 STORYTELLING FORMAT: NARRATIVE MEMO 149 CASE IN POINT: MOONLIT APPAREL’S ANNUAL REPORT 150 THE CASE STUDY FORMAT 152 TACTIC: SALES PITCH 152 TACTIC: SHOWING THE PERSON BEHIND THE BRAND 155 CASE IN POINT: #FIRST100 ON INSTAGRAM BY JUSTIN TRUDEAU (2015) 158 FRAMEWORK: PUBLIC NARRATIVE 159 CASE IN POINT: OBAMA 2004 SPEECH AT DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. 160 TACTIC: HELPFUL CONTENT AND EVERGREEN CONTENT 160 TACTIC: INTERACTIVE CONTENT 164 CASE IN POINT: SNOW FALL AT THE NEW YORK TIMES 165 QUIZZES 165 POLLS 166 SURVEYS 167 TACTIC: PERSONALIZATION 168 PERSONALISATION TOOLS 168 DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF YOUR CONTENT 169 SEGMENT YOUR AUDIENCE 171 CHOOSING THE RIGHT DIGITAL CONTENT FORMATS 172 HOW TO WRITE LIKE A PRO 174 TITLE AND HEADLINE 174 KEEP IT SHORT AND SWEET 176 USE POWER WORDS 177 DO NOT USE CLICKBAIT 179 USE NUMBERS 180 INCLUDE SEO KEYWORDS 181 TOOL: COSCHEDULE HEADLINE ANALYZER 182 INTRODUCTION 183 START WITH A HOOK 183 CONTENT MARKETING LIKE A PRO

9 CLEARLY STATE THE PURPOSE 183 PROVIDE CONTEXT 184 NAIL YOUR INTRO WITH THE INVERTED PYRAMID STYLE 185 SUBHEADINGS AND PARAGRAPHS 186 STYLE 187 GRAMMAR 189 VOCABULARY: KEEP IT SIMPLE 192 LISTS AND TABLES 194 CONCLUSION AND CALL-TO ACTION 194 TOOL: GRAMMARLY 195 BLOG POSTS 197 CORPORATE BLOGS 201 CASE IN POINT: MICROSOFT START BLOG 202 WEBSITE ARTICLES 203 EBOOKS 204 BENEFITS OF EBOOKS 204 STORYTELLING TACTICS FOR EBOOKS 206 CASE IN POINT: ADOBE’S EBOOKS 210 EBOOKS FOR B2B AUDIENCES 210 CASE IN POINT: HUBSPOT’S EBOOKS 211 GUIDELINES 212 HOW-TO INSTRUCTIONS 213 USING VISUALS AND VIDEOS EFFECTIVELY 214 TOOL: CANVA.COM 216 IMAGES 217 PHOTOS 218 ILLUSTRATIONS 220 GRAPHICS, CHARTS AND GRAPHS 222 INFOGRAPHICS 224 TOOL: VISUAL.LY 226 SCREENSHOTS 227 MEMES 228 TOOL: IMGFLIP’S MEME GENERATOR 229 VIDEOS 230 VIDEO PRODUCTION METHODS 232 BEST PRACTICES FOR VIDEO PRODUCTION 233 SCRIPTING 234 STORYBOARDING 235 EQUIPMENT AND RESOURCES 236 CASE IN POINT: PATAGONIA’S VIDEOS 237 PODCASTS 238 TA b LE O f CONTENT s

10 PODCAST LISTENING AUDIENCE 238 PODCAST TOPICS AND FORMATS 239 PLAN AND OUTLINE YOUR EPISODES 240 PODCAST RECORDING EQUIPMENT 241 TOOL: SPOTIFY FOR BROADCASTERS (PREVIOUSLY ANCHOR.FM) 242 GIFS 243 ENSURING THE QUALITY AND ACCURACY OF YOUR CONTENT 244 TRIMMING THE FAT 244 USING SPELLING AND GRAMMAR CHECKERS 246 FACT-CHECKING YOUR INFORMATION 247 USING RELIABLE SOURCES 248 AVOIDING COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENTS AND PLAGIARISM 250 CHAPTER 4: DISTRIBUTING AND PROMOTING YOUR DIGITAL CONTENT 255 IDENTIFYING THE RIGHT CHANNELS FOR YOUR CONTENT 255 PUBLISHING AND DISTRIBUTING YOUR CONTENT: 80/20 259 HOW OFTEN AND WHEN SHOULD YOU POST? 262 TOOL: BUFFER 262 CROSS-POSTING ON EARNED PLATFORM PLATFORMS 263 YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS 264 MEDIUM.COM 264 GUEST POSTING 265 FORUMS AND COMMUNITIES 265 SHARING THE LINK TO YOUR CONTENT 266 REACH OUT WITH YOUR NEWSLETTER 266 TACTIC: CONTENT CURATION 267 OUTREACH TO ONLINE COMMUNITIES AND INFLUENCERS 269 TACTIC: UPFRONT VALUE 269 SHARE IT ON SOCIAL MEDIA 270 LINK POSTING ON SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITES 271 LINK SHARING ON INSTAGRAM, TIKTOK AND SNAPCHAT 272 PINNING YOUR CONTENT TO PINTEREST 273 REPURPOSING YOUR CONTENT: COPE, GARYVEE AND 4R MODELS 274 TOOL: REPURPOSE.IO 277 UPDATE AND REPUBLISH OLD CONTENT 278 TRANSLATE YOUR CONTENT 278 TOOL: DEEPL 279 EXAMPLE CONTENT PROMOTION CHECKLIST 280 BUILDING AN AUDIENCE AND COMMUNITY 282 CONTENTMARKETING LIKE A PRO

11 TA b LE O f CONTENT s ENGAGING WITH YOUR AUDIENCE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA 283 COLLABORATING WITH INFLUENCERS 286 USER GENERATED CONTENT 288 CASE IN POINT: GOPRO 289 CONTENT CO-CREATION 290 PROMOTING YOUR CONTENT 291 WAYS TO PROMOTE YOUR CONTENT 291 GETTING PICKED UP ON SOCIAL MEDIA 292 SOCIAL MEDIA POST: ECO-FRIENDLY SKATE SHOES FROM MOONLIT APPAREL 295 GETTING PICKED UP BY NEWS OUTLETS 296 PUBLIC RELATIONSHIP TACTICS 296 WRITING COMPELLING PITCHES 297 USING PAID MEDIA TO PROMOTE YOUR CONTENT 299 PART III: OPTIMIZE 301 OPTIMISING FOR SEARCH AND SOCIAL 305 CONTENT SEO (SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION) 305 DO NOT CREATE GREY CONTENT 306 RESEARCH AND USE RELEVANT KEYWORDS 307 CREATE UNIQUE AND VALUABLE CONTENT 308 HOW TO CREATE SKYSCRAPER CONTENT 309 STRUCTURE YOUR CONTENT 311 GOOGLE’S FEATURED SNIPPETS 311 TOOL: SEMRUSH 312 CONTENT SMO (SOCIAL MEDIA OPTIMISATION) 313 SOCIAL SIGNALS AND THE GOLDEN HOUR 313 FEATURES AND FORMATS 314 RELEVANT HASHTAGS 316 THUMB-STOPPING VISUALS 317 CATCHY MUSIC AND SOUND EFFECTS 317 CAPTIONS AND THUMBNAILS 318

12 CHAPTER 6: WEB CONTENT ACCESSIBILITY 321 WEB CONTENT ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES (WCAG) 322 CHECKING ACCESSIBILITY 323 CHAPTER 7: MEASURING THE SUCCESS OF YOUR DIGITAL CONTENT MARKETING 327 KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 328 TOOL: GOOGLE ANALYTICS 329 ENGAGEMENT RATE 330 CLICK-THROUGH RATE (CTR) 333 TIME ON PAGE 334 CONVERSION RATE 336 GATHERING FEEDBACK FROM CUSTOMERS AND STAKEHOLDERS 337 SURVEYS AND POLLS 338 LEARNING FROM YOUR FOLLOWERS 339 TOOL: HOOTSUITE 340 FOCUS GROUPS 341 CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVING 342 CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION 347 RECAP OF THE KEY POINTS 347 THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL CONTENT MARKETING 348 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR FURTHER LEARNING 351 CONTENTMARKETING LIKE A PRO

FOREWORD BY GUIDO EVERAERT

I was honoured when Clo asked me to write the introduction to her book. I am both the most and least qualified one to do so. Most qualified because my whole existence in the digital (and the real) world is centred and focused on content and storytelling. Writing, blogging, vlogging, podcasting, I’ve embraced it all with enthusiasm and the curiosity of a sixteen-year-old.

At the same time, I’m your worst possible example as a content marketeer, because I have made and still make all possible mistakes. I haven’t got the discipline for content calendars, and I hate personas. I don’t do keyword research, and sometimes publish at midnight, just because that’s when I’ve finished writing. Heck, I don’t even have a strategy, a reason why I do things. It’s just the urge to voice opinions and add value to ongoing discussions, reach out and create ‘stuff’.

Clo once called me ‘the poet of the digital media’. I always considered that a sweet compliment, coming from ‘la grande dame’. Now I am not even sure that it was meant as a compliment.

I honestly think this is the book we’ve all been waiting for. The reason is simple. Google ‘content marketing books’, and you get an overwhelming response. There’s just this one caveat. We all think, describe, and write about content marketing from our own perspective. The growth hacker, the business owner, the blogger and copywriter or the digital marketer all have their own perspective, their own emphasis on certain aspects of this discipline. This book stands out because of the all-encompassing view on content marketing.

It’s no small feat to produce insightful, meaningful and readable books on this subject. Yet Clo has succeeded once again to do so, as she has in her previous books. Content Marketing like a Pro will help management at small and large businesses to become and remain meaningful in their content marketing.

The book gives you clear direction on what to do, how to start and how to maintain your content marketing efforts. Because it is, as Clo so rightfully points out, ‘a long-term effort’ from the start. You might recognise some of the concepts, but the way and the structure in which they are presented allow for a step-by-step approach, suited to the size of your ambitions. Do not underestimate the power of her real-life examples. Not only are they original and within reach of all of us, but they also demonstrate her skills in analytical content marketing.

We all need to realise that a fragmented and haphazard approach towards content might have worked in the past, but the ever-increasing pressure on content creators from the tsunami of mediocre, self-centred content make for a situation where relevance and know-how become increasingly important.

Do not just read this book, but study it, dissect it, use it, and see it as the basis of how you want to build your own strategy. Your reward will come in the long term.

Guido Everaert

14 CONTENTMARKETING LIKE A PRO

PART I PREPARE

P A R T P R E P A R E

STRATEGY AND PLANNING

I

INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS DIGITAL CONTENT MARKETING?

Content marketing has been around for centuries, but it was in the digital age that it came into its own. The earliest forms of content marketing can be traced back to the late 19th century when John Deere began publishing The Furrow magazine. It provided farmers with information on new farming techniques, equipment, and best practices while promoting John Deere’s products and services. The magazine was distributed to farmers free of charge. It was a great way for John Deere to connect with its target audience and establish itself as a trusted authority in the farming industry.

Fast forward to the present day and content marketing has become vital to any business’s marketing strategy. It is a way to connect with customers, build trust and credibility, and ultimately drive sales. This handbook will explore the various tactics and techniques you can use to execute a successful content marketing campaign.

Content is the information and experiences that are created and shared with an audience. It can take many forms, including text, images, videos, audio, and interactive elements, and can be delivered through a variety of channels, such as websites, social media, email, and mobile apps.

In the context of content marketing, content refers to the information and experiences that are specifically created and shared with the goal of attracting, engaging, and retaining customers.

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This handbook is an introduction to the concept of content marketing, which involves using content to achieve business and marketing goals. It will provide guidance on how to create and distribute effective content, as well as how to measure and improve your content marketing efforts.

Digital content marketing is a type of marketing that involves creating and sharing online content to attract, engage, and retain customers. This content can take many forms, including blog posts, articles, videos, social media posts, infographics, etc. The goal of digital content marketing is to provide valuable, relevant, and consistent information to customers, build trust and establish a long-term relationship with them.

Unlike traditional marketing, which often relies on interruptive advertising, digital content marketing focuses on providing valuable information and resources to customers, who can then engage with it on their own terms. This approach is designed to be more authentic and transparent and build customer trust and credibility.

Digital content marketing can effectively reach and engage with customers, especially in today’s digital world, where people are constantly connected to the internet and are exposed to a vast amount of information. By creating high-quality, relevant, and engaging content, businesses can attract and retain customers and establish themselves as trusted sources of knowledge and expertise in their industry.

18 PART I - PREPARE

This handbook is a guide to creating and using digital content marketing to attract, engage and retain customers to achieve marketing and business goals. Tools to measure and improve content marketing are included. Content refers to text, images, videos, audio, blog posts, articles, social media posts, infographics and interactive elements that are developed for specific audiences and delivered to them in a targeted way via websites, social media, email and mobile phone apps.

Unlike traditional marketing, which often relies on interruptive advertising, digital content marketing focuses on providing high-quality, engaging, and relevant information and resources to customers that they value and can engage with on their own terms. This more authentic and transparent approach establishes businesses as credible sources of knowledge and expertise and builds more durable customer trust and loyalty.

WHY IS DIGITAL CONTENT MARKETING IMPORTANT?

Digital content marketing is essential for several reasons:

- Digital content marketing effectively reaches and engages with customers in today’s digital world. With the proliferation of the internet and social media, people are constantly connected and exposed to vast amounts of information. By creating high-quality, relevant, and engaging content, businesses can attract the attention of their target audience and stand out from the competition.

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- It allows businesses to attract and engage with their target audience more authentically and transparently. By providing valuable and relevant information, companies can establish themselves as trusted sources of knowledge and expertise, which can help to build trust and credibility with their customers.

- Digital content marketing can help businesses to retain their customers. By regularly providing valuable and engaging content, companies can keep their customers interested and engaged, which can help foster long-term customer loyalty.

HOW DOES DIGITAL CONTENT MARKETING DIFFER FROM OTHER MARKETING TACTICS?

Digital content marketing differs from other marketing tactics in several important ways:

1. Digital content marketing focuses on providing valuable and relevant information to customers rather than interrupting them with advertising messages. This approach is designed to be more authentic and transparent and build customer trust and credibility.

2. Digital content marketing is more adaptable and flexible than other marketing tactics. Because it is digital, it can be easily updated and changed,

20 PART I - PREPARE