Still defining what type of content marketer you want to be in 2014? Discover the 14 content marketing must-dos and turn your content hopes into reality. In this presentation, we recap what the best and brightest in our industry think 2014 will hold for content marketers. Lear more about content marketing on LinkedIn: http://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/content-marketing/best-practices.html?src=s-ss

1. 14 MUST-DO’S
FOR CONTENT
MARKETERS
! 2014
!

2. The thrill of the New Year is unmistakable. The New Year brings fresh
beginnings, new ideas and maybe most of all…excitement. Before you settle
into a routine and the last of the confetti is swept away, we want to recap what
the best and brightest in our industry think 2014 will hold for content
marketers. !

3. It’s no surprise that 2014 content marketing resolutions continue to center around the
customer. !
In order to get into the minds and hearts of customers, we must continue to inform
and educate, to entertain and engage with a parade of content that’s thoughtprovoking and, most of all, GENUINE. !
!

4. Still defining what type of content marketer you want to be in 2014? !
Discover the 14
content marketing must-dos
and turn your content hopes into reality. !
!

5. 1. Proving the Value of Content !
2014 is the make-it-or-break-it year for proving the
value of content and social marketing. We’ll start
seeing content marketing platforms offer full
integration with customer databases and CRMs.
This will allow marketers to target prospects in
different stages of the funnel, with customized
content in each channel. With marketing and sales
goals more closely aligned, marketers will finally
crack the ROI of content marketing.
Shafqat Islam, Mashable!
Must-Do: Identify – through analytics, CRM’s or other tools – which content funnels
visitors to pre-converting and converting pages on the site. Use LinkedIn Company
Page Analytics to measure engagement among your professional audience. Track
increases MOM and YOY to support ongoing content creation efforts.!

6. "2. Tapping Into the Power of Story !
“We can walk away from our books and our screens,
but we can never walk away from story,” writes
Jonathan Gotschall, a researcher and author of The
Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human.
“For humans, story is like gravity: an inescapable
field of force that influences everything, but is so
omnipresent that we hardly notice it.” For companies,
those that tell their stories through compelling content
improve their chances of success.
Andrew Kaplan, LinkedIn!
Must-Do: Embrace the impact of storytelling. Schedule sessions with sales teams,
customer service reps and anyone else who touches your customers. Ask them to bring
one success story and one challenge so that each person is prepared to share a story
that infuses go-forward content. !

7. "3. Integrating Lead Generation Efforts with
Content Marketing Campaigns !
Relying on the old model of periodic campaigns is no
longer enough. Today the brand “voice” takes a front
seat, while the hard sell takes a step back. Artfully
communicating to your audience is critical in a feedbased advertising landscape that is here to stay.
Jonathan Lister, LinkedIn!
Must-Do: Siloed marketing campaigns asking for the sale are sure to fall flat. Today’s
audiences want to be informed and respected as a participant in a dialogue. Make them
feel as such.!
Identify where siloes still exist within your organization. Then, create a plan for breaking
down the siloes and creating a holistic, integrated approach.!

8. "
"4. Recognizing that Small is Beautiful!
There is a definite trend toward small. If we can’t get
big chunks of content through a limited ‘pipeline’ of
brain cells, maybe we can get grains of sand through.
This would explain ideas like Vine (6-second videos),
infographics, and even Pinterest, which is simply easy
on the eyes without a lot of processing.
Mark Schaefer as seen on Content Marketing Institute!
Must-Do: Commit to testing short-form content early in 2014. Companies achieved
success with Sponsored Updates in 2013 by sharing ‘snackable’ content. For each
piece of branded content that aims for conversion, focus on finding or creating ‘bite-size’
content that serves as a natural lead-in.!

9. 5. The Personalization of Content!
In 2014, we will recognize that ‘context’ is King, and
to do that we have to understand our audience’s
tastes and interests. The other offshoot of this is that
when content marketing becomes more personalized,
the ability to calculate the improvement of lifetime
customer value, reduce customer acquisition costs
and, perhaps most importantly, measure the
monetary value of each customer engaging with each
item of content will become much more a reality.
Andrew Davies, eConsultancy!
Must-Do: If you haven’t already done your customer
homework, now is the time. Go no further with marketing plans
based on hunches. Start fleshing out a profile for each segment
within your target audience. See the gaps? Now start filling
them in.!

10. "6. Acting on Insights with Real-Time Content !
Marketers will begin taking advantage of new
capabilities that enable them to act on insights in the
very moment they need to act. Speed of delivery will
no longer be the problem. The real opportunity is
whether an experience can be delivered when it
counts for the business---and when it matters most
for the consumer. Time has always been a luxury in
short supply for marketers. With maturing Big Data
platforms and streaming data capabilities, marketers
will be able to reduce the costs, risks, and time to
market of their online initiatives and campaigns.
Merlyn Gordon, MarketingProfs!
Must-Do: Discuss with key stakeholders. Big Data initiatives often require resources –
both human and technology. Make sure to loop in the appropriate people and have
cross-departmental buy-in to help ensure long-term success. Have a plan in place for
when opportunities present themselves. Content marketing on LinkedIn allows you to
target with accuracy to reach a high-quality audience whenever you want.!

11. "7. Customer-centric is the New Social Centric !
Customer-centricity is the new primary business
process. For the first time, customers actually play a
larger role in driving strategy than the board of
directors, says Dr. Saul Berman, Leader of Strategy &
Transformation at IBM. The digital world of social
media and big data, combined with increased
customer information and consequently expectations,
has escalated the customers’ role where they are
helping with not only strategy but also product
development, service, sales, and talent recruitment.
Robin Carey, CEO, Social Media Today!
Must-Do: Are you inviting customers to play a role within your company beyond
transacting? If not, identify where you should invite customers to participate in 2014.
Resolve to make your LinkedIn Company Page and your LinkedIn Group a place where
customers can make meaningful contributions this year.!

12. 8. Empowering Employees to Contribute Content !
Your employees were hired because of their expertise
in a function that relates to your business. It might
not be obvious to them that everything they know
about a particular function or industry or business
practice might be valuable insight to your customers
and prospects. But with a little encouragement and
communication of the “what’s in it for them” (e.g.
good for their career/professional development,
management recognition, etc.), you can help allay
their fears and take what’s in their head and on to
your blog.
Jason Miller, LinkedIn"
Must-Do: Update your content plan to draw from the expertise of employees through
contributed content, interviews and surveys. Make sure you have a feedback loop in
place to encourage the desired behavior.!

13. "9. Embracing Entertaining Content !
Businesses will need to embrace content as a way to
attract consumers through entertainment. Offering
information will always be a necessity, however the
way to gain the attention and interest of consumers
will be first and foremost through offering
interesting, attention-grabbing content that is
actually enjoyable and fun to watch.
Kim Garst, Forbes Top 50 Social Media Influencer!
Must-Do: Make it a habit to have at least one team brainstorm each month to concept
new ideas and formats for content creation efforts. Have team members share the most
entertaining piece of content they consumed in the past month for inspiration.!

14. "10. Personalizing Event Marketing and
Accurately Measuring Success!
In 2014, we’ll see an increasingly personalized
attendee experience at events, in which the content is
curated to the needs of each participant and the
engagements are targeted to achieve their specific
goals. Additionally, event marketers will leverage
technologies that can more easily connect the right
people, start to measure the qualitative value of those
engagements, and tie those back to tangible revenue.
Patrick Cava, Certain !
Must-Do: Integrate event management with marketing automation and CRM to assess
real event return compared to other digital marketing programs. Doing so will allow you
to assess indirect lead generation benefits, such as increases in brand awareness and
social sentiment. !

15. 11. Becoming a Social Business !
Brand leaders will accept the only way they are going
to see the positive side of the ROI equation is to roll up
their sleeves and get to work. There is no fast track,
magic pill or social media made easy button.
Businesses of all sizes must know their audience,
define their goals and align social where it can have
the most positive impact. Business leaders must
realize quickly, becoming a social business is a
journey, not a destination.
Pam Moore, Forbes Top 10 Social Media Influencer!
Must-Do: Complete your social media worksheet to identify areas of opportunity on your
journey to becoming a social business.!
Audience"
Audience(Goal(s)"
Preferred(Channel"
Exis7ng(Content(Y/N"

16. 12. Compelling Your Customers to Spread the Word !
Satisfied customers are one of a brand’s most
valuable assets. However, marketers risk wasting
that asset if they fail to activate potential advocates
through social media. Based on research from
Social@Ogilvy, satisfaction does not translate into
advocacy unless companies actively generate it.
Joshua Graff, LinkedIn!
Must-Do: Dig into your channels and identify any existing brand advocates. Who is
consistently sharing, commenting or helping answer other people’s questions. Know
who your advocates are and then create a plan to reward and engage them further.!

17. "13. Rising Importance of Video in an Increasingly
Mobile World !
We’ve seen video recorders decrease in price and
increase in quality; we’ve also seen media players
evolve — and shrink — from big screens to mobile
devices. Video will play a more important role in
content marketing, as consumers increasingly use
their mobile devices and tablets to access this kind of
content.
Pamela Parker, Executive Features Editor at Marketing
Land and Search Engine Land. Shareaholic!
Must-Do: Experiment with creating videos that resonate with your audience to increase
brand awareness. Try using short-form videos to entertain and longer-form videos to
educate. !

18. 14. Understand the Role of Influence !
As a vehicle for influence, content’s one of the most
powerful tools in a marketer’s mix to attract, engage
and inspire action. Content is the currency for
building relationships that can boost credibility,
influence and commerce.
Lee Odden, TopRank Online Marketing!
Must-Do: Map your existing content to the stages of the buying cycle. Is your content
heavy in one area (perhaps conversion-oriented content) but lacking in other areas
(perhaps engage)? If so, review your content plans and adjust accordingly. !

19. As the days pass, moving us further away from the New Year, maintain the
excitement for all the year will hold. Take 1, 2 or 14 of the Must-Do’s we
have outlined to make sure your content is a glimmering success in
2014. !
LinkedIn Marketing Solutions
Connect with LinkedIn Marketing Solutions
"