The world is awash in content. Blog posts, eBooks, webinars, white papers–you name it, marketers are producing it to connect with prospects. But how do you create content that differentiates your business? What is needed to develop a content strategy that resonates with potential business customers? And how do you streamline the process so you’re not overwhelmed? This session from Social Media Week 2013 (Toronto) will answer these questions by showing you how to create buyer personas, helping you understand the questions prospects ask at different stages of the sales cycle and explaining the type of content needed to convert leads into customers.

1. HOW TO CREATE A CONTENT STRATEGY
FOR B2B MARKETING SUCCESS

2. DOWNLOAD THE DECK:
http://bit.ly/1dBjLUu

3. #SMWcontent

4. SHELLEY PRINGLE
@shelleypringle
www.polarisprinc.com/blog
Linkedin.com/ShelleyPringle
shelley@polarisprinc.com

5. AGENDA
1. Buyer Personas
2. How People Buy
3. The Content Road Map
4. How to save time

6. The world is awash in content

7. HOW CAN YOU STAND OUT?
1. Create buyer personas
2. Understand the sales cycle
3. Develop relevant content

8. WHAT ARE BUYER PERSONAS?

9. PIPER PARALEGAL SERVICES
“We help small businesses
collect outstanding accounts
and assist with small claims
court when customers don’t
pay.”

10. INTRODUCING: FRANK, MARY & BILL

11. WHY ARE BUYER PERSONAS
IMPORTANT?

12. SMALL BUSINESSES
“When a customer doesn’t
pay, that’s money right
out of my pocket.”

13. BOOK KEEPERS
“I want to help my clients
collect the money that’s
owing to them.”

14. ACCOUNTANTS
“You can’t run a profitable
business if customers
don’t pay on time or
don’t pay at all.”

15. HOW ARE BUYER PERSONAS CREATED?

16. CONTACT TRAITS

17. COMPANY SIZE

18. MARKET OR
INDUSTRY

19. GEOGRAPHY

20. PRODUCT OR
SERVICE

21. DECISION MAKER
STATUS

22. Ask yourself these
questions:
What problems are they
trying to solve?
What kind of content do
they prefer?
Who else influences their
decision?

23. CREATE PERSONAS FROM THEMES

24. Where do you get this
information?

25. Your leads are at different
stages of the sales cycle

26. HOW PEOPLE BUY

27. The same message
will NOT work for every
every contact

28. Top of the Funnel
Questions they have:
How do I…?
What’s the best…?
Should I…?
How do I address this
problem?

29. Top of the Funnel
Content:
How to Guides
Best Practice Examples
Templates
Idea Posts
Instructional Videos

30. Top of the Funnel
Indicators they’re
ready to move on:
Sign up for a demo
Visit your pricing page
Download multiple offers
Request more info

31. Middle of the Funnel
Questions they have:
How can YOU help?
Do I need this?
What can I expect?
Am I making the right
choice?
What do I need to consider?

32. Middle of the Funnel
Content:
Case studies
Results & analysis
Decision tools
Demo/Trial

33. Middle of the Funnel
Indicators they’re
ready to move on:
Several discussions with
sales
Decision-makers
brought in
Final proposal

34. Bottom of the Funnel
They’re a customer!
Repeat purchase
Up sell
Support
Customer feedback
Evangelists

35. DEVELOP A CONTENT ROAD MAP

36. PIPER PARALEGAL SERVICES
“We help small businesses
collect outstanding accounts
from their customers and
assist with small claims
court when customers don’t
pay.”

37. RELEVANT CONTENT

38. DOWNLOAD OUR FREE TEMPLATE:
How to
Create Customer Personas
http://bit.ly/YIznx2

39. SOCIAL MEDIA WEEK SPECIAL
ON SPECIAL UNTIL FRIDAY, SEPT 27:
•
Buyer persona workshop
•
Persona summary
•
Content road map
Regular price: $2,499
Buy the package for $1,999 until Friday, Sept. 27
Email: shelley@polarisprinc.com

40. MAKE CONTENT CREATION
LESS TIME-CONSUMING

41. ENLIST OTHERS

42. HIRE A WRITER

43. REPACKAGE

44. GUEST BLOGGERS

45. CURATION

46. DOWNLOAD OUR FREE TEMPLATE:
How to
Create Customer Personas
http://bit.ly/YIznx2

47. SOCIAL MEDIA WEEK SPECIAL
ON SPECIAL UNTIL FRIDAY, SEPT 27:
•
Buyer persona workshop
•
Persona summary
•
Content road map
Regular price: $2,499
Buy the package for $1,999 until Friday, Sept. 27
Email: shelley@polarisprinc.com

48. DOWNLOAD THE DECK:
http://bit.ly/1dBjLUu