Demand Metric recently found that content marketing costs about 63% less than traditional marketing, yet generates almost 3 times as many leads. However, many marketers today struggle with a full funnel approach to content when measured solely on CPL.
But with the momentum of content marketing only continuing to increase, is your business leveraging the benefits of content marketing to the fullest extent?
In this webcast, we'll explore:
- A framework for creating relevant content for each stage of the funnel
- How to leverage top funnel content to drive results
Influencing the buying committee through content
5. Awareness
Consideration
Lead Gen
The Typical Buyer’s Funnel
Page views
Blog visits
Time spent on site
Share of voice
Social shares
Top/branded keywords
Page views per visit
CPL
Average lead score
MQL’s
Opportunities
6. Awareness
Consideration
Page views
Blog visits
Time spent on site
Share of voice
Social shares
Top/branded keywords
Page views per visit
The Typical Buyer’s Funnel
CPL
Average lead score
MQL’s
Opportunities
Lead Gen
7. Today’s Buyer’s Journey
Customers make it through 90% of the purchase process
before reaching out.
Sources: *Forrester, “Buyer Behavior Helps B2B Marketers Guide the Buyer’s Journey,” October 2012; **Zero Moment of Truth Study, Google
10 pieces of content are consumed in the process
12. The B2B Buyer’s
Journey Today
Delivering Relevant
Content
Key Takeaways and
Q&A
Let’s Talk About
B2B Buying Committee
13. The Decision Process has Changed
The average B2B decision
making group now includes
5.4 buyers
45% of technology decision-
makers work outside IT, in
finance, sales, facilities,
and marketing
Create content for all members of the tech buying committee
5.4 45
%
CEB’s “Why You Should Teach Customers How to Buy” 2014; “The Social Bridge to the IT Committee,” commissioned study conducted by comScore, Inc, in 10 countries on behalf of LinkedIn, Q3 2013
4
The average number of
departments influencing a
typical B2B buying decision
15. It’s Bigger than You Think
86% of buyers discuss
technology solutions/vendors
with an outside party
External influencers play a factor as well
86%
8 in 10 buyers look outside
the buying committee for
opinions
16. Content for the Committee
Sales Directors
Sales
Team
AM
Team
MarketingHR
22. Spec/Fund
Vendor
Choice
Manage RenewIdentify Needs
Content for the Committee by Stage
Who is involved in
recognizing the
problem and
identifying needs?
Who is responsible
for researching
vendors, reviewing
pros/cons,
conducting a value
analysis, and
setting budget?
Who is the final
decision
maker/makers?
Who is responsible
for using the
product, giving
feedback and
working with the
customer service
teams?
Who are the
decision makers
when it comes to
contract renewals?
23. When Do Buyers Reach Out?
After they have a short list of
solutions
53% 22
%
Customer & The Buyer’s Journey Benchmark Report, Demand Metric
25%
As soon as they know they
have a need
EARLY MID-WAY
When they’re ready to buy
LATE
24. 3 Steps to Relevant Content
Create, reuse, or repurpose content that is specific
to these audiences
Identify where they are in the buying stage
Identify who is on the buying committee
25. How Can LinkedIn Help?
NewsCred
The Case for B2B Marketing on LinkedIn
6x
GENERATE QUALITY LEADS:
75%
11x 73%
13% 27%
The ROI of
Google
AdWords
Better
response rates
Increase in
web visits
Lower CPL
than Google
AdWords
Lower CPL
than other
social
channels
Increase in
page views
DELIVER THE RIGHT MESSAGE
TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE:
Replicon
BUILD BRAND AWARENESS:
Cetera
26. The B2B Buyer’s
Journey Today
B2B Buying Committee
Delivering Relevant
Content
Let’s Talk About
Key Takeaways and
Q&A
27. The buying journey has changed. Content
marketing needs to change with it
Even though we all want leads, we need to build
trust with our audience and offer content outside
the gate
Our core target audience are not alone. There is
a larger buying committee making purchase
decisions
Takeaways
Creating and delivering relevant content doesn’t
have to be hard – we just need to know who we
need to reach and when
28. How to Get Started
Learn More: Visit business.linkedin.com/marketing-
solutions. Download the Sophisticated Marketer’s
Guide
Get Started: Gain reach by sponsoring content from
your company page. Think about a full funnel
approach to reach your audience at every stage.
Brainstorm: Who is involved in the purchase decision
for your product? What content can you leverage to
speak to those audiences?
Today, let’s talk about all things content.
Why content marketing matters and why it’s critical for your business to embrace
Why LinkedIn should be part of your content marketing strategy
How to create content that works and get to winning content
How to distribute your content on LinkedIn
What it means to optimize your content and best practices
We’ll also be answering your questions at the end of the session, so feel free to ask questions as we go along.
Today, let’s talk about all things content.
Why content marketing matters and why it’s critical for your business to embrace
Why LinkedIn should be part of your content marketing strategy
How to create content that works and get to winning content
How to distribute your content on LinkedIn
What it means to optimize your content and best practices
We’ll also be answering your questions at the end of the session, so feel free to ask questions as we go along.
We all know what the traditional marketing funnel looks like. At the top is where prospects come into your funnel and is generally referred to as the “awareness” stage. Some of the KPI’s that are typically attributed to this stage are page views, number of blog visitors, etc. The next stage we typically see is the consideration or education stage, where things like page views per visit or number of social shares are measured. And, finally, the conversion or lead generation stage where you start to measure cost per lead, number of opportunities generated, etc.
But, many of you on the phone today may only be measured on bottom funnel metrics, like number of leads or CPL. Like many of our clients, you’re tasked with generating more leads. More leads to feed the sales team. But, let’s step back and think about the purpose of generating leads. We’re essentially trying to generate revenue, right? We, as marketers, hope that the lead we captured with that free trial offer will fall into our qualifications and become an opportunity. But, if we’re not promoting any content to get the to the “lead” status, it’s less likely that this lead will actually be qualified by sales. And, when sales doesn’t qualify the lead, the actual cost that we’re willing to pay for each lead goes down. But, that doesn’t necessarily equate to more quality leads, it just means more leads.
And so, what does that mean for the buyer’s journey? How do we combat the cycle of more, unqualified leads?
This is today’s buyer’s journey. Buyer’s are consuming more content and the entire buying cycle is taking longer. The buyer’s journey is a long, winding road, not a straight path. They’re consuming infographics, white papers, videos, blogs, and not necessarily in any particular order. Buyers need to become familiar with your brand and your product before they’re willing to add you to their short list of vendors. And in this process, they’re consuming up to 10 pieces of content.
And how are they getting this content? Today’s buyer has more access to information than ever before through search, social and mobile. In fact, the majority of buyer’s now start their solution research with social – reviewing existing discussions, connecting with other professionals that use a particular solution, reading reviews, etc. Content is everywhere and we need to ensure that we’re keeping up with the availability and relevancy of our content.
And so, while I know it’s tough, we need to stop thinking like this (next slide)
Let’s stop thinking about putting a gate in front of everything we produce. That no one can access our content unless we can capture their email address.
Instead, let’s think of it like a box of puppies. Your content is just begging to be loved and shared. We want strangers to stop in their tracks and coo over our content.
OK, so now that we’ve had a puppy plug, let’s bring it back to the funnel. When we’re thinking about content for the funnel, we align it to the various stages of the funnel. This is a simplistic version and I’ve added one more stage to the funnel – retention.
So, top of the funnel, we have enjoyable, helpful, even entertaining content that generates awareness and trust.
Middle of the funnel is content that establishes your brand as the top choice. That can mean company/product specific content, but it can also include helpful industry specific information. Continuing thought leadership content in this stage is good.
And finally, retention. Can you attribute increases to recurring revenue to the content your releasing? We all need to grow our businesses and a traditional way of doing that is by generating more leads. But, according to KissMetrics, it can cost your company 7x more to acquire new customers. So, it’s important to remember the customers we already have and give them content to keep them on board.
Now that we’ve identified the buyer’s journey as well as the type of content that aligns to it, it’s time to start thinking about who is reading our content.
Just as we reviewed how the buyer’s journey has changed, so too have the decision makers. There are no longer only one or two people within an organization that hold the decision making power. Today, there is an average of 4 *departments* that influence a B2B buying decision. While the number of *people* involved is now around 5. And, 45% of those making these buying decisions now work outside of the IT department, in finance, sales, and marketing.
Just as we reviewed how the buyer’s journey has changed, so too have the decision makers. There are no longer only one or two people within an organization that hold the decision making power. Today, there is an average of 4 *departments* that influence a B2B buying decision. While the number of *people* involved is now around 5. And, 45% of those making these buying decisions now work outside of the IT department, in finance, sales, and marketing.
Just as we reviewed how the buyer’s journey has changed, so too have the decision makers. There are no longer only one or two people within an organization that hold the decision making power. Today, there is an average of 4 *departments* that influence a B2B buying decision. While the number of *people* involved is now around 5. And, 45% of those making these buying decisions now work outside of the IT department, in finance, sales, and marketing.
Just as we reviewed how the buyer’s journey has changed, so too have the decision makers. There are no longer only one or two people within an organization that hold the decision making power. Today, there is an average of 4 *departments* that influence a B2B buying decision. While the number of *people* involved is now around 5. And, 45% of those making these buying decisions now work outside of the IT department, in finance, sales, and marketing.
Just as we reviewed how the buyer’s journey has changed, so too have the decision makers. There are no longer only one or two people within an organization that hold the decision making power. Today, there is an average of 4 *departments* that influence a B2B buying decision. While the number of *people* involved is now around 5. And, 45% of those making these buying decisions now work outside of the IT department, in finance, sales, and marketing.
Today, let’s talk about all things content.
Why content marketing matters and why it’s critical for your business to embrace
Why LinkedIn should be part of your content marketing strategy
How to create content that works and get to winning content
How to distribute your content on LinkedIn
What it means to optimize your content and best practices
We’ll also be answering your questions at the end of the session, so feel free to ask questions as we go along.
Just as we reviewed how the buyer’s journey has changed, so too have the decision makers. There are no longer only one or two people within an organization that hold the decision making power. Today, there is an average of 4 *departments* that influence a B2B buying decision. While the number of *people* involved is now around 5. And, 45% of those making these buying decisions now work outside of the IT department, in finance, sales, and marketing.
Just as we reviewed how the buyer’s journey has changed, so too have the decision makers. There are no longer only one or two people within an organization that hold the decision making power. Today, there is an average of 4 *departments* that influence a B2B buying decision. While the number of *people* involved is now around 5. And, 45% of those making these buying decisions now work outside of the IT department, in finance, sales, and marketing.
The reason our mission statement is important is because we connect with people differently than other social networks. Take a look at the trending topics from a few weeks ago on Facebook and Twitter - you have topics like….
Now, here were the trending topics on LinkedIn for the same time frame. People invest time on LinkedIn to be better in their careers, to learn something new, and grow as a professional. From what we can see from the other platforms, people use these channels as a distraction to break up their day.
Just as we reviewed how the buyer’s journey has changed, so too have the decision makers. There are no longer only one or two people within an organization that hold the decision making power. Today, there is an average of 4 *departments* that influence a B2B buying decision. While the number of *people* involved is now around 5. And, 45% of those making these buying decisions now work outside of the IT department, in finance, sales, and marketing.
Just as we reviewed how the buyer’s journey has changed, so too have the decision makers. There are no longer only one or two people within an organization that hold the decision making power. Today, there is an average of 4 *departments* that influence a B2B buying decision. While the number of *people* involved is now around 5. And, 45% of those making these buying decisions now work outside of the IT department, in finance, sales, and marketing.
Just as we reviewed how the buyer’s journey has changed, so too have the decision makers. There are no longer only one or two people within an organization that hold the decision making power. Today, there is an average of 4 *departments* that influence a B2B buying decision. While the number of *people* involved is now around 5. And, 45% of those making these buying decisions now work outside of the IT department, in finance, sales, and marketing.
Today, let’s talk about all things content.
Why content marketing matters and why it’s critical for your business to embrace
Why LinkedIn should be part of your content marketing strategy
How to create content that works and get to winning content
How to distribute your content on LinkedIn
What it means to optimize your content and best practices
We’ll also be answering your questions at the end of the session, so feel free to ask questions as we go along.
**Add that we’ll send the deck after the webinar is done
So, where does LinkedIn fit into your content marketing strategy?