Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services

Lindsay Dier
Lindsay DierSenior Account Executive at 3seven9 em 3seven9
The Guide to
Content Marketing
for UK Professional
Services
+44 (0)1344 667 410
hello@3seven9.com
3seven9.com
twitter.com/3seven9
The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services
Whitepaper
32
The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services
Whitepaper
To make your marketing stand out in 2013/14.
You have a website, a social media presence and run
several campaigns a year. But so do your competitors.
What makes you stand out from them?
Why should a potential client pick you over them?
Why this guide 		 3
Chapter 1: An Introduction	 What is Content Marketing?	 4
	 Why is it useful for Professional Services? 	 5
	 How it affects your key growth factors 	 5
Chapter 2: Strategy	 Determine your goals	 8
	 Define target market	 10
	 Buying cycle	 12
Chapter 3: Types of Content	 Content types	 13
	Topics/themes	15
	 Tone/voice & USPs + Creative Elements	 17
Chapter 4: Implementation	 Content audit, channels and roadmap	 18
	 Creation and distribution	 19
Chapter 5: Infrastructure	Resources	 20
	Results	21
Chapter 6: Summary	Checklist	 22
	 Pitfalls to avoid	 23
Case Study:	 Kingston Smith	 24
Content Marketing at work	 Last word	 25
	 3seven9 and Professional Services	 26
Contents Why should you
read this guide?
You will have a better idea of:
•• What content marketing is and why you need it in the
Professional Services industry
•• How content supports and enhances each stage of your
client’s buying cycle
•• Your goals, tone of voice and which relevant topics you
should cover
•• Getting started: What you need to do
•• Opportunities for you and your business
•• Pitfalls to avoid
Some professional service firms are producing excellent
content to market themselves, Kingston Smith being an
example. But a lot of the Professional Services industry is
lagging behind more pro-active B2B markets, such as IT
service providers The Professional Services industry has
only just begun to embrace content marketing and social
media as a form of communication. There lies a huge
opportunity for innovative firms to lead the way, own the
space and be a step ahead of their competitors.
The following guide will help professional firms overcome
these challenges. It will describe how to produce a
compelling content strategy that will result in creating more
meaningful connections with clients and have a positive
impact on your lead generation.
4 5
The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services
Whitepaper
Chapter 1:
An Introduction
According to a recent News Reach UK survey
on content marketing, 78% of UK businesses
are investing in content marketing. The professional service business model is founded on
the development and selling of expertise and proficiency,
whether in financial or legal services, management
consulting or other B2B support services.
Expertise and reputation are the key factors for
Professional Services to win clients, build and
develop relationships and encourage referrals
for further growth.
B2B Content Marketing Objectives
90% of B2B marketers say content
marketing will be more important in 2013
Increasing
engagement
Generating
leads
Increasing
traffic
to site
58% 44% 34%
“Content marketing has become an
essential tool to help companies reach their
goals as relevant content is fundamental
to make brands stand out from others.”
Valeria Mendes
Marketing Co-ordinator
Vanet Property Asset
Management
What is content marketing?
Content marketing is providing relevant and valuable
information – or ‘content’- that resonates with
prospective and existing clients. Businesses create and
distribute content to educate clients of their services,
prove their expertise and position themselves as
thought leaders.
Content marketing uses a variety of content types,
and businesses distribute it on particular channels to
influence the client’s journey. This enables them to
persuade prospects to move from initial awareness
stages through to making a purchase.
Why is it particularly important for
Professional Services?
“A strong content marketing program –
particularly in niche areas where subject
matter is of utmost importance – can position
and differentiate these firms as experienced
players with depth of knowledge to share
with their customers.”
B2B Content Marketing
Professional Services
Industry Report, 2010
Content Marketing
Institute
You could argue that professional firms have used this
traditional model as a type of content marketing for many
years, though access to that content has been limited to the
physical time spent with the client and the collateral they
bring to the meeting.
Although this model has not changed dramatically, the
increased availability of information in digital marketing
and social media has meant that the way clients connect
with professional service firms has.
6 7
The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services
Whitepaper
Acquisition of new clients
The way prospective client decision makers are being
referred to professional firms has changed. Established
firms are now finding that solid relationships are being
weakened as social media savvy decision makers are being
targeted and engaged with by competitors. Buying cycles
have been affected by the availability of information, and
the industry has seen the rise of the informed client.
Trends show that 47.4% of CEOs participate on social
media, with 79% of ‘In 500’ CEOs and 30% of ‘Fortune 500’
CEOs having a presence on at least one social network.
Instead of making contact early on, research shows that
decision makers are moving even closer to the purchase
stage in the buying cycle before even speaking with the firm
they are considering. Because 61% of consumers say they
feel better about a company that delivers custom content,
they are also more likely to buy from that company.
(Custom Content Council)
They will be evaluating all options through referrals and
anecdotes from their network, reports and league tables.
Their decision will also be affected by what content you
provide for them to review that encourages initiating
contact– the website, company reviews, data sheets,
the company blog and social channels. The fresher
the content, the better.
In a competitive online landscape, professional firms need
to utilise all channels available to support the conversion
of prospects to clients.
Retention of current clients
Your relationship with your current clients is one based
on trust, historical excellence and continued expertise in
an ever changing market.
Most firms’ online presence provides the customer with
information on their services and solutions. Increasingly,
clients are looking to their firms to provide more – they
want valuable, recent information that justifies investment
in new services, or clarity on how a new piece of legislation
affects their business.
The way firms proactively connect with current client
bases has also changed. Events, brochures, referrals are
no longer the only channels. The frequency and constant
churn of information on social channels, eNewsletters and
websites provide constant reminders that are incredibly
important in the retention of clients. Professional firms
need to be constantly relevant to their client base and in
their minds when they need to initiate contact.
What does it give Professional Services?
•• Building and maintaining relationships with
prospects on relevant channels about the topics
that matter to them
•• Meeting existing clients’ pursuit of information
with excellent, relevant content so that when a need
arises, your firm is the first point of reference
•• Measurable results to maximise the ongoing
effectiveness of your actions with goals, targets,
KPIs and benchmarks
But where do you start?  Read the next chapter to learn
how to create your strategy and discover the framework
you need to make your content marketing a success.  
How it affects your key growth factors:
“Content marketing is the art of
understanding exactly what your customers
need to know and delivering it to them
in a relevant and compelling way.”
Joe Pullizi,
Content Marketing
Institute (CMI)
Junta42
Current
clients and
prospective
clients Their
problem or
situation
Your
expertise
Your products
or services
Content
marketing
8 9
The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services
Whitepaper
Chapter 2:
Strategy
1
Determine the business
goals of your content
marketing
The first thing to consider when determining the
goals of your content marketing is to keep referring
back to the company mission statement. This should be
used as a constant check of what your content marketing
is achieving, before breaking down aims further.
Questions to ask
•• What are your overall marketing goals?
•• How can content marketing be used to support
or achieve any of these goals?
Being clear about the answers to these 2 questions
will later help determine the type of content that will
be created and shared; as well as the metrics used
to measure their success.
Examples of goals
for content marketing:
•• Building brand awareness
•• Driving traffic to the website
•• Establishing your position and expertise
in the market vs your competitors
•• Engaging with existing clients
•• Serving existing clients better
•• Acquiring new business/clients
Whilst thinking of the goals, bear in mind you
want all content to be engaging and if possible
useful and shareable.
2Target Market
1Goals
3Buying Cycle
Key Takeaway:
Content marketing
needs to satisfy
business goals.
“The first thing
to consider when
determining business
goals is to keep
referring back
to the company
mission statement” 1
Top 10 Steps
To Achieve That £60k+ IT Career
THE GUIDE TO LAUNCHING YOUR IT CAREER
This guide provides key insight and advice
if you are looking to start an IT career or
you are ready to progress beyond your
current IT role.
Case Study
We helped our client CompTIA, an IT certifications
company, raise their profile in the UK and quickly
familiarise the audience with understanding who they
are and the services they offer through content creation
and marketing. By defining what they wanted to achieve,
we created a whitepaper that addressed their goals and
benefitted the audience, resulting in over 700 qualified
leads (email submissions) in three months from the
whitepaper download alone, and over 3,000 targeted
visits to the micro-site we created for the campaign.
Only
37%of brands have
defined a content
marketing strategy
Econsultancy
and Outbrain
Soundbite:
10 11
The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services
Whitepaper
2Define target market
Before creating content, it’s important to consider the
personas that your firm will be targeting. By monitoring and
modelling your customer’s behaviour and examining your
current client activity, a business can find out a lot about
their target market.
Questions to ask
•	 Do they read blogs, watch videos, view press
releases etc?
•	 Are customers more accessible and active during
an event?
Handy tip: What are personas?
Personas are based on demographics and roles of customers
in relationship to the company. There are usually several
businesses that can identify within their target market, often
based on gender and job position. This can help a company
determine their needs and pain points.
In doing this, your firm can identify the type of content
that your customers are most likely to trust and what
information they actually want. You may also get an
insight into what channels or social media customers use,
including key information such as how often and at what
times in the day they are active online.
If it’s both potential clients and existing clients, what is the
difference in content? Have a different Content Marketing
Strategy for each. Businesses that are lucky enough to have
a strong customer base and are not primarily concerned
with chasing new clients can start by using content
marketing for retention.
Key takeaway: Researching
customers and their engagement
habits can inform businesses
of the type of content they
are most likely to respond to.
“Content marketing will become more
complex in 2013 as marketers look to increase
engagement with their audiences”
Jenny Barret
Head of Marketing
Mortgages for Business
Case Study
Air conditioning supplier Air Con Environmental
wanted to target three different markets with content
but did not know how to go about supporting all their
audience’s needs. We broke down the markets by different
stages of the buying cycle and identified information that
mattered to each market at each stage. We then used this
to inform the type of content that needed to be produced
before creating it and mapping out a content marketing
strategy of how to implement it.
3. Design and installation drawings
We recognise the need to impress at the bid and
presentation stage; we can support your bid with our
in-house design and drawing production service.
We produce schematic drawings to demonstrate
proof of concept to your client. Our design team
calculate heat loads and air movement to ensure our
design and technical drawings form an important
part of your detailed proposal.
During project delivery and project completion,
we provide you with detailed working drawings.
Our as-installed drawings are delivered with
comprehensive OM information for inclusion
in the Health  Safety file.
4. Timing and short-notice support
Air Con Environmental understand the importance
of returning quote and design information within
a short timescale. We will work to your timescale –
however demanding.
5. Quality and reliability
We are a quality equipment supplier and accredited
with the leading manufacturers. We are a Daikin D1
accredited installer and a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
approved installer providing a peace of mind, 5 year
warranty. Air Con Environmental are also proud members
of the Association of Interior Specialists (AIS).
If you want to see how our services could support your bid process,
contact us on enquiries@acenv.co.uk or ring 01189 213 151
Air Con Environmental Ltd.City Limits,Lower Earley,Reading,Berkshire,RG6 4UP
www.acenv.co.uk 01189 213 151
3. Design and installation drawings
We recognise the need to impress at the bid and
presentation stage; we can support your bid with our
in-house design and drawing production service.
5. Quality and reliability
2012 IBM CEO SURVEY
of CEOs are gearing their
organisations to gain meaningful
insights from customer data.73%
consider main reason
to understand individual
customer needs.72%
10
12 13
The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services
Whitepaper
3
Buying Cycle
(assign content to
stages of buying cycle)
But what content should you be creating?
Read Chapter 3 to discover the content you
need, themes to focus on and the creative
aspects you should consider.
Market Stage
Find
General
market
education
Webinars
Whitepapers
How to guides
Newsletter
Target prospects
Engage
Recognise
opportunity
Blog
How to guides – mid-level
Services leaflets – upper-mid
Video demos
Qualify prospects
Evaluate
Problem
defined
Blog
General brochure
Social engagement
Whitepapers
Explain solution
Trial
Evaluate
options
Blog
Support docs
Case studies
Newsletter
Submit proposal
Adopt
Select
best options
 purchase
Tutorials
Latest News
Case studies
Testimonials
Close
Advocate
Explore
up-sells
Blog
Social community
Newsletter
Fulfil
Examples of content for
consultancy services
Consider when content is delivered and to
whom before creating it. There is no “one size
fits all” so there will probably be several types
of content for each stage of the buying cycle.
Chapter 3:
Types of content
Content types
With so many different
content types available, you
need to ensure you’re marketing
the content in the best format
to meet your desired goals.
When selecting content types,
ask yourself:
•• Which can be used within
the assigned cost/resources
to content marketing?
•• Which types are most likely
to satisfy business goals?
“2013 will not be about content platforms but about
content diversity on the platforms we currently have.
There’s been a clear trend this year of companies
moving away from just having blogs or just having
videos to using a wide variety of different content in
their marketing strategies. Google likes it. Consumers
like it. It’ll become the norm over the next 12 months
as positive results make your directors like it.”
Chris Trimble
Head of Content
NewsReach
•• Which pieces of content suits which
type of media? (Consider ease of
sharing, the amount of information
to take in and what format will
serve it best)
•• Which types suit the target market?
(You more than anyone else
understand your target market.
Research which platforms your
audience are on and their content
habits - that is, where and how
they consume content)
•• Remember: A mixture of content
may be used for different personas
or at different phases of the buying
life cycle.
14 15
The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services
Whitepaper
Content topics and themes
The topics and themes are the backbone to a successful
content marketing strategy. They need to be related to the
services your business offers, be on subjects that your firm
holds expertise in but also respond directly to the issues
and challenges that matter to your clients.
Themes, or campaigns, can be relatively wide in scope
and represent whole areas of expertise that you can then
lay claim to ‘own’. This is likely to be quite apparent as it
will relate to certain services.
For example, a financial consultancy firm dealing
with commercial solutions, from risk management and
regulatory advisory services to assurance or tax, will be able
to generate content on a wide variety of specialist themes.
Theme examples:
•• Financial advice and discussion
•• Corporate reporting
•• Business review, insights, growth and strategy
•• Entrepreneur support
•• The economy
•• Policy making
•• Sustainable business
Topics, on the other hand, need to be considerably more
specific and represent strands that demonstrate expertise
within a chosen theme.
A way to do this is to look at the related services
and the target market for those services. By focusing
on critical issues for clients, you can centre your attention
on specific issues and take into consideration the insight
and data that would be of interest to the client in relation
to the goals of what you want to achieve.
“Consumers expect the best
and if you aren’t writing about
developments in your industry
with authority, you won’t
be taken seriously”
Elizabeth Malone-Johnston
Digital Marketing Manager
TRACKER
Different types of B2B digital content
(especially for Professional Services)
Static
Visual
Interactive
Competitions
Games
Quizzes
Microsite
Video interviews
Infographics
Images
Audio
Files
Podcasts
Presentations
Graphs
Blogs
Articles
PDFs
Newsletters
Whitepapers
Case studies
Testimonials
How to guides
Press releases
Data sheets
78%
of CMOs think
custom content
is the future of
marketing
Hanley Wood (2013)
http://ow.ly/ovCBK
16 17
The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services
Whitepaper
Key Takeaway:
Consider the themes you base your content
marketing on that will illustrate your business
as thought-leaders.
Case Study
Accord Office Supplies required 3seven9’s services to
improve their marketing strategy and inform their content
creation. We provided Accord with a complete collateral
audit and competitor analysis to identify the success
and failures of their current strategy, pain points for
their customers and opportunities within themes and
topics to generate content about. The themes identified
were relevant and useful to Accord’s clients, shaping and
directing the topics for content creation.
78% believe that organisations providing
custom content are interested in building
good relationships with them.78%
90% of consumers find
custom content useful90%
Custom Content Council (2011) http://ow.ly/ovHuH
Tone of voice, USPs and Creative Elements
Reiteration of the mission statement within, and alongside, the objectives of the content
marketing campaign should be considered throughout, allowing businesses to give their strategy
a clear direction. The messages and creative elements of the brand should be consistent across
all content so it does not confuse customers or give mixed messages about the brand.
Questions businesses should ask:
1.	 How will content emerge through the tone and
voice of the content?
You should make sure this aligns with your brand
whilst also connecting with your clients. It needs to use
the same language and tone clients use to ensure you
are on the same level as them, allowing prospective
clients to more easily identify with the brand.
2.	 What is your ethos and company history?
A company’s content is an extension of their
historical journey, so it needs to be one your audience
will want to hear. It’s a great way for audiences to
engage with the brand so should not be overlooked. It
allows you to express personality and truth into content
rather than treat it like a sales pitch. In addition, it can
take readers on a journey of discovering problems,
which then helps to identify solutions in a way that
is dynamic, interactive and memorable.
You now have a strategy, an understanding
of what content you can use, the themes you
should begin with and guidelines to ensure
it stays in line with your brand.
Explore Chapter 4 and walk through the steps
needed when creating your content.
3.	 At each stage of the buying cycle, what is the
answer and message that your organisation wants
to be heard?
You should align all your messaging to help further
the client’s experience with your business, directing
them through the funnel to fulfil your business goals.
The content is your key to meet their pain points at every
step so they want to continue engaging.
4.	 What are your firm’s USPs?
You’re operating in a crowded market place.
Your differentials are the key  message that you need
to portray – content allows you to best demonstrate
these. By then marketing these in the right channels
and in the right communities, you allow your USPs
to gain better credence.
5.	 How will the content being implemented
match the brand?
The creative element of a business is another way to tell
a story or portray business messages visually. Keeping
your content branded consistently gives your audience
that reassurance of a capable, credible machine.
18 19
The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services
Whitepaper
Chapter 4:
Implementation
Step 1:
Content Audit
The great thing about a content
audit is that it provides reassurance
you’re not starting from scratch!
By auditing your website,
all current marketing collateral
(including case studies, whitepapers,
blogs and any other content), they
can then be reformatted to align
with your client’s buying cycle.
There is a balance to be had -
whilst content that does not fit your
goals should be discounted, all content
can be used in some format. Some
content may be better re-purposed
to suit your strategy - this will prevent
you giving yourself too much work or
extra cost and maximise the content
you already have. You may find you
already have the content, so your
immediate outlay and time expense
could be minimal!
Step 2:
Channel
identification
You need to consider which
channels that you are already active
in that can be used to distribute
content. This can be categorised on
a basic level between Owned Media
(your own blog, newsletter, email
marketing, website), Social Media
(Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+,
external forums, social bookmarking)
and Paid Media (PPC).
Identifying all the channels that are
currently used can inform what other
channels should be used, for what
purpose and which type of content.
Conducting a form of online listening
gives you the knowledge of where
your customers are expecting
to hear from you.
Step 3:
Roadmap and
editorial calendar
A roadmap and editorial calendar
can be created once you know where
you need to be, what your audience
are expecting to hear and when they
want to hear it.
Having a content marketing
roadmap ensures your ongoing activity
can be traced back to the overall goals
of the campaign, whilst an editorial
calendar streamlines your day-to-day
activity. As with all steps of a content
marketing campaign, tying it in to your
users buying flow is critical – your
clients’ expectations should be at the
forefront of your mind when creating
an editorial calendar.
Both these documents ensure that
the time spent on the marketing of
content is kept as minimal as possible,
increasing your long-term ROI and
improving your bottom-line.
Step 4:
Content creation
The key to all content is its worth
to the user – you need to be adding
value! Everything from its key
messaging to its design needs to be
something that attracts the client
and aids their quest for information.
Anything that relies too much on the
hard-sell won’t be promoted.
Yes, your unique selling points
need to be at the forefront of your
messaging, no matter the content
type used. But to give them enough
exposure, you need to consider the
knowledge you share and how hard
you sell through it.
Step 5:
Content distribution
and marketing
Time is short. Often one of the
hardest steps if not focused on –
distribution of your content is what
sets out the content marketing
successes from the failures. Draw
up a list of channels to market on
(uncovered during the content audit
and channel identification). Monitor
your distribution progress over the
following weeks/months to establish
what content works best within
individual communities.
We would also recommend
ensuring you distribute your content
to engage both industry influencers
and prospects alike. If done correctly,
you will become a respected voice
within your field of expertise,
increasing both your brand perception
and lead generation opportunities.
By this stage you
will now have content
aligned to your
marketing objectives
and considered its
distribution. But how
do you ensure that
it’s a success?
Chapter 5 will help
you by covering vital
infrastructure areas
your firm needs to
consider: resource
and results.
20 21
The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services
Whitepaper
Chapter 5:
Infrastructure
Resources
Organise and assign resources
The strategy is the first step of a content marketing
campaign, but the logistics of how you will actually manage
its creation, implementation and performance lies in the
internal resources and structure of your firm.
Content marketing is about developing relationships with
clients and transitioning them through the buying journey.
It’s about business growth and business development and
ultimately the strategy needs to be collectively owned, and
strands divided up amongst teams.
There needs to be participation and support from business
developers and marketers, as well as the professionals in
each team with the relevant expertise that the firm has
chosen to own.
You need to decide:
•• Who in your team will own the strategy?
•• Who will create the content?
•• How much internal time will be assigned to the project?
•• Who will be responsible for marketing the content?
•• What external costs will the project incur?
Tools
At the heart of your resource management will be external
aggregation, seeding and distribution tools, enabling you
to both streamline the time you spend on the project and
increase its reach.
Enterprise-level listening tools such as Radian6,
BrandWatch and Symosys allow you to view what your
market is discussing, enabling you to write targeted
content. But beyond the content creation, these tools
provide you with the capacity to benchmark your current
online landscape, brand mentions and social engagement
so that you can track success on an ongoing basis.
If you are looking to eat into your market share,
you can set up your current brand positioning with that
of your competitors. Monitoring how many times your
brand is then mentioned as the project progresses
will allow for KPI measurement.
They do have a cost however, and more basic tools
are available for free to achieve less segmented analysis.
Site analysis tools such as Google Analytics and Clicky
can work in conjunction with these tools to measure
the increase in traffic your activity has created.
Finally social aggregation tools such as Hootsuite or
Tweetdeck (both available as mobile applications too)
allow you to both schedule posts and also distribute across
your various owned media outlets. This reduction in time
asserted to the marketing of your content will increase
your end result – ROI.
Results
Measuring the impact of your content
The goals of your campaign should be the first thing
established at the outset of a content marketing strategy.
An off-shoot of the campaign goals will be their KPIs
and metrics.
Using the tools outlined, you can set a baseline of
your current market standing. Then, dependent on your
business objectives, you can track on a weekly, monthly
or quarterly basis your content marketing performance:
•• If you are looking to create lead opportunities,
then measuring the amount of contact submissions
is a suitable performance metric
•• For brand awareness or thought leadership,
the amount of brand mentions or engagement ratio
are suitable metrics
•• If you want to engage with existing clients, measuring
the open and click through rates of emails distributing
content is a suitable metric
•• When driving traffic to the website, comparing traffic
sources as well as other analytics (e.g. number of visitors,
average time spent on site etc) are suitable metrics
•• When comparing your position in the market
to your competitors, share of ‘voice’ within the market
is a suitable metric
Be sure to map
out exactly what it
is you will measure,
and ensure you
have the resources
and tools to be able
to monitor and
analyse them.
22 23
The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services
Whitepaper
Chapter 6:
Summary
Be proactive
Shifts in client take-up
of service and commitment
patterns have led businesses
to reconsider how they create
and distribute content.
Strategy
•• Does your strategy take into consideration
your business goals?
•• Have you identified and researched your target market
to maximise the effectiveness of your strategy?
•• Have you considered how the buying cycle
fits into your strategy?
Content Creation
•• Is your choice of content going to have an impact
on your audience?
•• What are the themes and topics you will be basing
your content on?
•• Is your tone and creative elements consistent and
match business goals?
Implementation
•• Have you conducted a content audit, selecting which
elements can be used for your content marketing?
•• What channels (social media, PR engines, email
marketing etc) are you going to use to distribute
the content?
Roadmap and editorial calendar
•• How is content marketing going to integrate with
your other marketing activity?
•• When will the content be created and marketed?
Measurement
•• What metrics and KPIs are you going to measure
to gauge success?
•• How often are you going to review performance?
Checklist
We think all businesses can benefit from content marketing, and would encourage
businesses to consider the following questions to get the most from it:
Pitfalls to avoid
Barriers to adoption
Inhouse Agency
Lack of
resources
Lack of
budget
Lack of
ROI
Lack of
understanding
42% 35% 24% 23%30% 33% 35% 45%
In a recent survey by
PWC, 82% of CEOs are
looking for new ways
to stimulate customer
demand and loyalty.
24 25
The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services
Whitepaper
Kingston Smith, a top 20 accountancy firm, is one of
3seven9’s clients. Chris Lane has been a partner there
for over 20 years and heads up Entrepreneurial Business.
As with most partners, creating new opportunities and
leads is expected as part of his day job.
Lead generation can be difficult at the best of times, let
alone in the middle of the UK’s recent financial crisis, and
yet Chris has had significant success in the past year.
By doing one thing differently.
He shared content. Smartly.
Over the past year Chris made the most use of his social
networks, building up his connections and potential leads.
He then started to share relevant Kingston Smith generated
content throughout the week, including blog articles, news
articles and seminar information etc.
By constantly being in his networks’ news and social stream
Kingston Smith was the logical choice for when the time
came for them to approach a Professional Services firm.
Case Study
Kingston Smith
“I only changed one thing in my
sales tactics and it made a dramatic
difference in the amount of new business
I won this year. It’s helped me stand out
from the crowd and made sure I’ve kept
in my client’s mind for when it matters!”
Successful, Partner led, content marketing
Chris Lane
Partner
Kingston Smith
Last word
Few within Professional Services
have latched on as of yet, but those
that have are at the forefront of their
market position and brand reputation.
Your company is presented with an
excellent opportunity to push ahead of
your competitors by packaging what
you will have been doing for years into
a focused content marketing strategy.
In 2013, clients need to know
more about their firm before they
even contact them. Social media plays
a part, offline PR plays a part and so
does networking. But the tool that
aids all of these techniques of client
acquisition and retention is through
the creation and marketing of thought
leadership content.
26
The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services
Whitepaper
3seven9 and Professional Services
We deliver multichannel marketing solutions using Content Marketing, Social Media,
PPC, SEO and Email Marketing, delivering the right content to the right buyers on the
right platforms.
We’ve worked with many professional service firms – including risk consultancy
Derivatives Risk Solutions, the Charity Law Association and global accountancy firm
Kingston Smith.
As a  marketing and technology agency, we combine the best creative expertise with
marketing experience. The content we can create for you will support your sales process
and seamlessly slot into the rest of your marketing activity – on-brand and delivering
effective results.
Say hello on +44 (0) 1344 667 410
hello@3seven9.com
Or find us at 3seven9.com,
on Twitter @3seven9 or LinkedIn

Recomendados

Developing an effective B2B content marketing strategy por
Developing an effective B2B content marketing strategyDeveloping an effective B2B content marketing strategy
Developing an effective B2B content marketing strategyAlia Samhat
333 visualizações16 slides
What Digital Marketing Tactic Should You Use? por
What Digital Marketing Tactic Should You Use?What Digital Marketing Tactic Should You Use?
What Digital Marketing Tactic Should You Use?Sagefrog Marketing Group, LLC
2K visualizações1 slide
Pick Your Path: How to Achieve Your Top Marketing Objective por
Pick Your Path: How to Achieve Your Top Marketing ObjectivePick Your Path: How to Achieve Your Top Marketing Objective
Pick Your Path: How to Achieve Your Top Marketing ObjectiveSagefrog Marketing Group, LLC
168 visualizações1 slide
3 Steps to Creating a B2B Account-Based Marketing Strategy por
3 Steps to Creating a B2B Account-Based Marketing Strategy3 Steps to Creating a B2B Account-Based Marketing Strategy
3 Steps to Creating a B2B Account-Based Marketing StrategySagefrog Marketing Group, LLC
151 visualizações1 slide
A guide to your 2016 marketing budget e book new dawn media por
A guide to your 2016 marketing budget e book   new dawn mediaA guide to your 2016 marketing budget e book   new dawn media
A guide to your 2016 marketing budget e book new dawn mediaNew Dawn Media
878 visualizações18 slides
Content Marketing Integrated por
Content Marketing IntegratedContent Marketing Integrated
Content Marketing IntegratedNew Dawn Media
1.7K visualizações26 slides

Mais conteúdo relacionado

Mais procurados

Linked in slideshare from ndm por
Linked in slideshare from ndmLinked in slideshare from ndm
Linked in slideshare from ndmNew Dawn Media
433 visualizações18 slides
Content audit new dawn media por
Content audit new dawn mediaContent audit new dawn media
Content audit new dawn mediaNew Dawn Media
2.7K visualizações10 slides
An Integrated Marketing Blueprint to Grow Sales & ROI in 2014 por
An Integrated Marketing Blueprint to Grow Sales & ROI in 2014An Integrated Marketing Blueprint to Grow Sales & ROI in 2014
An Integrated Marketing Blueprint to Grow Sales & ROI in 2014greatdeformity428
237 visualizações8 slides
B2B lead generation Linkedin solutions por
B2B lead generation Linkedin solutionsB2B lead generation Linkedin solutions
B2B lead generation Linkedin solutionsBarend Potgieter
183 visualizações20 slides
B2C Content Marketing 2019 - Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends por
B2C Content Marketing 2019 - Benchmarks, Budgets, and TrendsB2C Content Marketing 2019 - Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends
B2C Content Marketing 2019 - Benchmarks, Budgets, and TrendsContent Marketing Institute
101.3K visualizações40 slides
Tarek elashraf marketing - the impact of digital technology on b2 b communi... por
Tarek elashraf   marketing - the impact of digital technology on b2 b communi...Tarek elashraf   marketing - the impact of digital technology on b2 b communi...
Tarek elashraf marketing - the impact of digital technology on b2 b communi...Tarek Elashraf
46 visualizações26 slides

Mais procurados(20)

Linked in slideshare from ndm por New Dawn Media
Linked in slideshare from ndmLinked in slideshare from ndm
Linked in slideshare from ndm
New Dawn Media433 visualizações
Content audit new dawn media por New Dawn Media
Content audit new dawn mediaContent audit new dawn media
Content audit new dawn media
New Dawn Media2.7K visualizações
An Integrated Marketing Blueprint to Grow Sales & ROI in 2014 por greatdeformity428
An Integrated Marketing Blueprint to Grow Sales & ROI in 2014An Integrated Marketing Blueprint to Grow Sales & ROI in 2014
An Integrated Marketing Blueprint to Grow Sales & ROI in 2014
greatdeformity428237 visualizações
B2B lead generation Linkedin solutions por Barend Potgieter
B2B lead generation Linkedin solutionsB2B lead generation Linkedin solutions
B2B lead generation Linkedin solutions
Barend Potgieter183 visualizações
B2C Content Marketing 2019 - Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends por Content Marketing Institute
B2C Content Marketing 2019 - Benchmarks, Budgets, and TrendsB2C Content Marketing 2019 - Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends
B2C Content Marketing 2019 - Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends
Content Marketing Institute101.3K visualizações
Tarek elashraf marketing - the impact of digital technology on b2 b communi... por Tarek Elashraf
Tarek elashraf   marketing - the impact of digital technology on b2 b communi...Tarek elashraf   marketing - the impact of digital technology on b2 b communi...
Tarek elashraf marketing - the impact of digital technology on b2 b communi...
Tarek Elashraf46 visualizações
The Case for Expert Content (Updated) por ExpertFile
The Case for Expert Content (Updated)The Case for Expert Content (Updated)
The Case for Expert Content (Updated)
ExpertFile1.3K visualizações
The strategic-marketing-process-e book por AdCMO
The strategic-marketing-process-e bookThe strategic-marketing-process-e book
The strategic-marketing-process-e book
AdCMO680 visualizações
7 Reasons You Should Own Your Customer Data por Etix
7 Reasons You Should Own Your Customer Data7 Reasons You Should Own Your Customer Data
7 Reasons You Should Own Your Customer Data
Etix8.4K visualizações
B2B Trends por Ivonne Kinser
B2B TrendsB2B Trends
B2B Trends
Ivonne Kinser1.1K visualizações
Persona Development Example por Kayla Perry
Persona Development ExamplePersona Development Example
Persona Development Example
Kayla Perry9.9K visualizações
2020 B2B Content Marketing Trends and Budgets por Theia Marketing
2020 B2B Content Marketing Trends and Budgets2020 B2B Content Marketing Trends and Budgets
2020 B2B Content Marketing Trends and Budgets
Theia Marketing179 visualizações
Social Content from New Dawn Media por New Dawn Media
Social Content  from New Dawn MediaSocial Content  from New Dawn Media
Social Content from New Dawn Media
New Dawn Media1.9K visualizações
The new era of marketing begins now por Caroline Boscher
The new era of marketing begins nowThe new era of marketing begins now
The new era of marketing begins now
Caroline Boscher1.9K visualizações
2020 B2B Content Marketing por Theia Marketing
2020 B2B Content Marketing 2020 B2B Content Marketing
2020 B2B Content Marketing
Theia Marketing132 visualizações
Demand Generation - Cash Cow Marketing por Clive Campbell-Smith
Demand Generation - Cash Cow MarketingDemand Generation - Cash Cow Marketing
Demand Generation - Cash Cow Marketing
Clive Campbell-Smith212 visualizações
B2B Content Marketing Trends in 2020 por Jomer Gregorio
B2B Content Marketing Trends in 2020B2B Content Marketing Trends in 2020
B2B Content Marketing Trends in 2020
Jomer Gregorio178 visualizações

Destaque

Hồ sơ giấy phép chung cư HaNoi Landmark 51 por
Hồ sơ giấy phép chung cư HaNoi Landmark 51Hồ sơ giấy phép chung cư HaNoi Landmark 51
Hồ sơ giấy phép chung cư HaNoi Landmark 51Tùng Trần
582 visualizações42 slides
Islam_Ibrahim_Omar_RHCE por
Islam_Ibrahim_Omar_RHCEIslam_Ibrahim_Omar_RHCE
Islam_Ibrahim_Omar_RHCEislam ibrahim
38 visualizações1 slide
GT_Final_Academic_Transcipt por
GT_Final_Academic_TransciptGT_Final_Academic_Transcipt
GT_Final_Academic_TransciptSean Collins
666 visualizações6 slides
George Wallace Comedy Show por
George Wallace Comedy Show George Wallace Comedy Show
George Wallace Comedy Show U.S. Army Garrison Red Cloud and Area I
172 visualizações1 slide
Computadores por
Computadores Computadores
Computadores mcgomez15
62 visualizações7 slides
Off the Grid Home for Sale por
Off the Grid Home for SaleOff the Grid Home for Sale
Off the Grid Home for SaleLinda Parker
128 visualizações9 slides

Destaque(13)

Hồ sơ giấy phép chung cư HaNoi Landmark 51 por Tùng Trần
Hồ sơ giấy phép chung cư HaNoi Landmark 51Hồ sơ giấy phép chung cư HaNoi Landmark 51
Hồ sơ giấy phép chung cư HaNoi Landmark 51
Tùng Trần582 visualizações
Islam_Ibrahim_Omar_RHCE por islam ibrahim
Islam_Ibrahim_Omar_RHCEIslam_Ibrahim_Omar_RHCE
Islam_Ibrahim_Omar_RHCE
islam ibrahim38 visualizações
GT_Final_Academic_Transcipt por Sean Collins
GT_Final_Academic_TransciptGT_Final_Academic_Transcipt
GT_Final_Academic_Transcipt
Sean Collins666 visualizações
Computadores por mcgomez15
Computadores Computadores
Computadores
mcgomez1562 visualizações
Off the Grid Home for Sale por Linda Parker
Off the Grid Home for SaleOff the Grid Home for Sale
Off the Grid Home for Sale
Linda Parker128 visualizações
BİR ETWINNING PROJESİ PLANLAMA WEBİNARLARINDAN GÖRÜNTÜLER por senguldeniz
BİR ETWINNING PROJESİ PLANLAMA WEBİNARLARINDAN GÖRÜNTÜLERBİR ETWINNING PROJESİ PLANLAMA WEBİNARLARINDAN GÖRÜNTÜLER
BİR ETWINNING PROJESİ PLANLAMA WEBİNARLARINDAN GÖRÜNTÜLER
senguldeniz90 visualizações
Articles - Definite and Indefinite - a/ an/ the por no1institute
Articles - Definite and Indefinite - a/ an/ theArticles - Definite and Indefinite - a/ an/ the
Articles - Definite and Indefinite - a/ an/ the
no1institute961 visualizações
La politique sociale francaise tiraillée de toutes parts ! por Eric LEGER
La politique sociale francaise tiraillée de toutes parts !La politique sociale francaise tiraillée de toutes parts !
La politique sociale francaise tiraillée de toutes parts !
Eric LEGER240 visualizações
Interesting facts por Nino Bunturi
Interesting factsInteresting facts
Interesting facts
Nino Bunturi500 visualizações
Monografía Cristina por cris41299
Monografía CristinaMonografía Cristina
Monografía Cristina
cris41299140 visualizações

Similar a Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services

The Value of Content Marketing por
The Value of Content MarketingThe Value of Content Marketing
The Value of Content MarketingBoris Jovic
275 visualizações28 slides
Case study b2b lead generation then & now por
Case study b2b lead generation then & nowCase study b2b lead generation then & now
Case study b2b lead generation then & nowDSIM
255 visualizações7 slides
Content Marketing for Medical Technology Companies por
Content Marketing for Medical Technology Companies Content Marketing for Medical Technology Companies
Content Marketing for Medical Technology Companies Grey Matter Marketing
1.8K visualizações29 slides
Creating Winning Content: How local businesses can tell their story and win b... por
Creating Winning Content: How local businesses can tell their story and win b...Creating Winning Content: How local businesses can tell their story and win b...
Creating Winning Content: How local businesses can tell their story and win b...Kara O'Halloran
202 visualizações8 slides
Creating winning content por
Creating winning contentCreating winning content
Creating winning contentElon iMedia
830 visualizações8 slides
The Right Digital Marketing Mix for B2B Marketers por
The Right Digital Marketing Mix for B2B MarketersThe Right Digital Marketing Mix for B2B Marketers
The Right Digital Marketing Mix for B2B MarketersJohn E. Jenkins Inc.
628 visualizações10 slides

Similar a Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services(20)

The Value of Content Marketing por Boris Jovic
The Value of Content MarketingThe Value of Content Marketing
The Value of Content Marketing
Boris Jovic275 visualizações
Case study b2b lead generation then & now por DSIM
Case study b2b lead generation then & nowCase study b2b lead generation then & now
Case study b2b lead generation then & now
DSIM255 visualizações
Content Marketing for Medical Technology Companies por Grey Matter Marketing
Content Marketing for Medical Technology Companies Content Marketing for Medical Technology Companies
Content Marketing for Medical Technology Companies
Grey Matter Marketing 1.8K visualizações
Creating Winning Content: How local businesses can tell their story and win b... por Kara O'Halloran
Creating Winning Content: How local businesses can tell their story and win b...Creating Winning Content: How local businesses can tell their story and win b...
Creating Winning Content: How local businesses can tell their story and win b...
Kara O'Halloran202 visualizações
Creating winning content por Elon iMedia
Creating winning contentCreating winning content
Creating winning content
Elon iMedia830 visualizações
The Right Digital Marketing Mix for B2B Marketers por John E. Jenkins Inc.
The Right Digital Marketing Mix for B2B MarketersThe Right Digital Marketing Mix for B2B Marketers
The Right Digital Marketing Mix for B2B Marketers
John E. Jenkins Inc.628 visualizações
Content Marketing vs Digital Marketing por Anna Miller
Content Marketing vs Digital MarketingContent Marketing vs Digital Marketing
Content Marketing vs Digital Marketing
Anna Miller15 visualizações
2021 Industrial Marketing Planning Kit | GlobalSpec por ChristianJHaight
2021 Industrial Marketing Planning Kit | GlobalSpec2021 Industrial Marketing Planning Kit | GlobalSpec
2021 Industrial Marketing Planning Kit | GlobalSpec
ChristianJHaight9.7K visualizações
Let customer insight guide your bank's content marketing strategy por Sounds About Write
Let customer insight guide your bank's content marketing strategyLet customer insight guide your bank's content marketing strategy
Let customer insight guide your bank's content marketing strategy
Sounds About Write 497 visualizações
2021 Industrial Marketing Planning Kit por ChristianJHaight
2021 Industrial Marketing Planning Kit2021 Industrial Marketing Planning Kit
2021 Industrial Marketing Planning Kit
ChristianJHaight2.1K visualizações
A course on Content marketing por Rohit Kumar
A course on Content marketingA course on Content marketing
A course on Content marketing
Rohit Kumar466 visualizações
Marketing within Recruitment - The Swiss Army Knife of Modern Day Recruitment... por Colleague Software
Marketing within Recruitment - The Swiss Army Knife of Modern Day Recruitment...Marketing within Recruitment - The Swiss Army Knife of Modern Day Recruitment...
Marketing within Recruitment - The Swiss Army Knife of Modern Day Recruitment...
Colleague Software300 visualizações
Part 2.pptx por ChevonneOates1
Part 2.pptxPart 2.pptx
Part 2.pptx
ChevonneOates111 visualizações
Accelerating Agency Growth - Intellectual Capital to Fuel Growth por Janet Vinci
Accelerating Agency Growth - Intellectual Capital to Fuel GrowthAccelerating Agency Growth - Intellectual Capital to Fuel Growth
Accelerating Agency Growth - Intellectual Capital to Fuel Growth
Janet Vinci267 visualizações
2020 Industrial Marketing Planning Kit por ChristianJHaight
2020 Industrial Marketing Planning Kit2020 Industrial Marketing Planning Kit
2020 Industrial Marketing Planning Kit
ChristianJHaight5.3K visualizações
2016 Lead Nurturing Report In Partnership With Salesforce Pardot por Veena Glover
2016 Lead Nurturing Report In Partnership With Salesforce Pardot2016 Lead Nurturing Report In Partnership With Salesforce Pardot
2016 Lead Nurturing Report In Partnership With Salesforce Pardot
Veena Glover510 visualizações
digital marketing por SrideviHV
digital marketingdigital marketing
digital marketing
SrideviHV73 visualizações
2019 Industrial Marketing Planning Kit por Andrew Flynn
2019 Industrial Marketing Planning Kit2019 Industrial Marketing Planning Kit
2019 Industrial Marketing Planning Kit
Andrew Flynn233 visualizações
Account based-marketing por Lake B2B
Account based-marketingAccount based-marketing
Account based-marketing
Lake B2B183 visualizações

Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services

  • 1. The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services +44 (0)1344 667 410 hello@3seven9.com 3seven9.com twitter.com/3seven9 The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services Whitepaper
  • 2. 32 The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services Whitepaper To make your marketing stand out in 2013/14. You have a website, a social media presence and run several campaigns a year. But so do your competitors. What makes you stand out from them? Why should a potential client pick you over them? Why this guide 3 Chapter 1: An Introduction What is Content Marketing? 4 Why is it useful for Professional Services? 5 How it affects your key growth factors 5 Chapter 2: Strategy Determine your goals 8 Define target market 10 Buying cycle 12 Chapter 3: Types of Content Content types 13 Topics/themes 15 Tone/voice & USPs + Creative Elements 17 Chapter 4: Implementation Content audit, channels and roadmap 18 Creation and distribution 19 Chapter 5: Infrastructure Resources 20 Results 21 Chapter 6: Summary Checklist 22 Pitfalls to avoid 23 Case Study: Kingston Smith 24 Content Marketing at work Last word 25 3seven9 and Professional Services 26 Contents Why should you read this guide? You will have a better idea of: •• What content marketing is and why you need it in the Professional Services industry •• How content supports and enhances each stage of your client’s buying cycle •• Your goals, tone of voice and which relevant topics you should cover •• Getting started: What you need to do •• Opportunities for you and your business •• Pitfalls to avoid Some professional service firms are producing excellent content to market themselves, Kingston Smith being an example. But a lot of the Professional Services industry is lagging behind more pro-active B2B markets, such as IT service providers The Professional Services industry has only just begun to embrace content marketing and social media as a form of communication. There lies a huge opportunity for innovative firms to lead the way, own the space and be a step ahead of their competitors. The following guide will help professional firms overcome these challenges. It will describe how to produce a compelling content strategy that will result in creating more meaningful connections with clients and have a positive impact on your lead generation.
  • 3. 4 5 The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services Whitepaper Chapter 1: An Introduction According to a recent News Reach UK survey on content marketing, 78% of UK businesses are investing in content marketing. The professional service business model is founded on the development and selling of expertise and proficiency, whether in financial or legal services, management consulting or other B2B support services. Expertise and reputation are the key factors for Professional Services to win clients, build and develop relationships and encourage referrals for further growth. B2B Content Marketing Objectives 90% of B2B marketers say content marketing will be more important in 2013 Increasing engagement Generating leads Increasing traffic to site 58% 44% 34% “Content marketing has become an essential tool to help companies reach their goals as relevant content is fundamental to make brands stand out from others.” Valeria Mendes Marketing Co-ordinator Vanet Property Asset Management What is content marketing? Content marketing is providing relevant and valuable information – or ‘content’- that resonates with prospective and existing clients. Businesses create and distribute content to educate clients of their services, prove their expertise and position themselves as thought leaders. Content marketing uses a variety of content types, and businesses distribute it on particular channels to influence the client’s journey. This enables them to persuade prospects to move from initial awareness stages through to making a purchase. Why is it particularly important for Professional Services? “A strong content marketing program – particularly in niche areas where subject matter is of utmost importance – can position and differentiate these firms as experienced players with depth of knowledge to share with their customers.” B2B Content Marketing Professional Services Industry Report, 2010 Content Marketing Institute You could argue that professional firms have used this traditional model as a type of content marketing for many years, though access to that content has been limited to the physical time spent with the client and the collateral they bring to the meeting. Although this model has not changed dramatically, the increased availability of information in digital marketing and social media has meant that the way clients connect with professional service firms has.
  • 4. 6 7 The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services Whitepaper Acquisition of new clients The way prospective client decision makers are being referred to professional firms has changed. Established firms are now finding that solid relationships are being weakened as social media savvy decision makers are being targeted and engaged with by competitors. Buying cycles have been affected by the availability of information, and the industry has seen the rise of the informed client. Trends show that 47.4% of CEOs participate on social media, with 79% of ‘In 500’ CEOs and 30% of ‘Fortune 500’ CEOs having a presence on at least one social network. Instead of making contact early on, research shows that decision makers are moving even closer to the purchase stage in the buying cycle before even speaking with the firm they are considering. Because 61% of consumers say they feel better about a company that delivers custom content, they are also more likely to buy from that company. (Custom Content Council) They will be evaluating all options through referrals and anecdotes from their network, reports and league tables. Their decision will also be affected by what content you provide for them to review that encourages initiating contact– the website, company reviews, data sheets, the company blog and social channels. The fresher the content, the better. In a competitive online landscape, professional firms need to utilise all channels available to support the conversion of prospects to clients. Retention of current clients Your relationship with your current clients is one based on trust, historical excellence and continued expertise in an ever changing market. Most firms’ online presence provides the customer with information on their services and solutions. Increasingly, clients are looking to their firms to provide more – they want valuable, recent information that justifies investment in new services, or clarity on how a new piece of legislation affects their business. The way firms proactively connect with current client bases has also changed. Events, brochures, referrals are no longer the only channels. The frequency and constant churn of information on social channels, eNewsletters and websites provide constant reminders that are incredibly important in the retention of clients. Professional firms need to be constantly relevant to their client base and in their minds when they need to initiate contact. What does it give Professional Services? •• Building and maintaining relationships with prospects on relevant channels about the topics that matter to them •• Meeting existing clients’ pursuit of information with excellent, relevant content so that when a need arises, your firm is the first point of reference •• Measurable results to maximise the ongoing effectiveness of your actions with goals, targets, KPIs and benchmarks But where do you start? Read the next chapter to learn how to create your strategy and discover the framework you need to make your content marketing a success.   How it affects your key growth factors: “Content marketing is the art of understanding exactly what your customers need to know and delivering it to them in a relevant and compelling way.” Joe Pullizi, Content Marketing Institute (CMI) Junta42 Current clients and prospective clients Their problem or situation Your expertise Your products or services Content marketing
  • 5. 8 9 The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services Whitepaper Chapter 2: Strategy 1 Determine the business goals of your content marketing The first thing to consider when determining the goals of your content marketing is to keep referring back to the company mission statement. This should be used as a constant check of what your content marketing is achieving, before breaking down aims further. Questions to ask •• What are your overall marketing goals? •• How can content marketing be used to support or achieve any of these goals? Being clear about the answers to these 2 questions will later help determine the type of content that will be created and shared; as well as the metrics used to measure their success. Examples of goals for content marketing: •• Building brand awareness •• Driving traffic to the website •• Establishing your position and expertise in the market vs your competitors •• Engaging with existing clients •• Serving existing clients better •• Acquiring new business/clients Whilst thinking of the goals, bear in mind you want all content to be engaging and if possible useful and shareable. 2Target Market 1Goals 3Buying Cycle Key Takeaway: Content marketing needs to satisfy business goals. “The first thing to consider when determining business goals is to keep referring back to the company mission statement” 1 Top 10 Steps To Achieve That £60k+ IT Career THE GUIDE TO LAUNCHING YOUR IT CAREER This guide provides key insight and advice if you are looking to start an IT career or you are ready to progress beyond your current IT role. Case Study We helped our client CompTIA, an IT certifications company, raise their profile in the UK and quickly familiarise the audience with understanding who they are and the services they offer through content creation and marketing. By defining what they wanted to achieve, we created a whitepaper that addressed their goals and benefitted the audience, resulting in over 700 qualified leads (email submissions) in three months from the whitepaper download alone, and over 3,000 targeted visits to the micro-site we created for the campaign. Only 37%of brands have defined a content marketing strategy Econsultancy and Outbrain Soundbite:
  • 6. 10 11 The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services Whitepaper 2Define target market Before creating content, it’s important to consider the personas that your firm will be targeting. By monitoring and modelling your customer’s behaviour and examining your current client activity, a business can find out a lot about their target market. Questions to ask • Do they read blogs, watch videos, view press releases etc? • Are customers more accessible and active during an event? Handy tip: What are personas? Personas are based on demographics and roles of customers in relationship to the company. There are usually several businesses that can identify within their target market, often based on gender and job position. This can help a company determine their needs and pain points. In doing this, your firm can identify the type of content that your customers are most likely to trust and what information they actually want. You may also get an insight into what channels or social media customers use, including key information such as how often and at what times in the day they are active online. If it’s both potential clients and existing clients, what is the difference in content? Have a different Content Marketing Strategy for each. Businesses that are lucky enough to have a strong customer base and are not primarily concerned with chasing new clients can start by using content marketing for retention. Key takeaway: Researching customers and their engagement habits can inform businesses of the type of content they are most likely to respond to. “Content marketing will become more complex in 2013 as marketers look to increase engagement with their audiences” Jenny Barret Head of Marketing Mortgages for Business Case Study Air conditioning supplier Air Con Environmental wanted to target three different markets with content but did not know how to go about supporting all their audience’s needs. We broke down the markets by different stages of the buying cycle and identified information that mattered to each market at each stage. We then used this to inform the type of content that needed to be produced before creating it and mapping out a content marketing strategy of how to implement it. 3. Design and installation drawings We recognise the need to impress at the bid and presentation stage; we can support your bid with our in-house design and drawing production service. We produce schematic drawings to demonstrate proof of concept to your client. Our design team calculate heat loads and air movement to ensure our design and technical drawings form an important part of your detailed proposal. During project delivery and project completion, we provide you with detailed working drawings. Our as-installed drawings are delivered with comprehensive OM information for inclusion in the Health Safety file. 4. Timing and short-notice support Air Con Environmental understand the importance of returning quote and design information within a short timescale. We will work to your timescale – however demanding. 5. Quality and reliability We are a quality equipment supplier and accredited with the leading manufacturers. We are a Daikin D1 accredited installer and a Mitsubishi Heavy Industries approved installer providing a peace of mind, 5 year warranty. Air Con Environmental are also proud members of the Association of Interior Specialists (AIS). If you want to see how our services could support your bid process, contact us on enquiries@acenv.co.uk or ring 01189 213 151 Air Con Environmental Ltd.City Limits,Lower Earley,Reading,Berkshire,RG6 4UP www.acenv.co.uk 01189 213 151 3. Design and installation drawings We recognise the need to impress at the bid and presentation stage; we can support your bid with our in-house design and drawing production service. 5. Quality and reliability 2012 IBM CEO SURVEY of CEOs are gearing their organisations to gain meaningful insights from customer data.73% consider main reason to understand individual customer needs.72% 10
  • 7. 12 13 The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services Whitepaper 3 Buying Cycle (assign content to stages of buying cycle) But what content should you be creating? Read Chapter 3 to discover the content you need, themes to focus on and the creative aspects you should consider. Market Stage Find General market education Webinars Whitepapers How to guides Newsletter Target prospects Engage Recognise opportunity Blog How to guides – mid-level Services leaflets – upper-mid Video demos Qualify prospects Evaluate Problem defined Blog General brochure Social engagement Whitepapers Explain solution Trial Evaluate options Blog Support docs Case studies Newsletter Submit proposal Adopt Select best options purchase Tutorials Latest News Case studies Testimonials Close Advocate Explore up-sells Blog Social community Newsletter Fulfil Examples of content for consultancy services Consider when content is delivered and to whom before creating it. There is no “one size fits all” so there will probably be several types of content for each stage of the buying cycle. Chapter 3: Types of content Content types With so many different content types available, you need to ensure you’re marketing the content in the best format to meet your desired goals. When selecting content types, ask yourself: •• Which can be used within the assigned cost/resources to content marketing? •• Which types are most likely to satisfy business goals? “2013 will not be about content platforms but about content diversity on the platforms we currently have. There’s been a clear trend this year of companies moving away from just having blogs or just having videos to using a wide variety of different content in their marketing strategies. Google likes it. Consumers like it. It’ll become the norm over the next 12 months as positive results make your directors like it.” Chris Trimble Head of Content NewsReach •• Which pieces of content suits which type of media? (Consider ease of sharing, the amount of information to take in and what format will serve it best) •• Which types suit the target market? (You more than anyone else understand your target market. Research which platforms your audience are on and their content habits - that is, where and how they consume content) •• Remember: A mixture of content may be used for different personas or at different phases of the buying life cycle.
  • 8. 14 15 The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services Whitepaper Content topics and themes The topics and themes are the backbone to a successful content marketing strategy. They need to be related to the services your business offers, be on subjects that your firm holds expertise in but also respond directly to the issues and challenges that matter to your clients. Themes, or campaigns, can be relatively wide in scope and represent whole areas of expertise that you can then lay claim to ‘own’. This is likely to be quite apparent as it will relate to certain services. For example, a financial consultancy firm dealing with commercial solutions, from risk management and regulatory advisory services to assurance or tax, will be able to generate content on a wide variety of specialist themes. Theme examples: •• Financial advice and discussion •• Corporate reporting •• Business review, insights, growth and strategy •• Entrepreneur support •• The economy •• Policy making •• Sustainable business Topics, on the other hand, need to be considerably more specific and represent strands that demonstrate expertise within a chosen theme. A way to do this is to look at the related services and the target market for those services. By focusing on critical issues for clients, you can centre your attention on specific issues and take into consideration the insight and data that would be of interest to the client in relation to the goals of what you want to achieve. “Consumers expect the best and if you aren’t writing about developments in your industry with authority, you won’t be taken seriously” Elizabeth Malone-Johnston Digital Marketing Manager TRACKER Different types of B2B digital content (especially for Professional Services) Static Visual Interactive Competitions Games Quizzes Microsite Video interviews Infographics Images Audio Files Podcasts Presentations Graphs Blogs Articles PDFs Newsletters Whitepapers Case studies Testimonials How to guides Press releases Data sheets 78% of CMOs think custom content is the future of marketing Hanley Wood (2013) http://ow.ly/ovCBK
  • 9. 16 17 The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services Whitepaper Key Takeaway: Consider the themes you base your content marketing on that will illustrate your business as thought-leaders. Case Study Accord Office Supplies required 3seven9’s services to improve their marketing strategy and inform their content creation. We provided Accord with a complete collateral audit and competitor analysis to identify the success and failures of their current strategy, pain points for their customers and opportunities within themes and topics to generate content about. The themes identified were relevant and useful to Accord’s clients, shaping and directing the topics for content creation. 78% believe that organisations providing custom content are interested in building good relationships with them.78% 90% of consumers find custom content useful90% Custom Content Council (2011) http://ow.ly/ovHuH Tone of voice, USPs and Creative Elements Reiteration of the mission statement within, and alongside, the objectives of the content marketing campaign should be considered throughout, allowing businesses to give their strategy a clear direction. The messages and creative elements of the brand should be consistent across all content so it does not confuse customers or give mixed messages about the brand. Questions businesses should ask: 1. How will content emerge through the tone and voice of the content? You should make sure this aligns with your brand whilst also connecting with your clients. It needs to use the same language and tone clients use to ensure you are on the same level as them, allowing prospective clients to more easily identify with the brand. 2. What is your ethos and company history? A company’s content is an extension of their historical journey, so it needs to be one your audience will want to hear. It’s a great way for audiences to engage with the brand so should not be overlooked. It allows you to express personality and truth into content rather than treat it like a sales pitch. In addition, it can take readers on a journey of discovering problems, which then helps to identify solutions in a way that is dynamic, interactive and memorable. You now have a strategy, an understanding of what content you can use, the themes you should begin with and guidelines to ensure it stays in line with your brand. Explore Chapter 4 and walk through the steps needed when creating your content. 3. At each stage of the buying cycle, what is the answer and message that your organisation wants to be heard? You should align all your messaging to help further the client’s experience with your business, directing them through the funnel to fulfil your business goals. The content is your key to meet their pain points at every step so they want to continue engaging. 4. What are your firm’s USPs? You’re operating in a crowded market place. Your differentials are the key message that you need to portray – content allows you to best demonstrate these. By then marketing these in the right channels and in the right communities, you allow your USPs to gain better credence. 5. How will the content being implemented match the brand? The creative element of a business is another way to tell a story or portray business messages visually. Keeping your content branded consistently gives your audience that reassurance of a capable, credible machine.
  • 10. 18 19 The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services Whitepaper Chapter 4: Implementation Step 1: Content Audit The great thing about a content audit is that it provides reassurance you’re not starting from scratch! By auditing your website, all current marketing collateral (including case studies, whitepapers, blogs and any other content), they can then be reformatted to align with your client’s buying cycle. There is a balance to be had - whilst content that does not fit your goals should be discounted, all content can be used in some format. Some content may be better re-purposed to suit your strategy - this will prevent you giving yourself too much work or extra cost and maximise the content you already have. You may find you already have the content, so your immediate outlay and time expense could be minimal! Step 2: Channel identification You need to consider which channels that you are already active in that can be used to distribute content. This can be categorised on a basic level between Owned Media (your own blog, newsletter, email marketing, website), Social Media (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+, external forums, social bookmarking) and Paid Media (PPC). Identifying all the channels that are currently used can inform what other channels should be used, for what purpose and which type of content. Conducting a form of online listening gives you the knowledge of where your customers are expecting to hear from you. Step 3: Roadmap and editorial calendar A roadmap and editorial calendar can be created once you know where you need to be, what your audience are expecting to hear and when they want to hear it. Having a content marketing roadmap ensures your ongoing activity can be traced back to the overall goals of the campaign, whilst an editorial calendar streamlines your day-to-day activity. As with all steps of a content marketing campaign, tying it in to your users buying flow is critical – your clients’ expectations should be at the forefront of your mind when creating an editorial calendar. Both these documents ensure that the time spent on the marketing of content is kept as minimal as possible, increasing your long-term ROI and improving your bottom-line. Step 4: Content creation The key to all content is its worth to the user – you need to be adding value! Everything from its key messaging to its design needs to be something that attracts the client and aids their quest for information. Anything that relies too much on the hard-sell won’t be promoted. Yes, your unique selling points need to be at the forefront of your messaging, no matter the content type used. But to give them enough exposure, you need to consider the knowledge you share and how hard you sell through it. Step 5: Content distribution and marketing Time is short. Often one of the hardest steps if not focused on – distribution of your content is what sets out the content marketing successes from the failures. Draw up a list of channels to market on (uncovered during the content audit and channel identification). Monitor your distribution progress over the following weeks/months to establish what content works best within individual communities. We would also recommend ensuring you distribute your content to engage both industry influencers and prospects alike. If done correctly, you will become a respected voice within your field of expertise, increasing both your brand perception and lead generation opportunities. By this stage you will now have content aligned to your marketing objectives and considered its distribution. But how do you ensure that it’s a success? Chapter 5 will help you by covering vital infrastructure areas your firm needs to consider: resource and results.
  • 11. 20 21 The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services Whitepaper Chapter 5: Infrastructure Resources Organise and assign resources The strategy is the first step of a content marketing campaign, but the logistics of how you will actually manage its creation, implementation and performance lies in the internal resources and structure of your firm. Content marketing is about developing relationships with clients and transitioning them through the buying journey. It’s about business growth and business development and ultimately the strategy needs to be collectively owned, and strands divided up amongst teams. There needs to be participation and support from business developers and marketers, as well as the professionals in each team with the relevant expertise that the firm has chosen to own. You need to decide: •• Who in your team will own the strategy? •• Who will create the content? •• How much internal time will be assigned to the project? •• Who will be responsible for marketing the content? •• What external costs will the project incur? Tools At the heart of your resource management will be external aggregation, seeding and distribution tools, enabling you to both streamline the time you spend on the project and increase its reach. Enterprise-level listening tools such as Radian6, BrandWatch and Symosys allow you to view what your market is discussing, enabling you to write targeted content. But beyond the content creation, these tools provide you with the capacity to benchmark your current online landscape, brand mentions and social engagement so that you can track success on an ongoing basis. If you are looking to eat into your market share, you can set up your current brand positioning with that of your competitors. Monitoring how many times your brand is then mentioned as the project progresses will allow for KPI measurement. They do have a cost however, and more basic tools are available for free to achieve less segmented analysis. Site analysis tools such as Google Analytics and Clicky can work in conjunction with these tools to measure the increase in traffic your activity has created. Finally social aggregation tools such as Hootsuite or Tweetdeck (both available as mobile applications too) allow you to both schedule posts and also distribute across your various owned media outlets. This reduction in time asserted to the marketing of your content will increase your end result – ROI. Results Measuring the impact of your content The goals of your campaign should be the first thing established at the outset of a content marketing strategy. An off-shoot of the campaign goals will be their KPIs and metrics. Using the tools outlined, you can set a baseline of your current market standing. Then, dependent on your business objectives, you can track on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis your content marketing performance: •• If you are looking to create lead opportunities, then measuring the amount of contact submissions is a suitable performance metric •• For brand awareness or thought leadership, the amount of brand mentions or engagement ratio are suitable metrics •• If you want to engage with existing clients, measuring the open and click through rates of emails distributing content is a suitable metric •• When driving traffic to the website, comparing traffic sources as well as other analytics (e.g. number of visitors, average time spent on site etc) are suitable metrics •• When comparing your position in the market to your competitors, share of ‘voice’ within the market is a suitable metric Be sure to map out exactly what it is you will measure, and ensure you have the resources and tools to be able to monitor and analyse them.
  • 12. 22 23 The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services Whitepaper Chapter 6: Summary Be proactive Shifts in client take-up of service and commitment patterns have led businesses to reconsider how they create and distribute content. Strategy •• Does your strategy take into consideration your business goals? •• Have you identified and researched your target market to maximise the effectiveness of your strategy? •• Have you considered how the buying cycle fits into your strategy? Content Creation •• Is your choice of content going to have an impact on your audience? •• What are the themes and topics you will be basing your content on? •• Is your tone and creative elements consistent and match business goals? Implementation •• Have you conducted a content audit, selecting which elements can be used for your content marketing? •• What channels (social media, PR engines, email marketing etc) are you going to use to distribute the content? Roadmap and editorial calendar •• How is content marketing going to integrate with your other marketing activity? •• When will the content be created and marketed? Measurement •• What metrics and KPIs are you going to measure to gauge success? •• How often are you going to review performance? Checklist We think all businesses can benefit from content marketing, and would encourage businesses to consider the following questions to get the most from it: Pitfalls to avoid Barriers to adoption Inhouse Agency Lack of resources Lack of budget Lack of ROI Lack of understanding 42% 35% 24% 23%30% 33% 35% 45% In a recent survey by PWC, 82% of CEOs are looking for new ways to stimulate customer demand and loyalty.
  • 13. 24 25 The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services Whitepaper Kingston Smith, a top 20 accountancy firm, is one of 3seven9’s clients. Chris Lane has been a partner there for over 20 years and heads up Entrepreneurial Business. As with most partners, creating new opportunities and leads is expected as part of his day job. Lead generation can be difficult at the best of times, let alone in the middle of the UK’s recent financial crisis, and yet Chris has had significant success in the past year. By doing one thing differently. He shared content. Smartly. Over the past year Chris made the most use of his social networks, building up his connections and potential leads. He then started to share relevant Kingston Smith generated content throughout the week, including blog articles, news articles and seminar information etc. By constantly being in his networks’ news and social stream Kingston Smith was the logical choice for when the time came for them to approach a Professional Services firm. Case Study Kingston Smith “I only changed one thing in my sales tactics and it made a dramatic difference in the amount of new business I won this year. It’s helped me stand out from the crowd and made sure I’ve kept in my client’s mind for when it matters!” Successful, Partner led, content marketing Chris Lane Partner Kingston Smith Last word Few within Professional Services have latched on as of yet, but those that have are at the forefront of their market position and brand reputation. Your company is presented with an excellent opportunity to push ahead of your competitors by packaging what you will have been doing for years into a focused content marketing strategy. In 2013, clients need to know more about their firm before they even contact them. Social media plays a part, offline PR plays a part and so does networking. But the tool that aids all of these techniques of client acquisition and retention is through the creation and marketing of thought leadership content.
  • 14. 26 The Guide to Content Marketing for UK Professional Services Whitepaper 3seven9 and Professional Services We deliver multichannel marketing solutions using Content Marketing, Social Media, PPC, SEO and Email Marketing, delivering the right content to the right buyers on the right platforms. We’ve worked with many professional service firms – including risk consultancy Derivatives Risk Solutions, the Charity Law Association and global accountancy firm Kingston Smith. As a marketing and technology agency, we combine the best creative expertise with marketing experience. The content we can create for you will support your sales process and seamlessly slot into the rest of your marketing activity – on-brand and delivering effective results. Say hello on +44 (0) 1344 667 410 hello@3seven9.com Or find us at 3seven9.com, on Twitter @3seven9 or LinkedIn