The workbook from Taleist's Introduction to Content Marketing seminar, designed to excited newcomers to content market

1. An Introduction to
Content Marketing
Steven Lewis

2. 1. Introduction

3. The$map$of$this$course

4. Content marketing isn’t new
There’s'nothing'new'about'content'
marke4ng.'It’s'just'more'a8rac4ve'
now'because'there'are'more'ways'to'
get'your'content'out'to'more'people.'
And'customers'are'bored'of'being'
adver4sed'to.
1971 1908
The$original$Michelin$
Guide
American$Express’$
Travel$&$Leisure$
magazine

5. Na4ve'adver4sing'is'content'
marke4ng'when'it’s'sandwiched'
between'true'journalism'somewhere'
like'a'newspaper'in'a'way'in'which'
it’s'not'easy'to'dis4nguish'from'the'
journalism.'Not'everyone'approves'
but'not'na4ve'adver4sing'is'only'one'
type'of'content'marke4ng.
h8ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_F5GxCwizc'
John Oliver on native
advertising

6. 2. One-off content
marketing

7. When once might be enough
Dissolve’s'Generic'Brand'Video'is'an'
excellent'example'of'a'onePoff'piece'
of'content'marke4ng.'ARer'you’ve'
introduced'your'brand'to'1.5'million'
people,'what'more'do'you'need'to'
do?
h8ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YBtspm8j8M

8. What'you'
want'
people'to'
know
What'they'
want'to'
know
The content marketing transaction
80%
20%
Even'when'you’re'talking'about'yourself'in'content'
marke4ng,'it'should's4ll'overlap'with'what'your'
readers'want'to'know'so'it’s'as'interes4ng'as'possible.'
This'isn’t'straight'marke4ng.

9. 3. Websites

10. Examples of content
marketing websites
Live4&
h8p://www.live4.com.au'
Open&Forum&
h8ps://www.americanexpress.com/
us/smallPbusiness/openforum/
explore/'
Ruby&Connec4on&
h8p://rubyconnec4on.com.au
Sites$like$Live4$are$more$than$campaigns:$they$take$a$commitment

11. 4. The importance of
strategy

12. It’s easy to forget the why when what you’re doing is fun
Social'media'are'fun'—'even'“sexy”,'if'you'must'—'but'there'has'to'be'an'
impact'on'the'bo8om'line,'whether'it’s'in'sales'or'in'general'brand'awareness.

13. 5. You don’t own Facebook

14. “Owned” media are
sometimes just borrowed
There’s$liCle$recourse$when$your$account$is$
shut$down$by$a$goliath$social$media$company
Facebook pages are sometimes
described as “owned” media
because it’s “your” Facebook
page. But you don’t own what you
don’t ultimately control, especially
where the provider is making you
no promises.

15. 6. Facebook

16. Why is your audience in
Facebook?
SomeFmes$the$80:20$rule$doesn’t$seem$to$apply
Just because your audience has
a Facebook account (because
over a billion people do) doesn’t
mean they’re on Facebook
looking for information about you.
Before you invest time in
Facebook, think about that.

17. 7. Ebooks

18. Ebooks convert
Books$sFll$equal$credibility$
hCp://amzn.to/14OU11v$
Ebooks are great ways to build
credibility and as an incentive to
readers to sign up for a mailing
list, for instance. They’re also a
great way to repurpose content
you’ve already put on your
website.

19. 8. Podcasting

20. Podcasting
Equipment$doesn’t$have$to$be$expensive,$and$
some$you$might$already$have.
Check out the Taleist Content
Marketing Podcast at:!
!
http://bit.ly/TaleistPodcasts!
!
More about Rode’s SmartLav+
here:!
!
http://www.smartlav.com

21. 9. Webinars

22. Webinars are easy
Webinars$are$easy$to$run$and$effecFve$ways$of$
gauging$interest$in$a$product$or$service
Webinars are growing in
popularity, partly because they’re
cheap to run and also because
they save time for presenters and
attendees, none of whom has to
leave their desks to participate.!
!
We use WebinarJam:!
http://bit.ly/webjam15*
*$If$you$end$up$buying,$we$do$get$a$commission$but$we$only$recommend$what$we$think$is$great

23. 10. Infographics

24. Highly shareable
Taleist’s$infographic$on$
corporate$videoVmaking
Infographics are another
inexpensive and popular way to
attract an audience. Tweets with
images, for instance, are at least
25% more likely to be shared.
The public loves information in an
easily digestible form.!
!
The Australia Street infographic
discussed in the talk is here:!
!
http://bit.ly/AustraliaStreet !
!

25. 11. Instagram

26. People gather for a picture
Sweaty$BeCy/Roxy$Jacenko$on$Instagram$
hCp://instagram.com/sweatybeCypr$
Images get shared. Instagram is
short on words but a picture more
than makes up for that to millions
of users.!
!
Brands and individuals are
building enthusiastic followers in
Instagram.!

27. 12. LinkedIn

28. Building a personal brand
LinkedIn$now$allows$you$to$blog,$even$if$you’re$not$Bill$Gates:$
hCp://www.linkedin.com/today/posts/williamhgates$
LinkedIn is a place to build a
corporate brand and a personal
brand.!
!
Even if you’re not working on a
corporate brand for an employer
or client, you should be building
your own.!

29. 13. Blogging

30. The hub of hub-and-spoke
Blogs$are$a$fundamental$part$of$many$content$markeFng$
strategies:$
hCp://taleist.com.au/arFcles/$
Unlike other “owned” media that
might just be borrowed, a blog
you definitely own (provided you
host it yourself). Whether you call
them blog posts, “articles” or
something else, blogs build
intellectual property and Google
juice.!

31. 14. YouTube

32. Video is eating other
content
A billion people a day start their
search for information in
YouTube. Although the costs of
producing video have come
down, it’s still expensive relative
to other content but it’s highly
effective. The Volkswagen video
on the left has been watched
almost 200,000 times:!
!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ynove5gij8!

33. 15. Pinterest

34. Pinterest
Pinterest shouldn’t be dismissed
lightly, unless your audience is
almost exclusively men. Pinterest
drives more ecommerce than any
other social network per head.!
hCp://www.pinterest.com/lornajaneacFve/

35. 16. TV

36. If you have the money
Brands like Chipotle and Subway
are promoting themselves with TV
shows. The ratio might have to be
lower than the 20 of 80:20 but the
reach can be extreme.!
!
In Australia Intrepid Travel, Old El
Paso and Travel Insurance Direct
clubbed together to send a couple
of Masterchef contestants to film
a YouTube series in Mexico:!
!
https://www.youtube.com/user/andyallencooks !
hCp://farmedanddangerous.com

37. 17. Recap

38. Opportunities abound
There have never been more
channels and people have never
consumed more content than they
are now. With clever thinking and
a clear strategy, every brand has
an opportunity to reach customers
in more interesting and more
fruitful ways.!

39. 18. The 80:20 rule

40. A time and a place
20% 80%
Content$markeFng$isn’t$about$selling,$it’s$about$building$
a$relaFonship$with$your$customers$by$being$of$service
There’s a time and a place for
talking about yourself and you
probably have marketing
channels for that already. Content
marketing is about talking about
what your customers are already
interested in and building an
affinity with them as an audience.
It’s not a direct sales tool, nor is it
for PR.!
What'you'
want'people'
to'know
What'they'
want'to'
know

41. 19. The right message in
the right place

42. Be where they want you to be
Where$is$your$audience$and$what$are$they$doing$when$
you$want$to$reach$them?
If your audience is looking for
career advice, LinkedIn is
probably a better place to be than
Facebook. If they’re short on time
but spend a lot of it in their cars, a
podcast might be the answer.!

43. 20. Strategy

44. SOSTAC
You$can’t$get$where$you$want$to$go$if$you$don’t$first$
work$out$where$you$are$and$where$you$want$to$be
Situation!
Objectives!
Strategy!
Tactics!
Action!
Control!
!
More on SOSTAC from its
creator, PR Smith:!
!
http://prsmith.org/sostac/ !

45. 21. Time tracking

46. Know where the time goes
At$Taleist$we$use$Harvest$to$track$Fme.$
hCps://www.getharvest.com
Content marketing takes time.
When you’re trying to work out
what it costs you, it helps to know
how much time you’re putting in.
It’s probably more than you think.

47. 22. Assigning value

48. What’s a lead worth to you?
A$new$client$is$worth$much$more$to$
Catriona$Pollard$than$what$it$cost$her$
to$give$away$her$book$on$launch:$
hCp://bit.ly/u2expert$
When you’re measuring the return
on your investment in content
marketing, you have to know what
you’re valuing. The value of a like
on Facebook will be different to
you from the value to someone
else. If you’re selling million-dollar
houses, one more enthusiastic
bidder at an auction could cover
the entire cost of your content
marketing.

49. 23. The buyer’s journey

50. The questions a buyer asks
Every$Google$search$is$a$quesFon.$Content$markeFng$helps$
you$to$be$the$answer.
Ultimately, you’re trying to be the
answer to your customers’
questions. Part of your content
marketing approach should be
asking yourself what questions
your customers are asking so you
can make sure your information is
there when they’re looking.

51. 24. Buyer personas

52. The simple questions
The$more$you$know$about$your$customers’$interests,$
the$more$they’ll$be$interested$in$your$content
Asking questions about your
customers helps you to build a
picture of different kinds of
customers. It’s easier to write
something that will be interesting
to your audience when you’re
clear on who they are and what
interests, motivates and moves
them.

53. 25. The technology

54. The right equipment for the
job
The$more$ways$you$know$how$to$tell$a$story$—$
wriFng,$audio,$video$—$the$more$producFve$you$can$
be
Storytelling today often calls for
the same story to be told in words
— books, articles, blog posts,
Tweets, status messages… —
and audio and video. You would
have needed half a dozen people
and a van for all that equipment
before. Today it fits in a standard
camera bag.

55. The Zoom H6 recorder
can be held in your hand
for recording an interview
or takes up to four
external mics. It runs for
hours on AA batteries.!
http://bit.ly/Zoom_H6
Audio
The Sound Grabber II is a
reliable tool sitting on a
desk!
http://bit.ly/SoundGrabberII
The Rode Reporter is great
for interviews, audio-only or
on camera!
http://bit.ly/Rode_Reporter

56. Video/photography
DSLR cameras like the EOS 7D
aren’t just for pictures. They shoot
HD video and can be paired with
the Zoom H6 and mics
Don’t let the retro styling fool you.
The Fujifilm X100s takes amazing
pictures and is almost pocket-sized

57. We can help you grow
your business with
content marketing.
Visit us at:
Taleist.com.au