Global Insights Magazine Issue 10 - Edited by Base One 2013
e3 insights
“Stop interrupting me!”
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Re-discovering the art of attraction through content marketing
2 3 4 6 What is content Interrupt marketing? vs interest
The content marketing matrix
Cross-border content
And why should I be interested?
How to maximise SGD DƤDBSHUDMDRR NE your content
How well does your BNMSDMS SQ@UDK
Out-think your competitors instead of outspending them
WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY CONTENT MARKETING?
Infographics packed with facts and ƥFTQDR
And why should I be interested?
In short, content marketing means sharing information. This may not sound like it is breaking any new ground, but the shift in buyer behaviour over the last few years has made it an approach to marketing that cannot be ignored – especially in the B2B sector. It is well documented that virtually every business purchase begins with a Google search. What is often overlooked is that buyers are not always searching for products; they are searching for a solution. They want answers to their questions. Indeed, sometimes they don’t even know what questions to ask yet. And at this stage, they don’t need product sales, they need expertise. Which is what content marketing is all about. YOU’RE THE EXPERT 1V aW]Z ÅMTL aW] IZM WVM WN \PM most expert people around. In the years that your company has been in business, you and your 1
Talking about OQNCTBSHUHSX issues in healthcare
Sharing success stories amongst customers
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ely g r s la
es en v i ct e ffe ng e g keti r sa l, the a s m und me emai o b y t m or n ou ore DM pends o The m . t e g ud de le, ie b c s u m ve, the more money you ha power behind your message, the greater your chanc succe e of ssfull y inte rrupti ng. h .W
R R TE
V
IN INTEREST How the game has changed – and why the buyers are in control
The reason, until recently, was that there was no easy way for you to publish that information, or for W\PMZ[ \W ÅVL Q\ IVL \PMV ITWVO came social media. SOCIAL MEDIA: THE CATALYST FOR CONTENT MARKETING
For some marketers this is terrifying because it means buyers now call the shots. For others,
dio a r t,
n ve e r
T P U
colleagues have learned virtually all there is to know about it. You’ve spoken to customers. You’ve discussed the issues. You’ve seen what works, and what doesn’t and why. You’ve been to the conferences, you’ve read the books. So why not share your knowledge?
Social media has created an information explosion, especially in the world of B2B marketing. Buyers can now get information, opinion, reviews and instruction from anywhere. From blogs. From YouTube. From each other. From around the world.
So Vodafone sells business telecoms, right? Yet, their content marketing works on a different level. Their expertise lies in helping K][\WUMZ[ ÅVL JM\\MZ _Ia[ of working – so that’s what they talk about. Infographics, original research, videos and whitepapers all designed to help businesses with the bigger issues. And not a mobile tariff in sight.
Tra ma ditio St rke nal, o op tin u do g w tboun in d as g wh all ab at ou yo t in u’ ter re ru do pti in on g . an d lis te n to
VODAFONE
3GNTFGS OQNUNJHMF insight about public sector challenges
it is an incredible opportunity, because it is easier than ever to show how expert you are. Talking about the issues that affect your customers is easy because you have the knowledge. It is cheap because sharing info online carries no printing cost. You just need to stop interrupting people and start interesting them.
2
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF CONTENT MARKETING Content marketing is simple in principle: but there are many factors that govern the success of a content campaign. The matrix below works as a checklist, illustrating the four areas where marketers can improve returns from their content marketing campaign. In short, you can think in terms of quality or quantity, and you need to think not only about creating content, but also distributing it.
THE POWER OF THE INFOGRAPHIC Business people are in a hurry. So they like information they can absorb quickly – hence the immense popularity and effectiveness of infographics as a content marketing tool. A picture is worth 1,000 words…
90%
of information absorbed by the AQ@HM HR UHRT@K
3
CREATION
QUALITY CREATION
QUALITY CREATION
DIFFERENTIATE A
REPURPOSE
Increase the quality of the content you create. As content marketing becomes better established, it is harder to stand out. The most successful content is useful to the reader, but if every competitor is producing the same piece you share the spoils. Do something original, and you get the downloads to yourself. Be brave, be distinctive but, above all, be useful.
<PM LQNÅK]T\ XIZ\ Q[ KZMI\QVO OWWL WZQOQVIT KWV\MV\ 7VKM aW] PI^M created it, get maximum value out of it by repurposing as much as you can. Turn the whitepaper into a series of blogs; interview the author for a video; record it as a podcast; get your designers to turn it into an infographic. Different people prefer different formats on a range of devices: your content needs to suit their needs but why spend hours recreating when all you have to do is repurpose?
QUANTITY QUANTITY QUANTITY
QUALITY
QUALITY DISTRIBUTION
QUALITY DISTRIBUTION
LEVERAGE INFLUENCE
LEVERAGE CHANNELS
You need to spread your content as widely as possible across the web to maximise its effectiveness. But also think about how aW] LQ[\ZQJ]\M Q\ .WK][QVO aW]Z I\\MV\QWV WV SMa QVÆ]MVKMZ[ QV your market, for example, will reap dividends. First use tools like Klout and Peer Index to identify the online personalities _Q\P QVÆ]MVKM []KP I[ TMILQVO JTWOOMZ[# \PMV ][M WTL NI[PQWVML friendliness to build a relationship with them. It will take time but it’s worth it. And remember, as long as you approach them personally offering something interesting (so they have something interesting to give their readers), they will thank you for it. Treat them impersonally and they will ignore you.
Content marketing can be seen as a numbers game. The more links you can place around the web, the more downloads you will get. Post links to your content on every appropriate platform – from your own Facebook IVL <_Q\\MZ IKKW]V\[ \W JWWSUIZSQVO ÅTM [PIZQVO [Q\M[ []KP I[ ,MTQKQW][ Dzone and Scribd. However, be aware that you will soon reach the point of diminishing returns. While every video should go on YouTube, for example, there are hundreds of other video sites that may or may not be worth your while. Using aggregation or auto-uploading tools can help, but the only way to know which sites bring the most downloads is to test and measure...
TION
D
IBU ISTR
4
CONTENT FOR THE WORLD: GIVE YOUR CONTENT WINGS *QNMNR HR @ 42 A@RDC ĆĽQL SG@S NƤDQR VNQJENQBD L@M@FDLDMS RNKTSHNMR Ĺ&#x201D; HD HS GDKOR BNLO@MHDR B@OSTQD C@S@ NM RS@Ƥ @SSDMC@MBD @MC @U@HK@AHKHSX RN SG@S SGDX B@M ADSSDQ L@M@FD SGDHQ CDOKNXLDMS @MC DƤDBSHUDMDRR (S G@R @M DRS@AKHRGDC OQNFQ@LLD NE TRHMF BNMSDMS SN CQHUD DMF@FDLDMS VHSG OQNRODBSR and customers, but it had one problem: all content was created with a US or $TQNOD@M ODQRODBSHUD 3GDX VDQD HMUDRSHMF HM VGHSDO@ODQR VDAHM@QR @MC BNMEDQDMBDR ATS SGDRD BNMSDMS OHDBDR VDQD MNS @R QDKDU@MS SN MDV L@QJDSR RTBG @R "GHM@ (MCH@ @MC ,DWHBN *QNMNR V@R V@RSHMF LNMDX @MC LHRRHMF @M NOONQSTMHSX (M !@RD .MD TMCDQSNNJ @ RSQ@SDFHB QDUHDV NE FKNA@K messaging, which allowed us to create three broad messaging bands that would guide future content creation:
"1.22Č&#x192; CULTURAL CONTENT MARKETING The magazine you are currently holding in your hands or viewing on your screen is itself a fascinating example of content marketing. Created in order to demonstrate the marketing expertise and innovation of E3 agencies to customers and potential clients, it has a potential audience that is spread as widely as E3 agencies themselves â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ie across the globe. So it also demonstrates another challenge that faces content marketers: the task of costeffectively producing content that appeals to different geographical audiences. There are a many factors to consider: LANGUAGE English has long been the lingua franca for business. But as US commercial dominance yields gently in the face of new emerging economies, and with the acceptance of the idea of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;global villageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, content marketers are adapting.
5
Established markets (eg US): These regions are also currently experiencing little economic growth and the principle of workforce management is well TMCDQRSNNC @LNMFRS CDBHRHNM L@JDQR 3GD OQHMBHOKD LDRR@FD V@R SN DWOK@HM GNV HMUDRSLDMS HM VNQJENQBD L@M@FDLDMS V@R DUDM LNQD HLONQS@MS HM SHLDR NE KNV FQNVSG ,@STQHMF L@QJDSR DF "GHM@ 3GDRD L@QJDSR G@UD FQNVM Q@OHCKX HM QDBDMS XD@QR ATS @QD MNV RKNVHMF CNVM %NQ SGDL SGD JDX LDRR@FD HR SG@S SGDX MDDC SN S@JD @ LNQD RSQ@SDFHB @OOQN@BG @MC KNNJ SN HMBQD@RHMF DƧBHDMBX Q@SGDQ SG@M ITRS HMBQD@RHMF B@O@BHSX
Remarkably, English content represents just 25% of the internet â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and it is decreasing. Many business decision makers speak English as a second language. But content is more effective when delivered in the preferred language of the reader â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and research shows that 85% of buyers are reluctant to make purchase decisions without information in their native language.
Accelerating markets (eg Mexico): Because of low labour costs and a number of NSGDQ DBNMNLHB E@BSNQR SGDRD @QD@R @QD FQNVHMF Q@OHCKX #DBHRHNM L@JDQR G@UD RGNQS SDQL BNMBDQMR SG@S NUDQRG@CNV KNMF SDQL RSQ@SDFHB HRRTDR 3GD LDRR@FD SN SGDL HR SGDQDENQD @ANTS QDS@HMHMF BNMSQNK NUDQ @ Q@OHCKX FQNVHMF VNQJENQBD 3GHR QDUHDV DM@AKDC *QNMNR SN LNQD @BBTQ@SDKX @C@OS BNMSDMS SN RTHS SGD CHƤDQDMS QDFHNMR +NB@K *QNMNR L@QJDSDQR VNQJDC VHSG !@RD .MD SN @C@OS content in line with the messaging, whilst also translating where necessary @MC @CCHMF KNB@K QDEDQDMBDR HE @OOQNOQH@SD 3GD QDRTKS HR @ FKNA@K OQNFQ@LLD NE QDKDU@MS KNB@KHRDC BNMSDMS SG@S G@R ADDM LTBG LNQD RTBBDRRETK HM CQHUHMF BTRSNLDQ DMF@FDLDMS
CONTENT DISTRIBUTION As explained in the matrix shown in the centre spread of this magazine, the way you distribute your content is as important as the content itself. It is essential to take local advice on the typical web-browsing habits of the local audiences. Which websites do they visit? Which social media channels do they use? How do they search? Facebook is everywhere â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but content marketers should use Xing in Germany, Orkut in Brazil and so on. A little local knowledge â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from E3 partners, for example â&#x20AC;&#x201C; can go a long way. CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC As marketers have always known, different markets respond to different messages. Global campaigns take messaging variations into account â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and content campaigns must do likewise. In addition, there are cultural considerations that may well limit the uptake of generalised, global content. Again, the answer is to take local advice. The smarter content marketers also know that it helps to make local references whenever possible: use local spokespeople as content authors, and refer freely to the target country in the title, imagery and text. The example opposite shows how marketers can rise to the challenge of cross-cultural content marketing.
GET YOUR CUSTOMERS TO CREATE THE CONTENT! Creating content takes time. So the smartest campaigns create an incentive for others to do the work. Schindler Parentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s awardwinning Black Box campaign is an ingenious example where designers were inspired to create materials which, in turn, promoted the brand. Read more in Issue 8 of GIM. 6
E3 Global Insights: NTQ UDQX NVM BNMSDMS L@QJDSHMF
E3 NETWORK
With each issue of this magazine, we are demonstrating the experience and knowledge of our member agencies. Because our clients and prospects value the content, they want to invest time in reading it â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ZIQ[QVO W]Z XZWĂ&#x2026;TM UWZM MNNMK\Q^MTa \PIV _M KW]TL PI^M IKPQM^ML through conventional advertising.
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