How to Create a Content Matrix by Megan Baylerian

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HOW TO CREATE A

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CONTENT MATRIX

THE #1 SIMPLEST THING YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR

CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY

[ TABLE OF CONTENTS [ Forward···················································································································································3 What's a Content Matrix?············································································································4 Getting Started: Buyer Personas···························································································5 Getting Started: Your Buyers’ Process···············································································6 Setting up the Matrix·····················································································································8 What to Include··································································································································9 What Content Goes On Your Matrix?················································································10 What You’ll Discover····················································································································12 What's Next?·····································································································································14 In Conclusion ···································································································································15 About······················································································································································16

How to Create a Content Matrix

[ FORWARD[ Inbound marketing works. One problem that some marketers face when they are just starting with inbound marketing is not having a clear strategy. I love that Lindsey and the team at Docalytics have put together this eBook on the content matrix because it will help make developing a strategy much easier for you. Learning how to use this tool will not only help you understand where the holes are in your inbound marketing, but also provide you with a clear picture of what your buyerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s journey will be. Having an up-to-date content matrix is one of the easiest ways to become an inbound marketing rock star!

Mike has spent his career in digital marketing. He has worked with records labels, NHL teams, banks, presidential campaigns and everything in between. Today, Mike is a consulting lead at HubSpot in Cambridge, Massachussets. Say hello on Twitter @BiggestMike!

How to Create a Content Matrix

[ WHAT'S A CONTENT MATRIX? [ It’s a visual inventory of the educational content offers we have available for each of our buyer personas throughout each phase of the buying process. Whether you are just starting to develop a content marketing or inbound marketing strategy, or if you’re a seasoned pro, creating a content matrix is the #1 easiest thing you can do to optimize your efforts. Though developing the matrix can take a bit of time, doing so is fairly simple and will help you:

1. Understand where your content lacks a clear target

2. Identify gaps where leads may be falling through the cracks

3. Create streamlined workflows that guide personas through the buying process

Learning to create a content matrix was a major “a-ha” moment in my marketing career because in a way it’s a “no brainer.” Of course we should have content designed for each of our buyer personas in each step of their buying process, but thinking about organizing all of our content can be quite daunting. The content matrix provides a dead-simple medium for organizing and understanding our content better.

CONTENT MATRIX EXAMPLE

BUYER PERSONA 1

BUYER PERSONA 2

BUYER PERSONA 3

DECISION STAGE 1 DECISION STAGE 2 DECISION STAGE 3 DECISION STAGE 4

How to Create a Content Matrix

[ GETTING STARTED: BUYER PERSONAS [ There two very important things your team will need to do before you start developing your content matrix. The first: Research, define and understand your buyer personas. The success of your content marketing strategy depends on your ability to understand your key buyers and develop educational content that speaks to their unique interests, goals, challenges, and pains. With that in mind, it is critical for your entire organization from the c-suite down to understand and agree about who your buyer personas are. Reaching this level of alignment can be challenging, but it will help teams reach decisions more easily, collaborate across departments more efficiently, and communicate with customers more effectively. As part of the Content Matrix Kit, we’ve included a tip sheet on creating buyer personas, but if you’re looking for more information, here are a few resources we’ve developed and a few more we’ve found helpful in creating our own personas: • Blog Post: Do Your Research and Be Patient: How to Create Buyer Personas • Template: Everything Marketers Need to Research & Create Detailed Buyer Personas • Blog Post: What Is a Buyer Persona?

How to Create a Content Matrix

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GETTING STARTED: YOUR BUYERS' PROCESS

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Once your organization is aligned around several key buyer personas, you’ll need to complete the second prep step: Understand your buyers’ process and clearly define each step. In order to develop and distribute valuable content that your visitors will find helpful, you need to understand their mindset in each stage of their buying process. Whether they are seeking clarity on their problem, looking for potential solutions, or evaluating finalist options, you need to have content that provides the answers they’re looking for. There are two models for this we like to defer to based on their simplicity and versatility. The first is the very common funnel metaphor. Everyone has seen the funnel - the top of the funnel represents new leads coming across your content for the first time and the goal is to nurture leads down the funnel as they gather more information about your product/service. Once they’re at the bottom of the funnel, they’re warm enough for sales to contact them.

BUYERS' PROCESS

FUNNEL MODEL TOFU

TOP OF THE FUNNEL

MOFU

MIDDLE OF THE FUNNEL

BOFU

BOTTOM OF THE FUNNEL

How to Create a Content Matrix

The second is HubSpot’s Inbound Methodology Process. There are four steps - attract, convert, close, delight. These four steps are still pretty general/versatile, but it includes a step for existing customers. It’s important to consider existing customers when creating content so you can develop educational, delightful pieces to increase loyalty and retention.

Our Content Matrix Kit also includes a tip sheet for defining your buying cycle. Be sure to check it out if you’re looking for more information on this. Here are a few more resources we’ve found helpful in case you need some more ideas: Resources: • Blog Post: 5 Steps to Understanding Your Customer’s Buying Process • Blog Post: B2B Buyer Decision Map: Understanding Decision Stages

How to Create a Content Matrix

[ SETTING UP THE MATRIX [ If you are fairly new to content/inbound marketing and havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t developed many content pieces (blog posts, promotional offers, videos, ebooks, whitepapers, etc.), schedule a block of time to sit down on your own to fill out our content matrix worksheet.

If your company has been creating content for awhile, you may want to gather your content team into a meeting so all parties can help inventory existing content and brainstorm new ideas. (You should still use our content matrix worksheet.)

How to Create a Content Matrix

[ WHAT TO INCLUDE [ Whether you’re using our worksheet, developing your own, or working from a whiteboard, you’ll want to start by creating a chart with your buyer personas listed across the top (the “x-axis”) and your buying process down the side (the “y-axis”). Feel free to be as simple or as detailed as you would like.

BUYER PERSONA 1 SALES FUNNEL MODEL

BUYER PERSONA 2

TOFU

TOP OF THE FUNNEL

MOFU

MIDDLE OF THE FUNNEL

BOFU

BOTTOM OF THE FUNNEL

HUBSPOT METHODOLOGY MODEL

BUYER PERSONA 1

BUYER PERSONA 2

BUYER PERSONA 3

BUYER PERSONA 4

BUYER PERSONA 5

BUYER PERSONA 6

ATTRACT

CONVERT

DELIGHT

How to Create a Content Matrix

[ WHAT GOES ON YOUR MATRIX?[ Look through the content you have. Make sure you consider all the content you have that offers value to your buyer personas. Be sure to think about:

BLOG POSTS EBOOKS WHITE PAPERS CASE STUDIES VIDEOS WEBINARS PRESENTATION SLIDES INFOGRAPHICS MEMES PROMOTIONAL OFFERS FREE TOOLS

(EX: HUBSPOT'S MARKETING GRADER)

BROCHURES (& OTHER SALES COLLATERAL)

How to Create a Content Matrix

[ WHAT GOES ON YOUR MATRIX?[ Consider where each piece you have created fits within your matrix. Which of your buyer personas are targeted by each piece? Would the piece be helpful to your persona at the beginning of their buying process, the middle, the end, or after they're already a customer? Write the name of the piece in the appropriate square.

FOR EXAMPLE...

BUYER PERSONA 1

BUYER PERSONA 2

BUYER PERSONA 3

BUYER PERSONA 4

BUYER PERSONA 5

BUYER PERSONA 6

ATTRACT

BLOG TITLE 1 BLOG TITLE 2 VIDEO 1 WEBINAR 1 MEME 1

BLOG TITLE 1 BLOG TITLE 2 VIDEO 1 MEME 1

BLOG TITLE 1 BLOG TITLE 5 VIDEO 1 MEME 1

VIDEO 1 INFOGRAPHIC 1 EBOOK TITLE 1 MEME 1

VIDEO 1 INFOGRAPHIC 2 EBOOK TITLE 1 MEME 1

VIDEO 1 EBOOK TITLE 1 MEME 1

CONVERT

BLOG TITLE 6 WEBINAR 2

BLOG TITLE 7 WEBINAR 2

BLOG TITLE 6 WEBINAR 2

BLOG TITLE 7 WEBINAR 2

BLOG TITLE 8 WEBINAR 2

CASE STUDY 1 COUPON 1 FREE TOOL 1 VIDEO 3 PRESENTATION 1

CASE STUDY 2 COUPON 2 FREE TOOL 1 PRESENTATION 1

DELIGHT

VIDEO 4 FREE TOOL 2 REFERRAL DISCOUNT 1 MEME 2

VIDEO 4 FREE TOOL 2 REFERRAL DISCOUNT 1 MEME 3

VIDEO 4 FREE TOOL 2 REFERRAL DISCOUNT 1 MEME 2

VIDEO 4 FREE TOOL 2 REFERRAL DISCOUNT 1 MEME 4

This visual uses example piece titles — be sure to include the actual content offer titles with any relevant details (such as content type).

How to Create a Content Matrix

[ WHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER [ 1. Your content is not well targeted — all of your content could work for any of your buyer personas. That's okay — this is how you know you need to start creating more carefully targeted, personalized content so it is even more effective for your targeted buyers.

BUYER PERSONA 1

BUYER PERSONA 2

BUYER PERSONA 3

TOFU

BLOG TITLE 1

MOFU

VIDEO 1

BOFU

FREE TOOL 1

TOP OF THE FUNNEL

MIDDLE OF THE FUNNEL

BOTTOM OF THE FUNNEL

2. You have A LOT of bottom-of-the-funnel (BOFU) content, but not a lot of top-of-the-funnel content. A lot of marketers make the mistake of creating a lot of content that talks about themselves and their product or service. This type of content can be great for prospects who are on the brink of purchase, but you need more top and middle funnel content in order to warm people up to your brand and offering. At Docalytics, we try to remember one harsh truth featured in Joe Pulizzi's very helpful book, Epic Content Marketing: people don't really care about you or your product offering — no matter how amazing and helpful it is. As content marketers, it's our job to meet people where they're at, educating and informing them on topics they truly are about. The content matrix will help you see where you may be succeeding at this and where you might need to think more about what your prospects really want to read about.

BUYER PERSONA 1

BUYER PERSONA 2

BUYER PERSONA 3

TOFU

BLOG TITLE 1

BLOG TITLE 2

BLOG TITLE 3

MOFU

VIDEO 1

VIDEPO 2

VIDEO 3

PRESENTATION 1 SPECIAL OFFER 1 WEBINAR 1 MEME 1 FREE TOOL 1 BROCHURE 1 BROCURE 2 BROCHURE 3

PRESENTATION 2 SPECIAL OFFER 2 WEBINAR 2 MEME 2 FREE TOOL 2 BROCHURE 4 BROCURE 5 BROCHURE 6

PRESENTATION 3 SPECIAL OFFER 3 WEBINAR 3 MEME 3 FREE TOOL 3 BROCHURE 7 BROCURE 8 BROCHURE 9

TOP OF THE FUNNEL

MIDDLE OF THE FUNNEL

BOFU

BOTTOM OF THE FUNNEL

How to Create a Content Matrix

[ WHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER [ 3. You have a lot of gaps — perhaps you have been favoring one persona over another or maybe as I mentioned above, you've focused on the more salesy BOFU content. As you're taking stock of the content you have available, you'll notice gaps like these. It is likely that you and your team will be much more successful at nurturing leads if you identify gaps and fill them with relevent content offers.

BUYER PERSONA 1

BUYER PERSONA 2

ATTRACT

BLOG TITLE 1

CONVERT

BLOG TITLE 3 WEBINAR 2

BLOG TITLE 4 WEBINAR 2

CASE STUDY 1 COUPON 1 FREE TOOL 1 VIDEO 3 PRESENTATION 1

DELIGHT

VIDEO 4

BUYER PERSONA 3

BUYER PERSONA 4

BUYER PERSONA 5

VIDEO 1

CASE STUDY 1

CASE STUDY 2 COUPON 2 FREE TOOL 1 PRESENTATION 1

FREE TOOL 2

VIDEO 4

How to Create a Content Matrix

BUYER PERSONA 6

[ WHAT'S NEXT?[ Once you have thoroughly examined and cataloged all your content offers and created new ones to fill the gaps, you are ready to create lead nurturing workflows. Granted, it may take months or even years to create all the content you would like to perfectly fit in every gap (especially if you have a lot of buyer personas or a long buying process). That's okay — as soon as you have a few relevant content offers for one persona along the buying cycle, you can begin a nurturing workflow. A lead nurturing workflow is where you create conversion points from your top funnel content to your bottom funnel content. You can use marketing automation tools like HubSpot and Marketo to automate the process and keep it running long after you are done creating the content and conversions — like a salesperson who works 24/7.

BUYER PERSONA 1

TOFU

Isolate your lead nurturing by Buyer Persona to ensure the content offers and conversion points you create a targeted to their unique interests and needs.

TOP OF THE FUNNEL

MOFU

MIDDLE OF THE FUNNEL

BOFU

BOTTOM OF THE FUNNEL

BLOG TITLE 1 BLOG TITLE 2 VIDEO 1 WEBINAR 1 MEME 1 BLOG TITLE 6 WEBINAR 2

CASE STUDY 1 COUPON 1 FREE TOOL 1 VIDEO 3 PRESENTATION 1

Great conversion opportunities include inserted CTAs and automated emails — the process of deciding which conversion points to use depends greatly on your content and the preferences of your buyer persona.

BUYER PERSONA 1

TOFU

TOP OF THE FUNNEL

MOFU

MIDDLE OF THE FUNNEL

BOFU

BOTTOM OF THE FUNNEL

BLOG TITLE 1 BLOG TITLE 2 VIDEO 1 WEBINAR 1 MEME 1

CONVERSION POINTS:

BLOG TITLE 6 WEBINAR 2

CONVERSION POINTS:

CASE STUDY 1 COUPON 1 FREE TOOL 1 VIDEO 3 PRESENTATION 1

How to Create a Content Matrix

CALL TO ACTION 1 EMAIL 1

CALL TO ACTION 2 EMAIL 2 EMAIL 3

[ IN CONCLUSION [ Sound complicated? It can be a little bit overwhelming at first, but it's worth doing. Companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales-ready leads at 33% lower cost per lead. If you've got your content matrix underway, you're already on your way to attracting, converting and closing on the best leads at the lowest cost. For more on lead nurturing, check out the following resources that we've found helpful in our own content matrix & lead nurturing activities: • Step-by-Step Templates for Mapping your B2B Content • 9 Steps to an Awesome Lead Nurturing Workflow • eBook: A Practical Guide to Building a Killer Content Strategy

How to Create a Content Matrix

[ ABOUT [

ABOUT LINDSEY Lindsey, Marketing Manager at Docalytics, is on a mission to make the world better through smarter marketing. When not grumbling about the internet's poor grammar, you'll find her gulping huge cups of coffee, instagramming cat pix, and belting out broadway classics.

Docalyticsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; powerful cross-platform technology allows customers to track user interaction with documents and sales collateral such as whitepapers, eBooks, case studies, presentations, sell sheets and other documents. Docalytics empowers businesses to produce better content, get more sales-ready prospects and prioritize sales outreach. For the first time your sales and marketing teams will be able to track exactly how prospective customers engage with your content â&#x20AC;&#x201D; while more efficiently capturing lead data as a prospective customer engages with the document versus having to capture everything upfront before a visitor can determine the relevancy of the content. For more information, visit www.docalytics.com.

How to Create a Content Matrix