Content Marketing Strategies for 2015

As  an  award-­‐winning publisher   for  more   than   30  years,   LeisureMedia360   has  successfully   created   content   for  Virginia   Tourism,  more   than   a  dozen  CVBs,   and  many   small   businesses   from  marinas   to  realtors   to  restaurants.

Content  Marketing  Strategies  for  2015  -­‐ and  Beyond

By  Steve  Beyer

If  Kevin  Spacey  says  it,  you  know  it’s  true

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJnP2wsgnoA&feature=youtu.be

1.  You  need  a  Scalable Website.  Responsive   design  might  help.

●Today  anywhere  from  20%  to  nearly  half  of  your  website  visitation  is  coming  from  mobile  devices  such  as  smart  phones  and  tablets.  

o 50%  of  website  visitors  want  contact  info.oNon-­mobile  friendly  site  will  loose  visitors.

Responsive design means a website that is easy to read and navigate across a wide range of devices.

Content when you want, how you want, where you want it.

2.  Do  an  Evaluation of  your  Existing  Content.

A simple website checklist is a real time saver. Then pieces can be delegated or tackled one by one.

●Periodic  audits  can  really  go  a  long  way  to  improving  your  site.  Remove  outdated  or  obsolete  information.  Add  new  content  as  it  becomes  available.

oShorten  existing  content  to  freshen  it  up.

oChanging  out  the  images  on  your  home  page  and  landing  pages  can  help  engage  visitors,  especially  repeat  visitors.  

oStudy  the  most  popular  pages  and  use  Google  Analytics.

3.  Create  a  Content Strategy for  2015

●What  is  your  website’s  goal?  This  is  the  most  important  question  to  ask.

oWhat  do  you  want  to  accomplish  with  your  website?oWhat  is  the  call  for  action?

A strategy will save time and money.

Growth of custom content is surging—69% of content marketers plan to increase their spending on content in 2015.

77% of marketers said “yes we use content marketing”

Source: CMI 2015 B-to-C Content Marketing Trends Research

4.  SEO  with  Penguin and  Panda Google  Programs.  

oPanda focused  on  sites  with  in-­depth,  regularly  updated  content  vs.  sites  with  too  much  advertising  and  poor  navigation.

oPenguin focused  on  quality.

5.  The Hummingbird Effect.

Google’s biggest change of late is the little hummingbird.

●Hummingbird  is  paying  more  attention  to  each  word  in  a  query,  ensuring  that  the  whole  query—the  whole  sentence  or  conversation  or  meaning—is  taken  into  account,  rather  than  particular  words.  

oPages  matching  the  meaning  do  better,  rather  than  pages  matching  just  a  few  words.

o It’s  more  important  than  ever  to  write  meaningful  content  for  your  website

oPush  it  out  to  the  world  thru  social  media  platforms.  oWhat  are  the  phrases  or  questions  prospects  will  use  to  find  your  location?

“What do I feed a hummingbird?”

6.  Size Does  Not  Matter.

●You  do  not  have  to  be  a  huge  company  with  a  big  budget.oRiver  Pools  &  Spa  in  Warsaw,  VA  built  a  tremendous  business  by  adding  valuable  content  to  his  website.  • Frequently  asked  questions.  • Information  about  pool  costs.  • A  blog.  • Testimonials.  

o It’s  now  on  the  first  page  of  Google  search  for  thousands  of  searches.

Do you have to be the size of:

• Orlando• Los Angeles• New York• San Francisco

or Miami

to do content marketing?

7.  First  Get  Your  Website  Humming   and  Then  Advertise   to  Drive  Traffic!

LeisureMedia360  Brands

Leisure Media 360 content marketing program – print examples

LeisureMedia360 content marketing program – online application examples

Repurposed

LeisureMedia360 content marketing program – online application examples, cont’d

Notes  and  Takeaways  From  

Content  Marketing  World2014

Andrew  Davis

Author  of  Brandscaping:  Unleashing  the  

Power  of  Partnership

The  Consumer  Journey

1. Moment  of  Inspiration-­‐Bigger  Opportunity2. Trigger  -­‐ Take  Action3. Initial  Consideration  4. Active  Evaluation5. Moment  of  Purchase• Beginning  of  new  relationship• New  part  of  loyalty  loop

Own  The  Consumer  JourneyExample:  Cain’s  Arcadehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faIFNkdq96U

Own  The  Consumer  Journey,  Cont’d

• Stop  creating  campaigns

• Start  making  commitments

• Make  a  commitment  to  telling  a  story  bigger  than  you

Own  The  Consumer  Journey,  Cont’dThink  like  an  entertainment  executive

Ex:  Finding  Nemo• Nemo  Effect• Sold  out  clown  

fish  and  accessories

Own  The  Consumer  Journey,  Cont’d

Use  Google  Trends• Look  up  clownfish• Valuable  content   increases   demand  

4  simple  secrets  to  building  valuable  content1. Build  suspense2. Foster  Aspirational  Content  3. Drive  Empathy4. Harness   Emotion,  emotion  leads  to  action

Create  moments   of  inspiration

Julie  Fleischer

Director  Data  +  Content  +  Media  at  Kraft  Foods  Group

Julie  Fleischer

• Data  drives  content  creation

• Right  place,  right  moment

• 18  years  ago  started  Food  &  Familymagazine

• Content  marketing  is  smart,  strategic  and  campaign  able        

Robert  Rose

Chief  Strategist,  CMI

How  to  Start  Your  Content  Marketing  Strategy

1. Stop  and  make  it  an  integrated  process

2. Create   value  to  audiences

3. Develop  content-­‐driven  experiences• Plan• Audience• Story• Channels• Process• Conversation   -­‐>  Measurement

Robert  Rose

Three  Fundamental  Shifts  in  Thinking:

1. Story  before  medium2. Process  not  a  project3. Infused  not  separate  • The  buyer’s  journey  is  not  guided• You  don’t  have  to  be  big,  you  have  to  be  remarkable• You  have  to  be  great  with  the  group  you  want  to  be  

great  with

AND,  an  Integrated  mix  is  the  best!

Robert  Rose

Jay  Baer

NY  Times  Best-­‐Selling  Author

“Content  is  Fire,  Social  Media  is  gasoline”

Jason  Miller

Jason  Miller  Senior  Content  Marketing  Manager-­‐ LinkedIn

3  Ways  to  Create  Your  Big  Rock  “Claim  it”

1. Create   all  encompassing   guide  to  whatever  the  hell  conversation   you  want  to  own

2. Write  5  relevant  blogs  then  roll  them  all  together-­‐ Take  10  blogs  roll  into  1  

3. Collection  of  success   stories

Jason  Miller

Monday:  5  Tips  (Simple)

Tuesday:  Little  Heavier

Wednesday:  Drop  the  Bomb  (1,500-­‐3,000  words)

Thursday:  Tabasco-­‐ Strong  Opinion

Friday:  Chocolate  Cake  Content-­‐leave   for  the  weekend  with  a  smile-­‐ fun  stuff  day

Jonathon  Colman  Content  Strategist  at  Facebook

Building  Better  products  with  Content  Strategy

• Start  with  the  Why• Continue  with  How• Then  do  What  

1. Keep  it  simple2. Get  to  the  point3. Talk  like  a  person

Jonathon  Colman

• Content  leads  design• Design  leads  content  • Both  lead  experience  

Experience

Experience

Content

Design

Content

Design

Jesse  DesjardinsHead  of  Social  at  Tourism  Australia

• Use  Video  to  reach  Millennials-­‐• The  article  begins  its  life  when  you  hit  publish”

• Ex:  “My  trip  in  a  minute  – JOSH”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5WgMuYPfws

Counties,  States,  CVBs  &  Companies  in  the  Room• Australia  • California• Cleveland• San  Francisco• Canada• Colonial  

Williamsburg• Portland

• Arizona• Brand  USA• Branson  • NYC• Lansing  MI• Salt  Lake  City  • Singapore• Amish  Country

• Marriott• Boone,  NC• IHG  Hotels• Trip  Advisor  • West  

Hollywood• Grand  Rapids  

MI

Jesse  Desjardins  Cont’d• Social  is  great,  but  we  need  to  stop  renting.• What  is?  àWhat  could  be?• Can  we  make  our  customers  the  hero?• Not  just  telling  stories  but  giving  a  story  to  tell• Get  it  shared• Stories  that  are  engineered  make  our  

audience  look  good.• Once  they  hear  from  you,  what  do  they  tell  

their  friends?

Huffington  Post  Example

1/3  from  80,000  bloggers

1/3  Curated

1/3  Their  content

Insights  that  shape  future  decisions5  stages  of  Travel

Dreaming

Planning Booking

Experiencing

Sharing

Jesse  Desjardins  Cont’dHubspot:  Quick  ways  to  curate  industry  content  for  your  blog

1. Use  Reader  Services  (Feedly  &  Digg)  2. Follow  Trade  Show  Blogs3. Monitor  Social  News  Streams4. Setup  Google  Alerts  5. Follow  folks  on  Linked  In6. Check  out  Forums  (Quora)7. Read  and  subscribe  to  other  peoples  blogs

What’s  the  Hottest  Thing  in  Content  Marketing?

Joe  Pulizzi  Founder,  Content  Marketing  Institute  and  Author  of  Epic  Content  Marketing

• Building  a  content  marketing  environment.  Content  built  around  a  centralized  environment  that  makes  it  easy  &  quick  to  deploy

• Story  telling.  Inspire  people.

• Writing  and  words  we  use  to  tell  your  story

• Develop  a  strategy  and  review  it

Joe  Pulizzi

Joe  Pulizzi

• Persona  development  that  increases  the  relevance  so  you  can  address  the  buyers  needs  through  the  buying  process

• Globalization  of  Content.  Make  sure  message  is  appropriate  across  the  world

• Real  time  personalization  

• Engaging  people  at  a  deeper  level-­‐ emotionally  

• Strategic,  repeatable  and  accountable  process

• People  need  to  be  able  to  find  the  content  otherwise  it  never  reaches  its  potential  metadata  

• Content  doesn’t  come  from  marketing.  Content  comes  from  customers,  comes  from  sales,  comes  from  customer  service,  and  comes  from  across  the  organization.  How  does  marketing  evangelize  this  message?

Joe  Pulizzi

Joe  Pulizzi:  8  Reasons  to  Rethink  Print

1. It  grabs  attention2. If  focuses  on  customer  relation  3. There  are  no  audience  development  costs4. No  reliance  on  advertisers5. What’s  old  is  new  again6. Customers  still  need  to  know  what  questions  

to  ask  7. Print  still  excites  people8. Print  lets  people  unplug

Need  a  “Content  Marketing  Master  Class?”

Sorry,  but  I  can’t  cover  it  all  in  ONE  presentation.  But  Joe  Pulizzi  and  the  “Content  Marketing  Institute”  Can  help!

Robert  Magee  Department  of  Communication

Virginia  Tech

• Conducted  a  study  on  Virginia  Tech  Alumni  magazine  open  rate  and  reader  memory  

• 675  participants  contacted  by  phone,  337  with  print,  338  with  online.

• Print  showed  Superior  Open  Rate• Greater  recall  memory  for  articles  • Greater  recognition  memory  for  articles• Younger  alumni  expressed  a  preference  for  receiving  an  

online  version  of  the  magazine;  but  their  recall  was  markedly  higher  for  the  print  version.

University  of  Vermont  Tourism  Research  Study

• 25  State  Parks• 15  Selected  Attractions• 8  Vermont  Welcome  Centers• 8,555  questionnaires  were  collected  

Visitor/Vermonters  -­‐ in  person!

University  of  Vermont  Tourism  Research  Study,  Cont’d

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Friends  &  Family Print  Media TV  /  Radio Social  Media

Influencers  on  Decision  to  Vacation,  by  Age    &  Medium

Under  50 Over  50

University  of  Vermont  Tourism  Research  Study,  Cont’d

• Print  Media  have  an  important  influence  on  visitors  

• Brochures  and  magazine  articles  are  the  most  influenced  forms  of  print  media  for  both  groups  

2014  A  Study  of  DMO  Visitor  GuidesBy  WACVB  Education  &  Research  Foundation  &  Destination  

Analysts

• 9,611Surveys  Collected

• Travelers  request  visitor  guides  primarily  to  serve  as  a  trip  planning  tool

• Attractions  and  maps  are  the  top  content  sought  from  DMO  visitor  guides

• Nearly  70%  of  potential  visitors  actually  travel  to  the  destination  after  receiving  the  DMO  visitor  guide

2014  A  Study  of  DMO  Visitor  Guides,  Cont’d

• 1  out  of  5  visitor  guide  users  had  not  yet  made  their  destination  decision  when  they  requested  a  guide

• 90%  ultimately  decide  to  visit  the  destination  because  of  the  visitor  guide

• Visitor  Guides  are  also  effective  at  lengthening  stays  in  the  destination

• Once  travelers  receive  a  DMO  visitor  guide,  it  largely  becomes  the  primary  trip  planning  resource

Have  a  question  about  creating  engaging  content  for  your  own  marketing?  

Steve  Beyer,  President3424  Brambleton  Ave.,  Roanoke,  VA  24018

540-­‐989-­‐6138  office847-­‐532-­‐4044  cell

[email protected]

Thank  you

Steve   Beyer   is  President   of  Leisure  Media   360,   an  integrated   marketing   firm   specializing   in  travel,  quality   of  life   and  real   estate   publications,  websites,   and  digital  marketing.   He  has   run  the  custom  

publishing  division  for  several   media   firms   over   the  past   16  years   and   started   content  marketing   for  brands  like   Microsoft,  HP,   IBM,   Rockwell   and  more   than  100  hospitals   across  the  U.S.  He   is  a  sought-­‐after  

speaker   on  this  topic  by   publishing  firms,   content  marketing   conferences,   sales  meetings   and  webinars.  His  sales  management   experience   at  both  Hanley-­‐Wood   Publishing  and  Penton  Publishing  generated  

strong  growth   in  revenues   and  kudos  from   clients  on  his  superlative   level   of  customer   service.