Junta42 Content Marketing blog

What's Your Brand Story? - Moleskine Endures through Storytelling

My content marketing friends, Igor Savic and Primoz Inkret from Poslovni Mediji (Business Media) in Slovenia, were nice enough to give me a branded Moleskine notebook on my arrival to their beautiful country.

I've heard of Moleskine before, but now I know their story.

Included inside the legendary notebook is a detailed history of the product (see picture below).

 

"Moleskine is the legendary notebook used by European artists and thinkers for the past two centuries, from Van Gogh to Picasso, from Ernest Hemingway to Bruce Chatwin. This trusty, pocket-size travel companion held sketches, notes, stories and ideas before they were turned into famous images or pages of beloved books."

It means something to write in a Moleskine. To be an owner of a Moleskine says something about who you are. In the video (produced by Moleskine), it says something about who Bruce Chatwin was. 

Moleskine has endured all these years because they tell stories as well as the people who used their product. Brand stories don't just happen.  They are told...and spread.

Forget the Buyer Persona...What's Your Brand Persona?

I had an excellent podcast interview with Kim Albee from Genoo yesterday (it will be up in a week or so) where we talked in detail about content marketing and authenticity.

The first step in being authentic in your content marketing and social media? Understanding who YOU are.  What's your brand story?  What do you stand for?

So much focus in content marketing is understanding the buyer persona - or understanding exactly who your customers are, what their pain points are, their informational needs, etc.  (Some companies go so far as to name their personas and create pictures of them.)

Buyer personas?  Extremely important...no doubt.

Your brand persona? Critical.

We've all heard the phrase "before you can love other people, you have to first love yourself."

Same goes for content marketing.

Before you truly understand your customers (buyer persona), you have to understand yourself (brand persona).

Just think of the difference between Southwest and Continental airlines.  Two reputable companies.  Two very different companies.  If Continental came out with a video series about their flight attendants doing tricks on passengers, it would seem severely out of place.  Southwest, not so much.

What is your brand story?

What are the areas of expertise you want to stand for?

What are the tenets that your company stands by, no matter what?

If you were a person, what type of person would you be? Black, white, male, female, fun, serious, etc.

If your brand could change the world, where would you start?

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Six Steps to Content Marketing Execution Success

Just finished this last post on content strategy before content marketing, then saw this perfect post from Seth Godin. It really puts what we are trying to accomplish with content marketing in perspective.

Seth maps out six specific steps when it comes to success. Let's take these steps and relate them to our content marketing efforts.

1. Attitude
2. Approach
3. Goals
4. Strategy
5. Tactics
6. Execution

Note that Seth puts execution last. Many marketers focus on the execution of the marketing program first, without looking at the previous five points (hard to believe, I know).

Step 1: Attitude

I call this secret sauce. What is the intersection between your expertise and the informational needs of your audience (your customers)? Those content areas become the core for your content marketing program (and your business).

Your secret sauce should be very relevant to your product and service offerings.  After all, you are in this to sell more of something, so be sure that is in the plan.

Step 2: Approach

In the approach section, think about listening posts. In step 1, you really took some time to figure out how you can truly be an educational resource. In step 2, you ask the questions and listen to find out the real pain points of your audience. This is where social media tools come in so handy. Use Twitter Search, Google Alerts and other social media tools to listen to what your customers are struggling with. 

This will help define the story you are trying to tell. Ask yourself this: "If you don't understand what your customers are struggling with, then how can you solve their problems?" It's a simple question, but it's the core of our entire marketing plan. Good editors dig deep to understand. You have to as well.

Step 3: Goals

Notice that we first have to find out what our customers' information needs are first, and what our informational expertise can be in relation to our product/service offerings, before we move onto goals.

Remember, you can't have strategy without goals.

Step 4: Strategy

Now you can put together your content strategy once you have your goals, approach (listening posts) and attitude (secret sauce) in place.

Step 5: Tactics

Now pick the most effective tactics based on what the first four steps tell you. Note that many marketers go to tactics that sound right first, without going through the first four steps. 

"Wow, an ebook is a great idea." 

"We should do a custom magazine."

"Why don't we have a blog?"

Don't go here until you understand why these tactics are a good or bad idea.

Step 6: Execution

Then we actually execute the plan. Execution is extremely important, but meaningless without the first five steps. Think of it this way - a perfectly executed dive at the wrong event on the wrong day is just a waste of perfectly good water.

As Seth says: "If the top of the hierarchy is messed up, no amount of brilliant tactics or execution is going to help you at all."

The Three Rules to Marketing Reset - Spreadable. Ultra-Niche. Consistent.

The last portion of this interview with Paul Laudicina of A.T. Kearney really struck me. Take a read through this paragraph, and then let's discuss.

You know, Peter Drucker used to say that companies fail not because they do the wrong thing or because they do the right thing poorly, but because they fail to understand a fundamental shift in the theory of business. Immelt [from GE] calls it an economic reset. Drucker called it a change in the theory of business. But you could call it a fundamental transformation. The most important thing any company could or should be doing now to prepare for the post-recession environment is to look at all of the fundamentals and reexamine what changes in the theory of business might mean for their core competencies, for their ability to meet the new consumer demand.

As I read this paragraph, I think of the many traditional publishers out there who have been working toward the end goal statement, "When advertising comes back..." Scary proposition.

Seth Godin blogged about the marketing reset as the movement from attention shortage to attention surplus.

There was an attention drought for the longest time. Marketers paid a fortune for TV ads (and in fact, network ads sold out months in advance) because it was so difficult to find enough attention. Ads worked, so the more ads you bought, the more money you made, thus marketers took all they could get.

This attention shortage drove our economy.

The internet has done something wacky to this situation. It has created a surplus of attention. Ads go unsold. People are spending hours on YouTube or Twitter or Facebook or other sites and not spending their attention on ads, because the ads are either absent or not worth watching.

Marketing is in the process of resetting itself (and has been for a while). What does this mean for us? I think we are all trying to figure it out, but here are three concepts to kick around.

1. Advertising can work, but more and more will be in the form of content and storytelling. If our advertising must be relevant and opt-in, great content is the only way. I think of Blendtec's Will it Blend? for this example. Ultimately, they are pitching the product the entire time - two minute product demos of their blenders in action - but they do it in such an entertaining way that you never feel like you are being sold. It's so good that people sign up to watch their marketing. To do: Stop thinking about pushing your product and start thinking about what your customers would do after engaging in your advertising/marketing. If the inclination is to spread the message, then you've done something right.
2. Go more niche. Instead of just a company Twitter account, maybe you need five - one for each customer segment.  Instead of a corporate Facebook account, maybe you need three Facebook "movements" - all focused on a customer concept or idea that solves their pain points. Each customer will have it's own niche channels you need to focus on - different blogs, different communities, different social media tools. To do: break down your customers' informational needs by segment.  Treat them differently. The more niche the better. The story needs to be relevant at all times. Remember that your customers won't search through your irrelevant content to get to your relevant content. They'll just give up and go somewhere else. Google makes that easy.
   
3. The most important content process issue that people forget is the idea of consistency. That's where the idea of the microsite fails.  It's one big push...lots of content all at once and then silence. It's better to start small and build up over time. To do: Don't launch your content marketing initiative waiting for perfection. Launch small, get feedback, adjust, pick a content schedule and stick to it.

Create marketing that spreads (or that your customers would be likely to talk about), go ultra-niche and whatever you develop, do it consistently. This is the recipe for content marketing success as our marketing resets itself.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Story Listening through Social Media

We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto.

Here's an outstanding eBook from my friends at Story Worldwide entitled "Story Listening through Social Media". If you were looking for some backup as to the importance of online listening with a purpose, and how it relates to telling your brand's story, this is it. The folks at Story were nice enough to let me offer it to Junta42 readers without any gates or forms, so here it is for your downloading pleasure.

My takeaway - conversations are going on about your brand right now, whether you are a part of those conversations or not.  Can you afford not to be? Then, if you do get involved, do you know what to say?

I'm big on one liners or phrases that are memorable and make a strong point.  Here are the ones I pulled out of the eBook that made an impact on me.

• There’s a conversation going on right now about your brand. Are you a part of it?
• Today, every human being and every organization is (potentially) a global publisher.
• Individuals now have as much publishing power as big corporations. So big corporations are just one more voice among millions.
• Your brand perception is now in the hands of an army of strangers.  Isn't it time you got to know them?
• Now that consumers are talking to one another, traditional advertising is doomed. In a world where everything’s opt-in…Interruption generates hostility…And bad news travels very, very fast.

Also includes some great case studies from Kogi, Comcast and Dell.

Download it here.

What if? (no one cares and why you need to be a publisher)

What if? (questions posed to a marketing professional)

What if your customers saw your company as the industry thought leader?

What if they signed up for your enewsletters and white papers because they were interested in what you had to say, and thought it could positively impact their businesses?

What if traditional media called you for interviews, or bloggers wanted Q&As from people in your organization...not just a few times, but consistently?

What if you didn't need salespeople to make cold calls anymore?

What if your customers spread your content to prospects for you - essentially becoming your marketing distribution arm?

No, this is not fantasy land.  This can happen.  Maybe it's already happening.

How you ask?

By consistently delivering the most important, most valuable, most necessary information to your customers.

No one cares about your products, your services, your blog,  or your website.  They care about themselves...how to be happier, more successful, how to sleep better, how to get a raise, a job or some peace of mind.

What are those things for your customers? What do they really care about?

Once you get around the idea that they really don't want to hear about you, what will you tell them?

The marketing fantasy is happening for those that take on this task. I've seen it happen to Brian Clark, Shama Kabani, Hubspot and countless others.

They are true publishers.  Sure, they have products and services, and are very successful.  But they are first and foremost publishing machines that focus on their readers' (customers') needs and wants. They are building marketing assets (not advertising).

Most marketing professionals know this is possible, and want to go this direction, but more than not stay true to the past for a variety of reasons.

The new media company is not a media company...it's you. The sooner you accept that and begin publishing, the sooner you can be part of the fantasy.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Kodak: Why Content Strategy Is the Key to Marketing

I had the pleasure of meeting Tom Hoehn from Kodak at Online Marketing Summit - DC last week.  Tom has a really cool job at Kodak, where he is director of brand communications and convergence media.

After my presentation on the Keys to Social Media, Tom and I got to chatting and we realized that we focus on many of the same things, the most important being the creation and distribution of valuable, relevant and compelling content as a core part of marketing. Tom was nice enough to participate in this Q&A about Kodak's content strategy.  There's some gold nuggets in here...enjoy! Thanks Tom!

Joe: Does Kodak have a content strategy that's a part of their overall marketing strategy?  If so, how do you integrate it into the plans?

Tom: Yes, our content strategy is two pronged. First, we focus on content creation that showcases our products in use. We have a long history of doing this. Our Tips and Projects Center is the best example.
It is chock full of examples, projects, tips, and inspirational photo essays. The second part of this strategy is about distribution. We use the content in a number of different permutations and distribute through our various channels based on seasonality, promotions, etc. Channels include our website, blogs, partners sites, social media, e-mail tips, etc. You can see our social media presence at http://www.kodak.com/go/followus.

Joe: When you hear the phrase "content marketing", does it mean anything to you?

Tom: It means everything to me! Seriously, we love how people use the products we make to tell the stories of their lives. It is great to work in a category that enables people's self expression. Giving voice to those stories and inspiring others is what it is all about.

Joe: What does Kodak call the process of delivering consistent, educational and entertaining information to customers?

Tom: Our job.  It is an expectation of our customers that we walk the walk and talk the talk and have quality content. We make sure that we leverage Kodak's businesses and sponsorship for content at every turn. It is in our DNA.

Some examples include:

• Doing red carpet interviews along side other media outlets during the recent Celebrity Apprentice finale that included Kodak
• Activating on numerous fronts during last summer's Olympic Games in Beijing.
• Showcasing our presence in golf with the start of the Kodak Challenge, which includes a fantasy game that will launch next week.
• Making your Inauguration moment more memorable by combining professional content with personal content.
• Featuring beautiful images on our homepage. Each week we connect the photos to a blog post that contains information about them. This week we are featuring photos in conjunction with the Cannes Film Festival. When we are not featuring photos from events or special occasions we use photos submitted by our visitors. Take a look at the previous selections at the blog posts dedicated to these stunning homepage photos.

So there you have it, we are nuts about content! ;-)

Joe: How do you take customer education to the next level to drive increased loyalty and sales?

Tom: The next level? In my mind it isn't always about what we think people want to learn. Amplifying the voice of the millions of people who take pictures, do cool things with them, and share with others is the big opportunity for us. People take 70 million pictures every day with Kodak cameras. Yes, you read that right. Don't you think that is quite an incredible wealth of source material that can be tapped?

Joe: Kodak has been in the middle of social media for a while now.  What's worked really well?  What are you no so sure about?  What hasn't worked?

Tom: Our blogs, starting with A Thousand Words, have been active since September 2006. That is ancient history in the social media space - in terms of large companies blogging it is positively prehistoric! The stories and photos we have shared from everyday Kodak people have been acclaimed by many. We get kudos for recognizing the space and how to use it. We are adding value to the conversations that are occurring. We are not shoving marketing messages at people. That doesn't work and we knew that from the outset.

Our distributed publishing model has worked really well for us. We decided not to have a few dedicated Kodak rockstar bloggers and opted to have many employees contribute. It helps to spread the work. I am happy to say we have published every business day since our launch - that is no small feat. A wise person by the name of Joe Pulizzi ;-) mentioned that "Frequency" is an important aspect of blogging. It looks like we embraced that from the get go. Every post contains a few photos (of course), most have more. One post I did actually had over 200 clickable thumbnails (but that is a story for another day).

A benefit we saw that was unexpected was the employee pride in contribution. They loved the fact that anyone could contribute their stories and were proud to share with family, friends, and their networks. 

Joe: How is Kodak promoting the use of social media within the company?  Do you have set guidelines?

Tom: We have a simple social media policy that was crafted with input from marketing, legal, our IT group, and corporate security. It contains very sound and practical advice and isn't overly restrictive. We promote the use of social media channels to product marketing groups and adoption rates vary. I find that people are eager to learn and we are happy to share our experiences.

Joe: What's the next great frontier regarding online content? (is there one?)

Tom: It is the power of you. Instead of everyone being famous for 15 minutes perhaps we will be famous to 15 people. Telling your story requires content. Text, photos (yes!), videos (naturally!). What stories are you telling to your network?

Joe: How about print?  Do you do any print magazines/newsletters for BtoC or BtoB?  Wondering what your take is on the distribution of print content?

Tom: Yes, we do print and make products that support print. Did you know Kodak has commercial businesses that are in the printing and packaging industries? It is a multi-billion dollar per year category for us. That being said, we use print for B2B publications for our Entertainment Imaging (motion picture)
and Graphic Communications (printing) businesses. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that print also extends to personal needs. Are your precious memories locked on a hard drive somewhere? I hope not!

I hope you found this Q&A helpful.Thanks Joe for inviting me.
Leave a comment I would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks, tom @tomhoehn on Twitter

Relevant Articles:

• 10 Content Marketing Tips to Start Now
• Six Content Strategies for Keeping Content Fresh
• Five Content Marketing Ideas that will Pay Dividends

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If You Are a Marketer, Watch this Video of Gary Vaynerchuk

Thanks Gary Vaynerchuk.  In a few years this will be the norm, but right now most companies still don't get it. See more of Gary at this exclusive social media event.

Recession Creates Opportunity - Invest in Marketing that Builds Assets

I talked to a medium-sized company today that was having some difficulty with their content marketing efforts. After about five minutes it was easy to see why.

The print newsletter and "magalog" were owned by customer service. The five enewsletters were ultimately managed by IT. White papers, eBooks and annual reports were executed by marketing. The website was split up between IT, marketing and sales. And no one was responsible for listening to the customer through social media tools. Frankly, most of the attention was still going to trade shows, direct mail and telemarketing.

Lots of wasted time and resources. Everything was being measured individually and no person had the power to bring the teams together. The worst part? - everyone was so worried about their little piece of the pie, no one was paying attention to the informational needs of the customer (Twitter? - what's that?).

Things are about to change because now they have no choice. Sometimes a recession creates opportunity.

What's Your Opportunity?

Every company, no matter the size, has marketing processes or strategies that used to make sense in the past, but now just don't work.

In the good times, these processes go on because a little bit of waste is okay, tolerated or ignored altogether.

In times like these, your marketing can't afford waste.

Look at your marketing and do the following:

1. Take a hard look at what's working and what's not working.  You will probably find marketing that builds an asset is performing better (your website, your white papers, your videos - things that help you tell your story). Marketing that is created and disappears (online display, print ads, etc. - things that are difficult to tell a story) are either not performing as well or you aren't sure what it's doing.
2. Disregard relationships and well-worn marketing paths. You can't afford to play nice anymore. Make the hard decisions now when the opportunity is in front of you (Yes, you can finally fire that person/contractor/agency).
3. Don't pocket all the marketing dollars you are cutting.  Reinvest a portion of those savings into assets and stories - your web content, your enewsletter content, your informational products, your "customer listening" staff. Focus on being the trusted solutions provider for your industry - invest in products that do just that.
4. Address duplicate content issues. (courtesy of Natanya Anderson) Many times we find that several groups in a company are trying to address the same content needs, but through their unique lenses (and not typically through the customers' lens). They are all telling a very similar story and creating multiple, redundant assets, none of which really meet the end-user's needs. If companies can centralize these efforts and make the focus of the asset development the user, they will most likely be able to create a single asset that performs well.
5. Execute.

The companies that take advantage of this great opportunity will be leading their industries after the dust settles.

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10 Content Marketing Tips to Start Now for 2009

One of the reasons I love my job is the different kinds of people I have the opportunity to interact with. Over the past year, I've met with entrepreneurs, thought leaders, agency executives, top marketers, social media gurus, publishing veterans, authors and others - all with particular insights and challenges about how to sell more, do more and be more.

If 2008 was the year social media went mainstream, 2009 should be the year of content marketing, the corporation as media company, the brand as publisher and broadcaster. Why? Because everyone of those incredibly intelligent people I met with, in some way or another, told me that the difference for brands who make it versus those that don't will be relevance. How can we, as brands, be relevant to our customers? How can we create and develop real relationships with them? How do we engage?

As my friend and colleague Kirk Cheyfitz has said over and over - brands can do only two things to create the goal of 100% engagement - we can inform our customers - or give them a good time.

To help, I've put together 10 tactics that I believe you need to seriously consider NOW as part of your 2009 content plan (not in any particular order).

1. Tell the Story Differently through Different Media - It's frustrating to watch the sheer number of marketers tell a great story, but repurpose that story the same way in all their media. Ian Alexander over at Eat Media constantly harps (and rightfully so) on the concept that the story you tell in print versus mobile versus website versus video must be told in a very different manner. Seems obvious, but it's not done. Most commonly, this mistake is made from taking a print custom program and just putting it online. Do you engage with content in the same way in print as you do the web? Most likely, you don't. Do not expect more of your customers than yourself.
2. Raid Traditional Media Outlets - As traditional media continues to lay off the best journalists in the world and layoffs and bankruptcies abound, your opportunity to acquire talent has never been greater. Of course, I'm biased a bit that I believe most marketers should outsource their content and find great providers through our service, but this opportunity is too good to be true. First, the talent is available now. Second, expert journalists are very open to working with corporations today. Third, you need great content to survive as a marketer. To do this, you need talent that understands how to tell a story. Go get that talent today while there is still time (and before they all start up their own content marketing businesses).
3. Why Partner with Media Companies, Just Buy Them - Granted, this is for the larger marketers among us, but a great strategy nonetheless. Paul Conley just posted an excellent read on the shape of the media industry, and his #1 prediction was that content marketers may start to buy b-to-b media companies. I've agreed with this strategy ever since I was at Penton (when I thought Penton should be purchased by eBay Business - and still think it's a great idea for both). Remember, a media company is all about connecting buyers and sellers. Corporations need to do that as well, they only want to limit the number of sellers (to one).
4. Time to Start Using Twitter - I will agree with you...I thought Twitter was stupid when I first tried it. Now, it is an indispensable tool, where I've increased my network, formed partnerships, and led to new business opportunities. To understand the true power you need to use a tool like TweetDeck, which is the ultimately reputation management tool if you can't afford a real reputation management tool. Check out this article by Ann Smarty on using Twitter for Business, as well as Shama Hyder's 101 Ways to Rock Twitter. And finally, if you are distributing relevant content, try sending your RSS feeds through Twitter by using TwitterFeed.
5. Get Serious about a Content Audit - In all honesty, this is a huge task and very challenging to look for all the pieces of content in an organization from the inside.  If you are serious about performing a content audit, look to an outside expert to execute it.  For example, they will look at all your forms of communication and the information you are sending out in order to make recommendations on how to create and fine tune a consistent and relevant message to your customers and prospects.  This includes all the content you have on the web and what's circulating around your company.  Just think about your website…is it consistent?  Does it communicate your vision? If you are serious, we have a number of providers in the Junta42 Match system.
   
   The results of the content audit will help define the purpose, context, types, topics, voice and style for your content marketing plan.  With this information, you’ll have a good handle on where you are currently, and where you need to be in relation to your customers. Hat's off to Kristina Halvorson at Brain Traffic for showing me the light on content strategy.
6. No Reputation Management System? - Work on Your Google Alerts: Of all the listening tools out there, Google Alerts is probably the one I use the most (even more than Twitter).  The way Google Alerts works is that I can monitor keywords and brand names, and whenever anyone mentions them on the Internet, I’ll get a notification.  As a rule, when anyone blogs about me, my company, or my book, I want to know about it and comment to them.  Google Alerts helps me find most of this.
   
   But where this is really of value is to find out what people are saying around they topics that are important to you and your customers.  For example, by monitoring the term “content marketing” over the past couple years, I’ve really gained insight into how the definition has broadened and how more people are using the term in general. It also introduced me to thought leaders like Chris Brogan, who regularly posts and advocates the use of content marketing.
   
   We can help shape the conversation through our own content because we know what’s being talked about on other sites.
   
   So, how do you do it?  Google Alerts is a free tool.  The first thing you need to do is create a Gmail (or Google mail account), which is also free.  Once you have a Gmail account, just type in your keywords into Alerts and set your notifications. To use exact phrases (recommended), try using parentheses like so - "content marketing".
7. Assign a Chief Conversation Officer - Whatever you call it, make sure someone is in charge of listening to customer conversations through blogs, Google Alerts, and Twitter.  Have that person be the personality for your brand.  Customers want to talk to other people, so it’s very important that you put a human face on this.
   
   Remember, a successful content marketing strategy is dependent on how well you know the customer's informational needs. Listening is required.
   
   Here’s an example why you need ownership.  Type in "Kodak" into Twitter Search and you'll find that there are hundreds of people just in the last day that are talking about Kodak in one way or another.  This takes someone’s full time attention to monitor what customers and prospects are saying (which is why Kodak has Jennifer Cisney @KodakCB as their Chief Blogger).  If done right, and with transparency and honesty, there may not be a better way to gain loyal customers than to interact with them in a personal way through social media.  So, I encourage you to take a very serious look at assigning an owner to your social conversation management.
8. Are you BtoB? If so, choose to "Be the Media": Heck, BtoC can do this as well (it's just more challenging). Most brands don’t look at themselves as publishers or media companies right now.  This is starting to change.  Over the next five to ten years, content marketing – or whatever the phrase is – will be the engine behind most of the marketing that happens around the globe.  That’s because buying behavior has changed, and will never go back to the days of mass marketing.  I believe the early movers in providing best of breed industry and educational content will have a clear advantage and be able to position themselves as trusted content providers – which in the long run – will position them for sales and profit growth.  It’s not easy, and right now it takes work to measure, but, as Seth Godin has said, Content Marketing is the only marketing left.
   
   Point is, don't wait for your industry's trade publication or online resource to cover an important topic - important to you and your customers. Go out and develop that information yourselves. Become the trusted content provider in your industry. Not only a good thing to do for your customers and industry, but believe me, it will be good for your bottom line.
9. Find Someone to Be Your Publisher/Media Company - Yes, even though I believe you should grab the journalistic talent when you can, partnering with an organization that focuses on content 24/7 is just a smart move.
   
   You need someone to own your content process.  Select someone to be your turnkey publisher. In my experience, marcom people are not necessarily the most qualified to create story-driven content.  So, if you are serious about growing your business through content marketing, find the expertise now. 
   
   Once you select your publisher or journalist as part of your content team, you should expect them to assist you with the following:
   
   • You can count on this group to help you develop the content plan.  This means that they need to have the best understanding of your customer’s informational needs, and make sure that you have a plan to communicate to each of your customer segments – valuable, relevant and compelling information.  This will involve surveys and discussions with your customers and prospects, and from that you can create a buyer persona for your customer, which is a detailed representation of who your buyer is.
   • Now, Once the content plan is created, you may be asking what types of programs you may need to execute. This will ultimately be dependent on your content plan and the kinds of information that you need them to receive. 
     
     So, you need case studies, interviews with customers about challenges solved. Industry white papers or ebooks that cover a key topic that your customers need to be educated on.  White papers are generally done quarterly by even smaller organizations. For webcasts, you can produce webcasts for resellers, educating them on what’s going on in the industry so they can sell better, or communicate with webcasts/webinars directly to customers.  Key for webcasts is to do it consistently.  Many brands partner with media companies to use webcasts as lead generators.  When done right, there may not be a better lead generator than webcasts.
     
     Believe it or not, custom magazines are still growing, and yes, in print.  Most consumers still enjoy reading print magazines, and even with all the Internet hype, readership in magazines hasn’t gone down.  For distributing in depth information and positioning yourself as a true solutions provider, custom magazines or even online digital magazines are a good choice.  With custom magazines, think retention for your very best customers.
     
     eNewsletters are the most popular content vehicle, and unfortunately most are pretty bad.  You have an opportunity to really position yourself as an expert if you deliver consistently valuable content instead of news release/press release type information. I've always loved what the folks at IMN do with their Pro&Content eNewsletter.
     
     And finally, social media community sites/blogs and content-focused microsites are all growing in popularity.  The key to any successful blog or social media site is this: If you can’t handle customer comments that may be negative in nature, don't go in this direction.  Some companies mask the openness of a blog but don’t allow comments.  My question to that is, what’s the point?  Also, the content needs to be good, and it needs to be personal.  Ghost writing a blog is possible but tough…to make this successful you really need a company personality…but your content provider/publisher can help you get the direction right.
     
   
   Those are just a few…remember, every communication challenge is different, and may require a different content initiative - which is why an expert publisher is so important.  Also, for the most part, none of these initiatives work independently.  For example, there is no such thing as just a custom magazine.  There is always an online component, which may be a microsite, additional web content, white papers and more - and in each of those media channels, the story needs to be told differently for maximum engagement.
10. All this is Meaningless Unless You Measure: Yes, content marketing is a good idea for any size company, but without measurement, how do you have any idea what is working? My former boss at Penton Media, Bill Donahue, used to preach to me all the time that "Hope is not a strategy". Even hope, without an idea of a preferred end result, may actually be defined as insanity.
    
    Before you launch any content initiative, create the content strategy around your marketing program, and be very specific with how you will measure success. Use numbers whenever you can to quantify your plan. Then, have your management buy off on those numbers to support your content plan. Although we finish with this strategy as our last, it probably should be the first. Successful content marketing plans need at least six months just to get any traction at all - so plan for a minimum of 12 to 18 months and continually modify your plan as you gain customer intelligence.

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