FOREWORD BY GUIDO EVERAERT 13
PART I: PREPARE 15
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 17
WHAT IS DIGITAL CONTENT MARKETING? 17
WHY IS DIGITAL CONTENT MARKETING IMPORTANT? 19
HOW DOES DIGITAL CONTENT MARKETING DIFFER FROM OTHER MARKETING TACTICS? 20
CHAPTER 2: DEVELOPING A DIGITAL CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY 23
CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY PLAN 23
FROM BUSINESS GOALS TO CONTENT MARKETING OBJECTIVES 25
CASE: MOONLIT APPAREL AND THE S.M.A.R.T. FRAMEWORK 29
DEFINE YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE THROUGH BUYER PERSONAS 32
TEENAGER NOAH 33
ACTIVE SENIORS IRIS AND JOHN 33
BUSY MOM EMILY 34
FROM BUYER PERSONA CANVAS TO CONTENT CHANNELS, FORMATS AND TACTICS 35
DEMOGRAPHICS VS DEVICE AND MEDIA USE 36
PSYCHOGRAPHICS VS CONTENT TYPES 38
JOBS TO BE DONE VS CONTENT TOPICS 41
INFLUENCERS AND ADVOCATES YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE LOVES 44
TOOL: TRAACKR 46
CHANNELS USED DURING THE CUSTOMER JOURNEY 47
FRAMEWORK: TOFU-MOFU-BOFU 51
CONTENT THEMES AND TOPICS 52
CONTENT FOCUS, TILT AND NICHE 53
CONTENT THAT IS TAILORED TO YOUR AUDIENCE’S NEEDS 56
THE IMPORTANCE OF UP-TO-DATE CONTENT 57
CONTENT CHANNEL MIX 58
YOUR CONTENT NEEDS A HOME 59
PAID MEDIA 61
OWNED MEDIA 62
EARNED MEDIA 63
A CONTENT CALENDAR FOR THE COMING YEAR: HERO, HUB, HELP 65
CONTENT FORMATS AND TOPICS 68
FREQUENCY AND CONSISTENCY 70
CREATING A CONTENT CALENDAR 70
REVIEWING YOUR CONTENT CALENDAR 73
METRICS AND ANALYSIS 73
EXAMPLE: MOONLIT APPAREL’S CONTENT MARKETING PLAN 73
CHOOSING THE RIGHT DIGITAL CONTENT FORMATS 75
AUDIENCE PREFERENCES 75
CREATE FOR MOBILE FIRST 76
TRANSACTIONAL OR RELATIONSHIP-BUILDING CONTENT? 77
TEXT OR VISUAL? 78
AUDIO FORMATS? 79
VERTICAL OR HORIZONTAL VIDEO? 80
LONG-FORM OR SHORT-FORM? 82
EXAMPLE: RICOLA’S SHE’S (COUGH) JUST A FRIEND CAMPAIGN (2014) 84
CASE IN POINT: KFC’S TENDER WINGS OF DESIRE BOOK 85
CASE IN POINT: YUME CAMPING YOUTUBE SHORTS AND TIKTOK VIDEOS 85
STOCK OR FLOW? 86
GATED OR UNGATED? 87
PERMANENT OR TEMPORARY? 88
INSOURCED OR OUTSOURCED? 90
PART II: RUN 93
CHAPTER 3: CREATING EFFECTIVE DIGITAL CONTENT 97
IDENTIFYING YOUR BRAND’S VISUAL STYLE 97
IDENTIFYING YOUR BRAND’S CONTENT STYLE 98
TRUSTWORTHINESS AND RELIABILITY 99
FUN AND PLAYFUL 100
BOLD AND INNOVATIVE 101
LUXURIOUS AND SOPHISTICATED 102
ALIGNING YOUR BRAND’S VOICE AND TONE 103
WHERE TO FIND CONTENT INSPIRATION 104
TOOL: FEEDLY 105
KEYWORD RESEARCH AS A SOURCE OF INSPIRATION 106
PAY HEED TO SOCIAL MEDIA FOR CONTENT IDEAS 107
WATCHING (BUT NEVER COPYING) YOUR COMPETITORS 108
CUSTOMER FEEDBACK AS CONTENT INPUT 109
DATA BASED STORYTELLING 110
EXAMPLE: OKCUPID 111
TOOLS FOR CONTENT DISCOVERY 112
INSPIRING NEWSLETTERS 112
REDDIT, ALLTOP, QUORA AND TRENDSPOTTR 113
CONTENT TACTICS 115
CONTENT TACTICS WITH A BRAND FOCUS 115
MODEL: BRAND NARRATIVE FRAMEWORK 115
COMPANY PAGES 116
PRODUCT AND SERVICE PAGES 117
CASE STUDIES 119
PRODUCT DEMOS AND TUTORIALS 119
FAQS 120
ADVERTISING IN 3 BEATS MODEL 121
CASE: COCA-COLA ADVERTISING 122
CAMPAIGN MATERIAL 122
SHORT VIDEOS E.G. FOR TIKTOK 124
EXAMPLE: APPLE’S ‘SHOT ON IPHONE’ AND ‘THINK DIFFERENT’ CAMPAIGNS 126
CONTENT TACTICS WITH AN AUDIENCE FOCUS 127
EXAMPLE: YAMASA’S 10,000 STEPS PER DAY 128
CASE IN POINT: SIGNIFICANT OBJECTS (2012) 128
TACTIC: STORYTELLING 129
MODEL: THE STORY SPINE (KENN ADAMS) 130
MODEL: KURT VONNEGUT’S SHAPE OF STORIES 131
MODEL: 3D STORYTELLING 133
CASE IN POINT: JOHNNIE WALKER’S THE MAN WHO WALKED AROUND THE WORLD
VIDEO 135
CASE IN POINT: BUDWEISER SUPERBOWL AD BEST BUDS (2014) 136
CASE IN POINT: LYNDON JOHNSON’S DAISY AD (1964) 137
CASE IN POINT: VISIT SCOTLAND: THE SPIRIT OF SCOTLAND VIDEO (2016) 137
STORYTELLING FORMAT: ENTERTAINING VIDEOS 138
CORE NARRATIVE 138
COMPELLING VISUALS: WIDE SHOTS, CLOSE-UPS, POINT-OF-VIEW SHOTS, AND B-ROLL 141
STRONG AUDIO: MUSIC, SOUND EFFECTS, AND VOICEOVERS 141
HUMOUR: SARCASM, SELF-DEPRECATION, AND PHYSICAL HUMOUR 142
CASE IN POINT: OLD SPICE GUY 143
STORYTELLING FORMAT: EDUCATIONAL VIDEOS 144
CASE IN POINT: THE STORY OF STUFF 145
STORYTELLING FORMAT: CUSTOMER STORIES 146
WRITTEN TESTIMONIALS 146
VIDEO TESTIMONIALS 147
CASE IN POINT: NIKE’S ATHLETES 149
STORYTELLING FORMAT: NARRATIVE MEMO 149
CASE IN POINT: MOONLIT APPAREL’S ANNUAL REPORT 150
THE CASE STUDY FORMAT 152
TACTIC: SALES PITCH 152
TACTIC: SHOWING THE PERSON BEHIND THE BRAND 155
CASE IN POINT: #FIRST100 ON INSTAGRAM BY JUSTIN TRUDEAU (2015) 158
FRAMEWORK: PUBLIC NARRATIVE 159
CASE IN POINT: OBAMA 2004 SPEECH AT DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION. 160
TACTIC: HELPFUL CONTENT AND EVERGREEN CONTENT 160
TACTIC: INTERACTIVE CONTENT 164
CASE IN POINT: SNOW FALL AT THE NEW YORK TIMES 165
QUIZZES 165
POLLS 166
SURVEYS 167
TACTIC: PERSONALIZATION 168
PERSONALISATION TOOLS 168
DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF YOUR CONTENT 169
SEGMENT YOUR AUDIENCE 171
CHOOSING THE RIGHT DIGITAL CONTENT FORMATS 172
HOW TO WRITE LIKE A PRO 174
TITLE AND HEADLINE 174
KEEP IT SHORT AND SWEET 176
USE POWER WORDS 177
DO NOT USE CLICKBAIT 179
USE NUMBERS 180
INCLUDE SEO KEYWORDS 181
TOOL: COSCHEDULE HEADLINE ANALYZER 182
INTRODUCTION 183
START WITH A HOOK 183
CONTENT MARKETING LIKE A PRO
CLEARLY STATE THE PURPOSE 183
PROVIDE CONTEXT 184
NAIL YOUR INTRO WITH THE INVERTED PYRAMID STYLE 185
SUBHEADINGS AND PARAGRAPHS 186
STYLE 187
GRAMMAR 189
VOCABULARY: KEEP IT SIMPLE 192
LISTS AND TABLES 194
CONCLUSION AND CALL-TO ACTION 194
TOOL: GRAMMARLY 195
BLOG POSTS 197
CORPORATE BLOGS 201
CASE IN POINT: MICROSOFT START BLOG 202
WEBSITE ARTICLES 203
EBOOKS 204
BENEFITS OF EBOOKS 204
STORYTELLING TACTICS FOR EBOOKS 206
CASE IN POINT: ADOBE’S EBOOKS 210
EBOOKS FOR B2B AUDIENCES 210
CASE IN POINT: HUBSPOT’S EBOOKS 211
GUIDELINES 212
HOW-TO INSTRUCTIONS 213
USING VISUALS AND VIDEOS EFFECTIVELY 214
TOOL: CANVA.COM 216
IMAGES 217
PHOTOS 218
ILLUSTRATIONS 220
GRAPHICS, CHARTS AND GRAPHS 222
INFOGRAPHICS 224
TOOL: VISUAL.LY 226
SCREENSHOTS 227
MEMES 228
TOOL: IMGFLIP’S MEME GENERATOR 229
VIDEOS 230
VIDEO PRODUCTION METHODS 232
BEST PRACTICES FOR VIDEO PRODUCTION 233
SCRIPTING 234
STORYBOARDING 235
EQUIPMENT AND RESOURCES 236
CASE IN POINT: PATAGONIA’S VIDEOS 237
PODCASTS 238
PODCAST LISTENING AUDIENCE 238
PODCAST TOPICS AND FORMATS 239
PLAN AND OUTLINE YOUR EPISODES 240
PODCAST RECORDING EQUIPMENT 241
TOOL: SPOTIFY FOR BROADCASTERS (PREVIOUSLY ANCHOR.FM) 242
GIFS 243
ENSURING THE QUALITY AND ACCURACY OF YOUR CONTENT 244
TRIMMING THE FAT 244
USING SPELLING AND GRAMMAR CHECKERS 246
FACT-CHECKING YOUR INFORMATION 247
USING RELIABLE SOURCES 248
AVOIDING COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENTS AND PLAGIARISM 250
CHAPTER 4: DISTRIBUTING AND PROMOTING YOUR DIGITAL CONTENT 255
IDENTIFYING THE RIGHT CHANNELS FOR YOUR CONTENT 255
PUBLISHING AND DISTRIBUTING YOUR CONTENT: 80/20 259
HOW OFTEN AND WHEN SHOULD YOU POST? 262
TOOL: BUFFER 262
CROSS-POSTING ON EARNED PLATFORM PLATFORMS 263
YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS 264
MEDIUM.COM 264
GUEST POSTING 265
FORUMS AND COMMUNITIES 265
SHARING THE LINK TO YOUR CONTENT 266
REACH OUT WITH YOUR NEWSLETTER 266
TACTIC: CONTENT CURATION 267
OUTREACH TO ONLINE COMMUNITIES AND INFLUENCERS 269
TACTIC: UPFRONT VALUE 269
SHARE IT ON SOCIAL MEDIA 270
LINK POSTING ON SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITES 271
LINK SHARING ON INSTAGRAM, TIKTOK AND SNAPCHAT 272
PINNING YOUR CONTENT TO PINTEREST 273
REPURPOSING YOUR CONTENT: COPE, GARYVEE AND 4R MODELS 274
TOOL: REPURPOSE.IO 277
UPDATE AND REPUBLISH OLD CONTENT 278
TRANSLATE YOUR CONTENT 278
TOOL: DEEPL 279
EXAMPLE CONTENT PROMOTION CHECKLIST 280
BUILDING AN AUDIENCE AND COMMUNITY 282
CONTENTMARKETING LIKE A PRO
ENGAGING WITH YOUR AUDIENCE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA 283
COLLABORATING WITH INFLUENCERS 286
USER GENERATED CONTENT 288
CASE IN POINT: GOPRO 289
CONTENT CO-CREATION 290
PROMOTING YOUR CONTENT 291
WAYS TO PROMOTE YOUR CONTENT 291
GETTING PICKED UP ON SOCIAL MEDIA 292
SOCIAL MEDIA POST: ECO-FRIENDLY SKATE SHOES FROM MOONLIT APPAREL 295
GETTING PICKED UP BY NEWS OUTLETS 296
PUBLIC RELATIONSHIP TACTICS 296
WRITING COMPELLING PITCHES 297
USING PAID MEDIA TO PROMOTE YOUR CONTENT 299
PART III: OPTIMIZE 301
OPTIMISING FOR SEARCH AND SOCIAL 305
CONTENT SEO (SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION) 305
DO NOT CREATE GREY CONTENT 306
RESEARCH AND USE RELEVANT KEYWORDS 307
CREATE UNIQUE AND VALUABLE CONTENT 308
HOW TO CREATE SKYSCRAPER CONTENT 309
STRUCTURE YOUR CONTENT 311
GOOGLE’S FEATURED SNIPPETS 311
TOOL: SEMRUSH 312
CONTENT SMO (SOCIAL MEDIA OPTIMISATION) 313
SOCIAL SIGNALS AND THE GOLDEN HOUR 313
FEATURES AND FORMATS 314
RELEVANT HASHTAGS 316
THUMB-STOPPING VISUALS 317
CATCHY MUSIC AND SOUND EFFECTS 317
CAPTIONS AND THUMBNAILS 318
CHAPTER 6: WEB CONTENT ACCESSIBILITY 321
WEB CONTENT ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES (WCAG) 322
CHECKING ACCESSIBILITY 323
CHAPTER 7: MEASURING THE SUCCESS OF YOUR DIGITAL CONTENT
MARKETING 327
KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 328
TOOL: GOOGLE ANALYTICS 329
ENGAGEMENT RATE 330
CLICK-THROUGH RATE (CTR) 333
TIME ON PAGE 334
CONVERSION RATE 336
GATHERING FEEDBACK FROM CUSTOMERS AND STAKEHOLDERS 337
SURVEYS AND POLLS 338
LEARNING FROM YOUR FOLLOWERS 339
TOOL: HOOTSUITE 340
FOCUS GROUPS 341
CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVING 342
CHAPTER 8: CONCLUSION 347
RECAP OF THE KEY POINTS 347
THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL CONTENT MARKETING 348
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR FURTHER LEARNING 351
