Learning Outcomes:

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

• Develop content marketing infrastructure to meet business goals
• Harness the power of innovative new technologies to attract and retain customers
• Build comprehensive customer journey maps and understand the paid, owned and earned techniques and tools to engage

Course Outline:

Module One: Mastering Content Marketing Today

Build buzz about the business among prospects and clients, boost SEO efforts, generate high-quality leads with effective content marketing, and amplify existing marketing content with social media to maximize customer acquisition.

• Content Marketing: From Tactic to Business Strategy – Key trends, learnings and mandatories that differentiate true Content Marketing masters.
• How Content and Social Media Work as One – Overview of the key Social Media Platforms and advertising options to put content in the hands of the right audience, in the right channel, at the right time.
• Setting Personal Mastery Goals – Overview of the following modules and how they will help attendees become a content marketing masters.

Module Two: Content Marketing Vision and Business Case

Every great piece of content marketing is brought to life via a compelling story – driven by clear value to the consumer.

• Content Marketing Vision – Set goals, manage purpose-driven content creation and take stock of existing capabilities.
• Building a Business Case – Create a business cases using a framework for clients to sell the program internally.
• Content Marketing Business Goal and Strategy – What are the components of a great content strategy and plan?

Module Three: Targeting and Understanding the Audience - Core Tools

Retain clients by providing them with the information they want. Use audience assessment tools and customer journey mapping to prove why more should be spent on this bedrock of the digital marketing mix. (Includes a hands-on workshop.)

• Which audience should be targeted? Use research to learn about and target the right audience.
• How do we ensure our clients and prospects are at the centre of content strategy? – Identify critical niches, use stories to bring content to life, and avoid content sins.
• What channels do they trust? Why and how frequently are these channels used?
• What experience(s) do they crave? Effectively map the customer journey and experience.

Module Four: Measurement at the Core

Successful measurement requires a channel-agnostic, data-agnostic integrated approach, supported by primary research to drive performance across all channels.

• The value of command centre/content dashboards – Key metrics, KPI-setting and content scoring.
• What data sets are needed?
• What role does primary play? Why overlaying primary over secondary data sources is the secret ingredient to great measurement.

Module Five: Delivering Human Experiences

Build great personas and map content throughout the customer journey while ensuring overall content marketing strategy and KPIs are met. (Group exercise around testing personas included.)

• Audience personas
• Brand persona and tone – Creating an aligned and relevant brand persona
• Case studies – Great brand personas brought to life via content marketing
• 3 Elements of Content Tone – Finding the right purpose, depth and voice
• Content Calendars – Build a turnkey content calendar
• Content Mapping – Map content to sales cycles and digital touch points
• Option – Always On vs. Tactical B2B vs. B2C Strategies

Module Six: Content Quality

Quality content must overtake quantity. Ensure any content produced hits the right emotional trigger (caring) and meets a social motivation (sharing).

• Creative Analytics – Digital tools that capture the audience’s stated intent around content needs vs. ATL alternatives.
• Advanced Analytics – How does statistical modeling predict derived intent? Does the relationship between stated and derived intent increase the chance that content will meet objectives?
• Tracking Content Performance – Testing, launching and optimizing quality content to drive efficiency

Module Seven: Social Media and Advertising Mastery

Move social consumers from product discovery to engagement, advocacy, and finally to conversion, regardless of how they access their social stream.

• Why the social newsfeed matters
• Organic reach vs Paid Reach on Social and Mobile – Learn about social algorithms and how it impacts reach, frequency and outcomes. Maximize both organic and paid efforts to drive efficiency.
• Social advertising – Learn about options for paid engagement across the key platforms, content remarketing and how it helps drive the customer through the journey to transaction
• Social on mobile – What is the difference with mobile? Design and execute a social-mobile strategy for reaching and converting customers via their newsfeed

Module Eight: Building World-Class Content Infrastructure 

Understand the infrastructure you need to build to deliver the content you need.

• The staffing mix
• What processes need to be put into place? – Governance, A/B testing, corrections, posting, internal escalation?
• Which tools and technologies do we need? – Creation, publication, management, measurement
• Building a ‘newsroom’ culture
• Owned Media Properties – what are the most valuable and effective content formats being used by brands today?
• Influencers and Advocates – Their role in content creation and amplification of owned media
• Next-gen Content Hubs – Compare them to microsites/websites

Module Nine: Executing Great Content Marketing

Use practical and comprehensive techniques and tools for great content – from setting up and distributing a successful corporate blog, to best practices for developing webinars and live events.

• Methods of Content Creation
• How To – Set up, manage, resource and promote a corporate blog
• Basics – Create audio or video podcasts and decide on the right platform
• Best practices – Tap the power of publishing with white papers and slideshows

Module Ten: Integration - Bringing Mastery to Life

Attendees will consolidate their learning through a ‘hands-on’ session where they will build their business and execution plans for content marketing.

Who Will Benefit?

Marketers, senior managers, communications professionals and business owners who want to understand the impact of content marketing on their business.