Content strategy is a very neat way to organize a tool that has been a part of marketing all along. It helps define the habits and preferences of people businesses are looking to target and more. (More on content strategy.) But the for the conversion-obsessed like me, I was interested in how this fits into the greater sales funnel.

Content strategy is not a marketing output or execution tool. Rather, like the brand, it’s pervasive to each extension of the consumer-centric marketing experience. In the last post I took a look at the very top view of the funnel. Now we’re extending it down to the sale.

Two constants that must be referred back to regardless of are 1) brand and 2) content strategy. Again, focusing on the tools will not result in customer centricity.

As a person develops a closer relationship with a business (from awareness down to the sale) expectations change. This means the content strategy needs to anticipate needs at each level of the experience. This may result in different marketing tools, such as SEO, press releases, emails, white papers, etc (the green items listed); or even the same marketing tools used differently as the engagement level deepens.

Keep in mind: Each target has individual expectations and needs, so multiple funnels might be a good idea for one company.

How is your company using content strategy?

Ready to engage in conversations like this before they’re sent to the masses?

It amazes me how many marketing companies base their very being on execution tools (web development, social media, email) and still call themselves “integrated”. Or, for that matter, how many clients end up down this rabbit hole.

Before your head explodes or you set the comment section on fire, please continue.

Some companies sell tools. Some marketers buy tools. Purchasing decisions are usually driven by pre-determined budgets. It looks kind of like this:

For the sake of continuity, I call this Siloed Execution.

Many agencies sell integrated marketing. Integrated marketing is smart. It looks kind of like this. It saves money, connects contact points, and is a much smarter spend than siloed tools. However, purchasing decisions are still often driven by pre-determined budgets without regard for customer impact.

Technical integration of execution tools is, well, technical. While it allows us to do our jobs more seamlessly and with improved branding, etc, it begins with the tools–not humans.

Customer Centric Program Development: Begin with the target customer, build out the content strategy, develop the brand, then deliver. This approach will provide a scalable budget based on desired impact.

Here’s a simplified version, using the sample tools above, of how this looks:

Let’s break this apart:

Customer: Your customer more than the summation of their demographics. Focus on the consumer lifestyle. For more on lifestyle-focused marketing, check out Retail Content Strategy: It’s a lifestyle.

Content: What kind of value and information is of value to the customer lifestyle? This is the kind of content they want to consume: the kind that provides value to their life. Value can be created by education, entertainment, or even social status.

Brand: How can the brand connect, create, or amplify the content customers are seeking–while remaining consistent with its values?

Delivery: This is where marketing agencies sometimes begin. “We can access XYZ demographics.”

Tools: This is where marketing agencies usually begin. Today’s favorite claim to competence: “We do social media.” I’ve been “doing” telephones my entire life and that doesn’t mean anything without the messaging, the customer-centric program development. Those who sell “social media” (or other tools like “email marketing” and “web development” for that matter) did not take to heart the demise of Borders.

Talk about true integration. It all beats from the same human heart: The customers’.

Now that I’ve offended most of my professional marketing colleagues, let’s start a conversation. Comment and let me know what you think, what you recommend differently.

Ready to engage in (even more) more blunt conversations like this before they’re sent to the masses?

Even if you went to Borders, it wasn’t for the books. Borders didn’t sell books. They sold information and a buying experience; the books were just the medium. But no one told Borders. And Amazon told everyone. And now it’s too late.

But there are plenty of Borders-like businesses out there. They’re easy to spot, bleeding marketing dollars on free standing inserts in the local newspaper to yell at consumers about how much cheaper their widget is than the other guy’s widget–which is usually fine if they’re globalized brand.

The following is a retail content strategy breakdown of three categories:

1. Revenue erosion,
2. Lifestyle, and
3. Products.

Examples used include Dunham’s Sports, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and REI.

Comparison of home page content strategy is tied to Alexa ranking success. Though correlation does not indicate causation, it is one metric easy to assess with consumer level information.

Example conclusion: Website focused most directly on lifestyle had highest popularity (measured by lowest Alexa rank)

Facebook Timeline publishes millions of indexed autobiographies–free–for data profitability & marketers. Facebook now dynamically (and with user help) organizes what content (data!) is priority.

Though the F8 conference wasn’t specifically speaking to marketers (it spoke to users and developers), there were more than enough clues to let you know exactly how Facebook will open up each data piece to marketers.

 ”(Facebook changes aren’t) designed to keep you out of songs you don’t own, but to open you up to (purchasing) more than you would have ever thought to buy before.” –Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg

“Because they’re engaged, they’re more than twice as likely to pay for music.” -Spotify CEO, Daniel Ek

And Facebook is now app-centric; so every run, meal ingredient, movie watched –not just Facebook “liked”–has the potential to be documented.

My Facebook Timeline Preview (unless you're a developer, you will still see the standard profile at this time)

It takes targeting “married women” “25-59″ and “have kids” to targeting (those same women who also) “has never seen Jersey Shore”, “is excited to have her daughter graduate from high school”. This means no more wasted budget paying for clicks on married women, 25-38 with kids who love MTV reality shows.

Snapshot of some new Facebook Analytics posted by Ken Burbary

But data is everywhere, in every online and offline interaction, with the potential to change the way you do business. Social media alone has billions of profiles generating exponential data by the minute. It’s running faster than human analysts can keep up with.

I’m working with a team that has the tools to, not only keep up but, let you meet your customer wherever they arrive.

And I couldn’t be more excited. (I promise to share more soon.)

Checklists are nice. They’re tidy lists with nice to cross things off of. Then they’re finished!

Websites are a little messy.
The boxes checked sometimes fade as the Internet continues to propel forward at increasing speeds. Or a giant cup of coffee spills on top of them, as Google changes its algorithm.

A website is an ecosystem, reacting to consistently changes environments all around. Changes in search engine criteria, competitor websites, and user habits are just a few external influencers in one website’s ecosystem. To stay alive, the website needs to consistently move with these changes.

The website ecosystem is based on the website itself, but includes extensions through pay-per-click advertising, social media, public relations, and other customer touch points–similar to a brick-and-mortar.

Websites require change and updates.
While design should stay rather consistent and aligned with the brand, the attributes of a website requires consistent updating. Content is constantly added, shared, and contributed to the website ecosystem. User traffic is pushed and directed in many different directions.

To simplify this for a client, I sketched the following image out (made generic for purposes of this post).

Website ecosystem inputs/outputs (click to enlarge)

Side note: Out of the Box Solutions
These are just the basics. Next time you hear a marketer talking about an “out of the box solution”, remember the ecosystem. “Out of the box” is like a tumor on your ecosystem; it requires blood supply, gives some back, usually doesn’t fit in well, and can often turn deadly.

7 Tips for Managing an Ecosystem

1. Start with content. As my friend and co-worker Hubert Sawyers will tell you, content strategy is a great place to start before pursuing all things digital. Know what you want to share, how you want to share it, and what purpose your content serves before making decisions on tools and design. Content is pervasive to your ecosystem. Don’t skip this step. Here’s a great book on getting started: Content Strategy by Kristina Halvorson
2. Know your user. Each part of your ecosystem serves the user in a unique way. Sometimes you’re meeting them where they already are (such as social or search engines); sometimes they are already directly engaging (direct website traffic). Just as you’d approach an individual differently on the street versus in your office, you’ll need to know where you stand with the user before engaging.
3. Consider usability–how the user will use and experience your content–when plotting out layout (user interface), design, and content delivery. In an ecosystem there are many different types of users depending on the engagement location. If your users are on-the-go, consider bit sized, mobile-friendly content delivery–just enough to keep them moving. If they’re taking the time to research a purchase decision, thoughtfully organize more comprehensive information and detail.
4. Don’t be lazy with content. Shifting through content, whether via a website or social media, shouldn’t feel like sifting. By taking the extra time to repurpose offline or website content for better usability on the different extensions of the ecosystem, you’ll decrease overall bounce rates, improve time on site, and overall conversion rates.
5. Use caution with automating updates. Most automation tools push content out the same way in the same format, regardless of which web property it’s posting to. This can be spammy and ineffective.
6. Tailor value messaging to the engagement point. A user’s attention span on Facebook is different than on your website–likely shorter. Use this information wisely. For example: Rather than taking time to prepare a user for information, begin with the value proposition (benefit) of continuing the engagement (clicking a link, watching a video, viewing photos, etc). Know why your user will enjoy the content–then tell them. Remember this point when automating social media posts or website updates! 
7. Always come back to your general purpose. Too many marketing agencies and web companies operate in silos, with unique goals and agendas. In the office, we use a strategy document to keep everyone one the same team. Each tactic should have one purpose: to convert (purchase, hire, etc). While there are many smaller ways to measure elements of that process (fans, traffic, click-throughs, etc), the specific conversion goal should be top of mind for every extension of the ecosystem.

A client blog I managed was written to draw traffic and increase prospect inquiries. The blog launched about a year ago and exceeded expectations. At launch, the client had set the blog up in a WordPress content management system with a free blog theme. It was a standard blogging theme with minimal customization.

As the blog content started to mature, I realized a need to display the content in a way that would allow for featured content to be highlighted. In addition it was clear the content took on a conversational, but resourceful, feel. I started looking for a theme that would reflect these new needs and found a magazine theme. As a bonus, the new theme also offers a 468x 60 ad space at the top, if the client should choose to use it in the future.

Results:

• Traffic improved by over 200%
• Time on page improved by a over two minutes
• Bounce rate decreased by over 30%
• Pages per visit improved by about 1.5 pages
• Substantial traffic sustained post-initial marketing investments

Improving website traffic is great, but if there’s no conversion mechanism it can be a lost investment.

My take aways was this: Despite your greatest intentions, ultimately it’s the user who will dictate how they want to consume content. If you pay close enough attention to what’s given (analytics, social engagement, conversions), you’ll have a better understanding of how to resonate with the user.