The ‘content is king’ mantra may have lost some of its novelty as a catchphrase, but the sentiment has never been more important. Brands are being challenged to produce authentic, high-value, personalized content faster than ever before, in order to differentiate themselves from competitors and win the loyalty of customers. You'll learn: -How a ‘content strategy’ differs from a ‘content plan’ (and why you need both) -What foundational elements to include in your content strategy -Why content teams need to lean into messaging and campaign strategies

1. Building a Content Strategy
Setting the Foundation for High-Velocity Content Production
G a r r e t t R u i z
H e a d o f C o m m e r c i a l
C o n t e n t S t r a t e g y ,
A d o b e D X

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Housekeeping
• Questions? Use the Q&A box on your screen and we will get to as many as we can
at the end of the session
• The webinar is being recorded, we will send you the slides and recording once the
webinar concludes
• Posting to social? Use our hashtag #mktgnation

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Speaker
Garrett Rui z
H e a d o f C o m m e r c i a l C o n t e n t S t r a t e g y ,
A d o b e D X

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Everyone has a content strategy …
of 1,200 marketers surveyed
by SEMrush say their
business has a content
strategy
https://www.semrush.com/blog/content-marketing-statistics/
77%

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of 1,200 marketers surveyed
by SEMrush say their content
strategy is EXCELLENT
https://www.semrush.com/blog/content-marketing-statistics/
ONLY
9%
… but nobody is satisfied.

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MARKETERS HAVE TROUBLE WITH THESE 6 THINGS.
Why is content strategy so hard?
1. Creating content that generates quality leads (54%)
2. Creating content that generates more traffic (52%)
3. Developing content that resonates with our target
audience (45%)
4. Improving SEO performance (44%)
5. Finding ideas for creating new content (34%)
6. Demonstrating ROI (30%)
https://www.semrush.com/blog/content-marketing-statistics/
Remember
Your content strategy provides a
conceptual framework and
business case for all your content.
Your content plan identifies the
specific content pieces (eBooks,
webinars, etc.) you’ll need to
execute your strategy.

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How can you build a content strategy
that gets results?
Do these 10 things.
1. Set goals
2. Talk to key stakeholders
3. Look at customer data
4. Define your audience
5. Identify your Big Stories
6. Create a content map
7. Make sure you have a great team
8. Don’t forget distribution
9. Map content to your lead scoring
model
10. Continually refine your plan

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WHAT SHOULD YOUR CONTENT ACCOMPLISH?
1. Set goals
Some examples:
• EDUCATE buyers.
• ENCOURAGE buyers to take ACTION.
• ENDEAR buyers to your brand.
What else matters forYOU?

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CONTENT SHOULD NOT BE CREATED IN A VACUUM.
2.Talk to key stakeholders
CMO
• What are this year’s
strategic priorities?
• What are this year’s key
messages?
• Which personas are we
targeting?
Product
Marketing
• Which new products are
we introducing and when?
• How will these new
releases help our
customers?
• What issues are our
customers struggling with?
Sales
• What are common
challenges you hear from
customers?
• Why do customers choose
us or go with a competitor?
• What kinds of content could
make selling easier?

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3. Look at your customer data
What kinds of
businesses enter
your pipeline?
Size? Industry? Location?
FIND OUT WHO’S MOST LIKELY (AND LEAST LIKELY) TO BUY.
What kinds of
businesses buy
most?
Size? Industry? Location?
Who do we lose to
and why?

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PRIORITIZE PERSONAS AND INDUSTRIES FOR EACH PRODUCT LINE.
4. Define your audience
PRODUCT #1 PRODUCT #2
KEY PERSONAS Marketing Manager
Marketing Operations
Marketing Director (smaller company)
KEY INDUSTRIES Finance
Manufacturing
Wholesale/Distributor

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WHICH KEY MESSAGES WILL DRIVE YOUR CAMPAIGNS?
5. Identify your Big Stories
CAMPAIGN THEMES HIGH ROI TBD TBD
HIGH-LEVEL MESSAGING Proving value is paramount. How do
marketing teams of all sizes execute
innovative strategies while becoming more
efficient?
SUB-THEMES • Do more with less
• Marketing with small teams
• Marketing that drives revenue
PRODUCT FEATURES • Automated experience
• Content personalization
• Revenue attribution
TARGET PERSONAS CMO, director
TARGET INDUSTRIES Finance, manufacturing

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PLAN CONTENT FOR EACH PHASE IN THE BUYER’S JOURNEY.
6. Create a content map
AWARENESS RESEARCH CONSIDERATION ENGAGEMENT
Response AQL SAL SQO
Acquire New Names Drive AQLs & MQOs Convert Engagement to Opps Progress Opps to Bookings
CUSTOMER JOURNEY
LEAD STAGE
DG OBJECTIVE
Core Offers
TRENDS/TOPIC
Big Rock – eBooks,
industry reports,
long-form guides
Derivative Offers
USE CASE
Chapters/spin-offs
from the core offers
CONTENT
MIX
Derivative Offers
USE CASE
Website
Derivative Offers
USE CASE
Webinars
Derivative Offers
USE CASE/SOLUTION
Gartner MQs, Forrester Waves,
G2 Crowd Reports, etc.
Derivative Offers
PRODUCT OR SALES PLAY
Community content
Derivative Offers
USE CASE
Blog posts
Derivative Offers
USE CASE
Quizzes, guides, &
checklists
Derivative Offers
USE CASE
Videos &
podcasts
Derivative Offers
USE CASE
Infographics/
social bites
Derivative Offers
USE CASE/SOLUTION
ROI calculators & maturity assessments
Derivative Offers
USE CASE/SOLUTION
Customer success stories & videos
Derivative Offers
PRODUCT OR SALES PLAY
Data sheets & product videos
Derivative Offers
PRODUCT OR SALES PLAY
Sales offers, e.g., discounts
Derivative Offers
PRODUCT OR SALES PLAY
Competitive takeout
Derivative Offers
PRODUCT OR SALES PLAY
ROI studies
Activation Assets: Search, Emails, Display Ads, RT Ads, Social Ads, Content Syndication, Landing Pages, Web Pages
Awareness
Content
(PR/.COM/BLOG/
SOCIAL)
Aligned awareness
news, media/
influencer outreach,
contributed articles,
social posts

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IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO CREATE GOOD CONTENT.
7. Make sure you have a great team
Content strategists
Plan content; work with
SMEs and product
marketing to understand
changing needs
Content producers
Write, design, and produce
content assets
Content operations
Distribute content outside the
company (email, paid ads,
etc.); catalog content into
libraries; measure
performance

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CONTENT DOESN’T HELP IF NO ONE SEES IT.
8. Don’t forget distribution
Regional
campaigns
Your website Social & blogsEmail & paid
campaigns
PR & events Sales tools
Your
content
• Case studies
• eBooks
• Quizzes
• Podcasts
• Videos

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EXAMPLES
• [Infographic] Visualizing ABMStrategies – 3C
• [Analyst Report] Gartner MagicQuadrant – 1B
• [eBook] Moving to Marketo: AccelerateYour ROI with a Seamless Migration –
2A
• [Webinar] The ROI of Marketo Engage – 2B
• [Case Study] How 3 Companies Broke New Ground with Lead Nurturing – 1A
UNDERSTAND HOW CONTENT DOWNLOADS REFLECT LEAD READINESS AND QUALITY.
9. Map content to your lead scoring model
JOURNEY STAGESCONTENTTYPE
3A 2A 1A
3B 2B 1B
3C 2C 1C
A
B
C
123
Infographic – 3
Blog post – 3
Infosheet – 2
Video – 2
eBook – 2
Webinar – 1
Case study – 1
Analyst report – 1
White paper - 1
Top (C)
Middle (B)
Bottom (A)

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CHECK YOUR METRICS, IMPROVE YOUR PLAN.
10. Continually refine your plan
Get useful feedback:
• Work with your marketing operations
team to ensure you get performance
data on your content.
• Use marketing attribution analysis to
map content to pipeline and revenues.
• Talk to demand generation/campaign
management and sales teams.
Remember:
• A content strategy is only a starting
point.
• If results are not what you expect after
Q1, make some changes.
• If you have a long sales cycle, it may take
a while to get meaningful data.

18. Q & A

19. ThankYou