How to Use Marketing Content to Drive Leads & Sales: The Ultimate Case Study

AWARD-WINNING & $$-generating CONTENT

Marketing for SaaS company MomentFeed

strategist & WRITER NANCY A SHENKER graphic DESIGNER ELLE

6 MONTHS | 5K LEADS Exceptional content marketing involves much more than keywords and compelling writing.

It is the revenue-generating cloud cover and jet fuel that when combined with the right marketing technology and targeted approach, delivers a steady lead stream to sales, builds a database, and ultimately results in new customers, up-sell, and loyalty.

Nancy was engaged by a fast-growing technology company to create relevant, unique, and compelling content to attract new clients and build loyalty and sales from multi-location retailers, restaurants, and service businesses across a wide range of industries.

She immediately recruited a talented, fast, and flexible designer (Elle) who had a strong brand sensibility and could combine her consumer marketing aesthetic with business-to-business insights.

Marketing decision-makers comprise a wide range of levels — from CMO to CTO to digital specialists. Our strategic approach to content was highly-targeted.

From basic primers to insightful and provocative data-rich white papers, we created the right types of media for each audience — at the right time.

In addition to creating more than 50 pieces of content in less than six months, Nancy managed media outreach and trade show/conference strategies, trained the sales team on LinkedIn approaches, and co-produced a comprehensive research report to identify new markets.

KILLER CONTENT AWARD 2020

BUYER-FOCUSED CONTENT FINNY AWARD

Client delight is terrific, but so is industry acknowledgment.

Our content won the prestigious Killer Content Award for Buyer-Focused Content, bestowed by the DemandGen® Report at the B2B Marketing Exchange. “You don’t need to make a huge investment to make a big impact,” the Report noted on the showcase page.

IN THIS CASE, THE IMPACT WAS 5K LEADS IN A FEW SHORT MONTHS!

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INDUSTRY-RELEVANT BLOG POSTS These are just a few of the posts (500-1000 words) we created and deployed 2x each week, along with graphics and e-marketing/social media outreach (see p. 13).

July 29, 2019

Brands look for creative and unique ways to compete — at every location. We gave them five new ones.

August 06, 2019

As the lines between retail and restaurants converge, how they use local SEO also changes.

August 14, 2019

Spas, salons, gyms, and health care practices all benefited from this targeted guide to mobile-local search.

October 07, 2019

The team was a virtual Pez dispenser of unique and high-quality lead-generating content.”

- MomentFeed CMO, Jim D’Arcangelo

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THOUGHT LEADERSHIP W

Digging deep into trend data and finding qualified subject matter experts, we produced six in-depth re concepts into compelling and highly-scannable 8-12 page digital white papers (gated content) that att repurposed for e-marketing and social media.

November 06, 2019

Most writers need months to produce white papers. The team published one ‘meaty’ report every month, tapping into a wide range of industry experts.”

- MomentFeed CMO, Jim D’Arcangelo

*Not pictured: The Rapid Death of Brand Search

WHITE PAPERS

eports. Proving that complex concepts don’t need to be boring, we transformed the CMO’s tracted new prospects and built the database for sales. The charts and stats could be easily

September 16, 2019

September 26, 2019

October 22, 2019

January 23, 2020

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SEASONAL TIP GUIDES All marketing months are NOT created equal. Leveraging seasonality, we created practical and stat-packed guides to help businesses sell more precisely when they’re planning — and their customers are buying.

FOOTBALL SEASON July 18, 2019

BACK TO SCHOOL SEASON July 23, 2019

HOLIDAY SEASON September 10, 2019

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October 02, 2019

That all feeds into your local search rankings — and acts as jet fuel for consumer opinion — creating a powerful and sometimes permanent perception.

infographics

Multi-location brands have a distinct advantage now because they can engage in that WOM conversation by monitoring and managing reviews — as they are being posted.

Although 64% of executives believe WOMM is the most important tactic, multi-location brands are just starting to look at the role location reviews play in Proximity Search Optimization™ and those last moments (in some cases seconds) of search when a customer finds a food, product, or service — nearby and highly-rated — using a smartphone or smart device.

Every picture tells a story. Translating complex concepts into quick-scan images, we engaged readers across a range of media. Topics included voice search and review management.

October 10, 2019

Those devices have become a powerful aggregator of consumer opinion. Today’s multi-location marketers must influence that word of mouth and play an active role in that mobile-local WOM ecosystem.

Reviews cannot be ignored or undervalued as a factor in sales succes.

REVIEWS ARE THE NEW WORD OF MOUTH 3 WAYS THEY DRIVE PERCEPTION and SALES at EVERY LOCATION

HERE’S WHY:

Online reviews impact a brand's digital reputation, and can have a long-lasting, exponential impact.

In today’s digital-first economy, reviews from total strangers are a powerful WOMM (word of mouth marketing) lever — especially at a local level.

In fact, WOMM has been proven to increase marketing effectiveness by

UP TO 54%.

Your raving fans become an extension of your marketing and sales team.

Reviews for local businesses are read by 97% of consumers.

91% 89%

93% of people who use mobile-local search buy a product or service — mostly in physical stores.

89% of consumers read businesses’ responses to reviews.

of 18-34-year-old consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations of consumers read businesses’ responses to reviews

If consumers could pick only one source of recommendations

50%

WOULD CHOOSE WOM

66% 45-46%

Turn to ONLINE SEARCH

Ask FRIENDS + FAMILY

Word of mouth marketing works to build an engaged fan base rather than a buy and bolt customer. Higher engaged customers buy more o en and recommend their friends more o en, extended your return on time spent on the strategy and generating a high customer lifetime loyalty.”

- BIG COMMERCE

WHEN CONSUMERS SEARCH ON THEIR DEVICES MOST VALUED SOURCE OF INFO This powerful chart from “cha er ma ers” illustrates the value of WOM.

ON A 7.0 SCALE

6.0 5.5 5.2 5.0 4.9 4.9 4.2 4.1 3.7 3.6

they gravitate to the Google 3-Pack and they want to see: OVERALL STAR RATING

Expert Review

The number and range of reviews are as important as 5-star reviews. In fact, businesses that rank highest in the 3-Pack have a wider range of ratings. If one restaurant has all 5-star reviews but only five reviews, it’s not as appealing or trustworthy as a competitor with 800 reviews and a 4.5-star rating. When consumers filter reviews, they tend to look at those locations that have reviews of 4 stars or higher, although 30 percent of consumers don’t filter ratings. The standard of excellence for reviews depends on the type and importance of the purchase.

Discount or Coupon

How to Influence: Encourage consumers to rate their experiences.

Personal Experience Brand I am Familiar With Recommendation From Friend or Family Online Review

News Coverage Advertising Posts by Friends in Social Media Posts by Brands in Social Media

WOM is EVEN MORE POWERFUL at a LOCAL LEVEL What people have to say about your restaurant, retail, or service brand has always ma ered. But now, mobile devices are the LOCAL go-to advisor and review source — especially Google 3-Pack, which is aggregating consumer sentiment from across the web. With one click, a consumer can get or give WOM recommendations to millions.

BRAND RESPONSE TO EVERY REVIEW

In fact, 53 percent of consumers expect a response to a review within seven days. How and when you respond not only has an impact on ranking, it establishes your brand as one that truly cares about consumer opinion.

How to Influence: Monitor and respond to reviews — especially at a local level. Keep on top of common complaints and what products and services people like, so you can continue to learn and leverage in your business planning.

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ACTIVE MONITORING OF & ENGAGEMENT IN CONVERSATIONS ON SOCIAL MEDIA SITES

Reviews and discussions of your brand locations are happening today in many places online. But local social pages can be especially important.

How to Influence: Become an active participant in those consumer-to-consumer interactions and make sure your prospects

EDUCATION SERIES Mobile-local SEO and Google’s algorithm don’t need to be mysteries or jargon-filled.

We created this seven-part guide to the basics — in language every marketer could grasp and apply.

July 30, 2019

September 09, 2019

August 06, 2019

September 18, 2019

August 13, 2019

October 16, 2019

August 27, 2019

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SOCIAL MEDIA The key to effective content marketing is how and when it’s targeted and shared. Organic and paid campaigns expanded social reach.

LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram helped attract restaurants, retailers, and service companies.

E-MARKETING Prospects and clients received lead-generating messages, driving real-time engagement via Marketo and HubSpot.

OTHER CAMPAIGNS

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PR The right media exposure builds awareness and credibility. From announcing new executives and awards to bylined articles, Nancy ensured that her client appeared in the right business and trade media. News releases and executive announcements generated more than 10K views and high-profile exposure in 90 days.

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EVENTS Cutting through the clutter at conferences involves way more than swag. A sponsorship of Gary Vaynerchuk’s keynote including this eye-catching “seat-drop.” Its size and color invited readership at a well-attended restaurant conference.

Nancy also moderated a webinar with Localogy (formerly the Local Search Association) and MomentFeed executives.

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strategist & WRITER NANCY A SHENKER

graphic DESIGNER ELLE

nancys@theONswitch.com

ElleSchwarzDesigns@gmail.com

Nancy is an award-winning marketer and writer with more than 30 years’ experience branding and scaling companies like Citibank, MasterCard, Reed Exhibitions (producers of ComicCon) and multiple tech, service, product, and SaaS businesses, as well as SMBs. The CEO and Founder of theONswitch marketing and nunu ventures, she specializes in unique transformational revenue-generating concepts and content for business and consumer brands. She graduated with honors from the University of Michigan and completed New York University’s Graduate Book Publishing program, as well as Kellogg’s Executive Communications program. She has dual citizenship in the conventional and digital marketing worlds. She is flexible, fast, and fun to work with and her primary focus is always ROI. See more of her writing here.

Elle is the founder and Creative Director of Designed by Elle and Dreamhouse Creative. A consumer brand designer, she has worked for lifestyle companies like Skechers and Iconery. Her work has been published in Vogue, Playboy, Maxim, Women’s Health, and more. She creative-directs music videos, as well as concepts and designs social media content for musicians. She is also a custom surfboard and skateboard designer, having moved from NYC to the beaches of California. Her expertise spans all media — digital, print, packaging, and more. She is a graduate of New York University, where she studied studio art and she has a Masters in Art Education. See more of her work here.

Special thanks to Jim D’Arcangelo who provided strategic leadership and brilliant strategic direction. ©2020. The On Switch and Dreamhouse Creative. May not be duplicated without expressed permission.