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Stephanie Tilton

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Content Marketing Consultant, Ten Ton Marketing

450 points

WEB: My group blog

April 4, 2012

Stephanie Tilton answered this question at this roundtable

The Power of Buyer Personas in Sales and Marketing Success [4/4 @ 11 am]

How much data do you need to gather to feel confident in your persona research?

Here's a terrific article that outlines various categories of information to unearth: http://www.raintoday.com/pages/8109_selling_with_psychology_know_your_buyers_...
For a recent interview with Tony Zambito on the evolution of buyer personas: http://savvyb2bmarketing.com/blog/entry/2894013/beyond-buyer-personas-connect...
And for a range of posts about personas: http://savvyb2bmarketing.com/search/tag/buyer%20personas more

Marketing

Sales

Buyer Behavior

Buyer Persona

April 4, 2012

Stephanie Tilton and 2 other people answered this question at this roundtable

The Power of Buyer Personas in Sales and Marketing Success [4/4 @ 11 am]

What are the key characteristics that a buyer persona should capture?

Scott, in addition to demographic and psychographic info, you want to understand the process buyers undergo in researching, evaluating and purchasing a solution. Part of that is understanding the language they use to describe their pains and goals, and the types of information they seek ... more

March 21, 2012

Stephanie Tilton is speaking at this roundtable

The Power of Buyer Personas in Sales and Marketing Success

Feb. 16, 2012

Stephanie Tilton and 3 other people answered this question

Do you think Social Media Marketing is beating SEO?

I agree with Azmi that SEO and social media are complementary. Consider how Google+ posts now impact search results on Google, and the concept of the Zero Moment of Truth. Here's a terrific post exploring the impact of this relationship on B2B marketing: http://searchengineland.com/the-future-of-b2b-search-start-preparing-for-soci...
And ... more

Marketing

Branding

Internet Marketing

Search Engine Optimization

1 more topic

Jan. 26, 2012

Stephanie Tilton answered this question at this roundtable

Content Marketing: Vendors as Publishers [1/26 @ 11 am]

Is there any data available on buyer preferences for length of written content?

Check out Eccolo Media's B2B Technology Collateral Survey Report http://www.eccolomedia.com/publications.htm
They spelled this out more clearly in their 2010 report but there are few nuggets in the 2011 report. more

Jan. 26, 2012

Stephanie Tilton and 4 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Content Marketing: Vendors as Publishers [1/26 @ 11 am]

What will change in content marketing in 2012?

More companies will embrace the concept of storytelling to ensure a continuum of content, as Ardath Albee calls it.
And more companies will create the role of VP of Content Marketing, Chief Content Officer and the like as the lightbulbs go off and they grasp ... more

Jan. 26, 2012

Stephanie Tilton answered this question at this roundtable

Content Marketing: Vendors as Publishers [1/26 @ 11 am]

What's an example of a great content marketing campaign that you've seen?

Kinaxis: read the study from Chief Content Officer magazine: http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/junta42/201101_cco/#/16/OnePage
Coca-Cola: Not a campaign, but content marketing inspiration: Watch the 2 videos explaining the reason for Coca-Cola's foray into content and how they plan to go about it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LerdMmWjU_E and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiwIq-8GWA8 more

Jan. 20, 2012

Stephanie Tilton is speaking at this roundtable

Content Marketing: Vendors as Publishers

Jan. 3, 2012

Stephanie Tilton and 10 other people answered this question

What are your predictions for technology marketing in 2012?

Craig has offered some great ideas. Forrester interviewed 50 tech CMOs and VPs of Marketing to find out their priorities for 2012 - here they are: http://blogs.forrester.com/stephen_davidson/11-12-30-2012_tech_marketing_prio... more

Information Technology

Marketing

Technology Marketing

Dec. 6, 2011

Stephanie Tilton is now following Laura Ramos and 2 other people

Oct. 27, 2011

Stephanie Tilton and 15 other people answered this question

How can you create a culture where your employees feel comfortable creating content?

For what it's worth, here's what Fiberlink shared with me about how it encourages employees to contribute content:
"Early on, we had to get employees into the habit of sharing knowledge and asked them to describe how they solve problems, what information they share with customers, ... more

Oct. 25, 2011

Stephanie Tilton and 2 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Expert Best Practices in Content Marketing [7/14 @ 1 pm]

How do you measure the effectiveness of your content marketing efforts?

It goes without saying that how and what you measure depends on your goals. According to the 2010 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends published by Junta42 and MarketingProfs, marketers' top goals for content marketing were:
* Brand awareness
* Customer retention
* Customer recruitment ... more

Oct. 24, 2011

Stephanie Tilton and 4 other people answered this question

Do you read whitepapers anymore?

According to the latest Eccolo Media B2B Technology Collateral Survey, white paper consumption is down but their influence in the purchase-decision process is greater than ever. The same is true for case studies. http://technologymarketers.com/OnTargetMarketing/study-reveals-b2b-content-pr... more

Oct. 4, 2011

Stephanie Tilton and 1 other person answered this question at this roundtable

Ten Actions Marketing Should Take RIGHT NOW! [10/4 @ 11 am]

What makes Eloqua's content marketing strategy so effective?

Hi Scott,
In my opinion, two keys to Eloqua's content marketing effectiveness are that:
1) Everyone in the company has embraced the philosophy and practice of content marketing and makes the time to contribute to it. A prime example of that is the fact that Eloqua created ... more

Sept. 26, 2011

Stephanie Tilton answered this question

Which IT vendors have the most effective case studies?

Hi Scott,
I can't tell you which companies publish the most effective case studies, but I can point you to vendors whose case studies follow best practices:
1) SAP (http://www.sap.com/index.epx#/customer-testimonials/index.epx)
2) Akamai Technologies (http://www.akamai.com/html/customers/case_studies.html)
3) SAS (http://www.sas.com/success/)
If you're interested, check out this blog post I wrote on the stellar ... more

Sept. 9, 2011

Stephanie Tilton and 3 other people answered this question

What are some considerations to keep in mind when creating a content strategy?

How does it align with overall organizational goals and how will you measure the impact?

July 29, 2011

Stephanie Tilton and 1 other person answered this question

What does it mean to 'localize' your content and why is this important?

Localizing (or localising) your content means making it relevant to the people you're trying to reach in different markets/geographies. It's really no different than delivering the right information to your main audience -- it gets down to understanding your audiences' distinct content/information preferences.
If anyone ... more

July 22, 2011

Stephanie Tilton and 1 other person answered this question at this roundtable

Expert Best Practices in Content Marketing [7/14 @ 1 pm]

Is content marketing really a new concept?

Not according to this slide show on MarketingProfs: http://www.marketingprofs.com/pics/2011/5513/a-brief-history-of-content-marke... (see details for each slide on the right-hand side of the page).
While companies have long used content to reach prospective buyers, the key shift is that it no longer works to be product- or company-focused. ... more

July 22, 2011

Stephanie Tilton and 1 other person answered this question at this roundtable

Expert Best Practices in Content Marketing [7/14 @ 1 pm]

Does anyone really read whitepapers or ebooks longer than 2 pages anymore?

Yes. Take a look at the results of research conducted by TechTarget, UMB TechWeb, and Eccolo Media. The sweet spot for white papers is 5-8 pages. Can't imagine you could convey much of value in an eBook that is only 2 pages since the best-designed ... more

July 22, 2011

Stephanie Tilton and 1 other person answered this question at this roundtable

Expert Best Practices in Content Marketing [7/14 @ 1 pm]

How important is design in your content marketing?

Completely agree with Joe. Moreover, good design makes it easier to digest your content helps hammer home salient points, and can spur readers to take action. Poor design is an impediment to understanding and can make it difficult to achieve whatever goal is associated with ... more

July 21, 2011

Stephanie Tilton and 2 other people commented on a roundtable

Expert Best Practices in Content Marketing

Sharon, so terrific to see what you took away from the roundtable discussion. Love your phrase "actively harnessing conversations"! more

July 19, 2011

Stephanie Tilton and 4 other people answered this question

How would you develop reasonable buyer personas for a company whose data you don't have access to?

Ardath summed up the top sources.
If you feel your competitor(s) are doing well connecting with the target market you have in mind, study their marketing content, follow their conversations online, listen to them speak at events, etc. more

Brand and Product Strategy

Buyer Persona

Buyer Persona Development

Competitive Analysis

3 more topics

July 19, 2011

Stephanie Tilton and 7 other people answered this question

How do you identify a really GREAT infographic?

I agree with David that Edward Tufte is the leader when it comes to how best to present/package information-heavy information. A great infographic sums up lots of data in an easily digestible way. If the infographic embeds lots of text to get across its point(s), ... more

July 19, 2011

Stephanie Tilton and 2 other people answered this question at this roundtable

Expert Best Practices in Content Marketing [7/14 @ 1 pm]

Can a company outsource content creation? What are the pros and cons?

Yes, companies can outsource content development (full disclosure: I make my living developing content for companies). Doing so can help:
+ Apply best practices (the best freelancers or agencies know what's working in the market when it comes to content that works)
+ Keep the ... more

July 11, 2011

Stephanie Tilton and 1 other person answered this question at this roundtable

Expert Best Practices in Content Marketing [7/14 @ 1 pm]

Have any companies been able to show a causal relationship between content marketing and revenue?

Eloqua (my client) has linked $2.5 million in annual contract value from customers who first downloaded one of its Grande Guides. As of mid-June 2011, it had another $3.2 million in the contract stage from prospects who first downloaded one of the guides. For full ... more

June 29, 2011

Stephanie Tilton answered this question

How does content marketing help you build trust with clients & prospects?

If you provide information that prospects and clients are seeking as they conduct research into how to address challenges and achieve their goals, you'll be seen as a valuable resource and not just another vendor. But doing this requires a deep understanding of your audience's ... more

June 22, 2011

Stephanie Tilton and 13 other people answered this question

How can you reward customers who are effective brand advocates?

Here's an interesting article about ranking reference activities to determine the level of reward: http://www.customerreferenceinsights.com/2011/02/07/rewarding-customer-refere...

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