Hyper Local Content Marketing

Editor's Notes

• #2: Creating a Hyper Local Content Strategy by Steve Floyd – CEO of AXZM – www.axzm.com/about/steve-floyd
• #3: Part One: Local SEO + Content
• #4: As many of you know, the 2014 Local Search Ranking Factors came out last month. With it, confirmation that tried and true SEO practices like quality, relevant links, strong topical relevance and on-page are stronger than ever in Local SEO. We are seeing a move toward traditional ranking factors for Local Search, and that is a good thing for those who are content savvy.
• #5: It’s no secret how aggressive Google has been the last 3-4 years in cleaning up the SERPs. Penguin, Panda, Zebra, Hummingbird, Pigeon… It’s a jungle out there. My own conspiratorial view is that all of these algorithmic filters are working together, but I don’t think that is too big of a leap. Follow best practice and stay away from low value tactics. Keeping things natural and topically relevant is the most sustainable thing you can do right now.
• #6: 3. LOCAL PACKSDarren Shaw of Whitespark recently reported a 23.4% drop in local packs. I saw tons of other queries that never had a local pack or carousel showing both, namely “Dallas Web Design” and “Dallas Bankruptcy”.
• #7: In all the noise generated from the echo chamber, something Mike Blumenthal said in a Moz Local SEO interview really stuck out to me. It stuck out because in my own experience, some of the best links and influence on rankings locally came from local sources. 1. Local news outlets. 2. Local directories.3. Local websites. It is my belief that many of the local business sites that we manage that faired better after Pigeon were actually performing better because we had put local content at the heart of our efforts. In this presentation I intend to share some of the strategies, tactics and tools we used for hyper-local content marketing.
• #8: Part Two: Creating Hyper Local Content
• #9: The first step you need to take in creating hyper local content is to get a content strategy. I have a ton of resources on how you can get started developing a cogent content strategy for your business. I highly advise you check out my presentation “The Bruce Lee Guide to Strategic Content”.
• #10: For those who are not familiar with Content Strategy by now, or still confuse it with Content Marketing, understand it is a decade old discipline. The net result of following the processes and best practices of content strategy is that it will fruit better results for your business, as it aligns your content with the needs of your customers. For the sake of time, I will not go through every step you need to take to develop a content strategy, but if I could distill the types of questions you should ask in simple terms, especially if you are a small business, it would be:1. WhoWho are you making the content for? Who is going to create it?2. What?What type of content are you creating? What is the cost? 3. Why? Why are you creating the content? How does it align with your business goals and the needs of your customers? 4. Where?Where will you be publishing the content? Is there a specific place where the content will get more visibility?5. When?When do you plan on publishing the content? What is the most optimum time for you to release the content?6. How?How do you plan to create the content? How long will it take to create? Does it require external vendors or can it be done internally?
• #11: For those of you who would like to learn more about Content Strategy, definitely check out:Content Strategy for the Web by Kristina HalversonThe Elements of Content Strategy by Erin Kissane Content Strategy at Work by Margot BloomsteinContent Strategy: Connecting the dots between business, brand and benefits by Rahel Baillie and Noz Urbina
• #14: Create content that aligns with your business goals. Be aware of the different stages of your customers purchase decision. From awareness, interest, consideration, conversion and advocacy, try to map appropriate content to each channel and stage along the way.
• #16: Now that you have a clear strategy in place for the content you are producing, and you know exactly who it’s for, this will help you shape the content you create.
• #17: Create listicles of popular people, places and things in your area.
• #18: Collect data from your local and regional municipalities / government and turn it into an infographic. You can use Zanran to find spreadsheets and this type of data.
• #19: Collect data from your local and regional municipalities / government and turn it into an infographic. You can use Zanran to find spreadsheets and this type of data.
• #26: Take advantage of LinkedIn’s search if you are building outreach. Searching by company / industry can be useful when trying to identify decision makers, editors, etc…
• #32: There are all kinds of social citations out there, like MyLocally.com, Biznik, Merchant Circle and Creative Match that have blogs where you can post content. Take time to really build up your citations. Interlink them when / where you can.
• #33: In all the noise generated from the echo chamber, something Mike Blumenthal said in a Moz Local SEO interview really stuck out to me. It stuck out because in my own experience, some of the best links and influence on rankings locally came from local sources. 1. Local news outlets. 2. Local directories.3. Local websites. It is my belief that many of the local business sites that we manage that faired better after Pigeon were actually performing better because we had put local content at the heart of our efforts. In this presentation I intend to share some of the strategies, tactics and tools we used for hyper-local content marketing.
• #34: Resources: Content Strategy: Connecting the Dots Between Business, Brand & Benefits by Rahel Anne Bailie & Noz Urbina Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy by Ann Rockley Selling Content Strategy by Karen McGrane The Business of Content by Melissa Rach Selling the Value of Your Content Strategy By Steve Walker Content Strategy: 3 Ways to Get Buy-In from the Corner Office by Ahava Leibtag Pitch Before You Plan: Selling Content Strategy Internally by C.L. Kennedy 2 Foolproof Methods for Getting Content Marketing Buy-In by Joe Pulizzi Why Your CEO Doesn’t Care About Content Marketing by Chris Winfield Selling Content to the C-suite Ahava Leibtag Starting Out Organized: Website Content Planning The Right Way by Kristin Wemmer Selling Content Strategy: A Continuous Process by Rick Allen Prove Content Marketing ROI to Your CEO: 4 Values to Communicate by DJ Miller Getting Internal Buy-In For a Content Marketing Strategy by J-P De Clerck Content Marketing: How To Sell Executives On The Idea & Cost Greg Shuey How To Get Your Breakthrough Ideas Approved by Decision Makers by Charles Purdy Selling to Big Companies by Jill Konrath The Win Without Pitching Manifesto by Jey Pandian Super Awesome Content Strategy Worksheet by Steve Floyd
• #35: About MeFor the last decade I have been creating digital marketing solutions for businesses large and small. In that time I’ve learned a few things about the governance and creation of web content and how that content ties into other marketing channels. Content is often swept aside as the last part of a project, when I believe it should be one of the very first things addressed (even before design).