Content Marketing and Planning Assignment (MMC5155)

In this assignment, you will create a basic content marketing plan for the company you currently work for. Create two examples of content you aim to produce for each stage of the buyer’s journey. Define how you would promote this content and what you would consider “success” in your content marketing initiative.

Top of Funnel Example 1: Blog Post

• Headline: Internships Gone Viral: 5 Ways to Get Gen-Z Interested in Your Early Career Programs
• Concept: The blog post will share 5 tips and techniques for boosting awareness and interest amongst potential Gen-Z internship candidates, acknowledging common struggles in reaching this group and suggesting realistic and accessible solutions.
  This post will help reach new audiences by researching potential solutions related to our services and establishing the department as a leading expert in early career recruiting. 

Top of Funnel Example 2: Infographic

• Headline: Gen-Z Candidates Are Interviewing You, Too. What Are They Looking For?
• Concept: A one-page infographic will present data on what current college students and recent graduates are looking for in their potential employers, which will help employers determine what to promote in their position listings. The page will be fully branded to the Fordham Career Center’s design guidelines and include a link to the department’s content hub as a CTA. This content will be relevant to potential employers developing a recruiting strategy and easily shareable, which will increase brand reach and awareness. 

Middle of Funnel Example 1: Webinar

• Headline: Recruiting Within Reach: A Conversation on Building Your Early Career Talent Pipeline
• Concept: A one-hour virtual presentation and Q&A for employers will cover recruiting best practices and how to implement these techniques for success through the Fordham Career Center. These webinars will occur monthly and rotate between industry focuses based on recruiting timelines. This session will help to provide more in-depth information about recruiting and the Career Center’s offerings while fostering audience relationships through direct, small-group engagement. 

Middle of Funnel Example 2: White Paper

• Headline: How to Develop a Comprehensive Early Career Recruitment Strategy
• Concept: An in-depth recruiting guide will provide employers with information and techniques for successful early career recruiting strategies. The guide will include holistic information on recruiting services, tips for specific industries, and resources to supplement the recruiting process. The Fordham Career Center’s services will be positioned as a solution to the audience’s struggles in the recruiting process. This publication will help provide more detailed information to potential customers researching and weighing their options while presenting our department as a field expert. 

Bottom of Funnel Example 1: Case Study

• Headline: A Small Business Built a Big Talent Pipeline, Thanks to the Fordham Career Center
• Concept: A case study highlighting the success stories of an employer partnered with the Fordham Career Center to recruit early career talent. This article will ideally feature a small or mid-size employer recruiting students in several academic programs through on-campus recruiting offerings, like info sessions or coffee chats, and large-scale programs, like career fairs or a Signature Partnership. The case study will highlight not just the success in finding candidates to hire but the quality of the candidates once they have started in their respective positions, which will help address any remaining objections.  

Bottom of Funnel Example 2: Promotional Offer Targeted Email

• Headline: Want Free Access to a Student Resume Book? Sign Up for a Career Fair This Week!
• Concept: A targeted email will feature a promotion for employers to receive free access to a student resume book if they register for the corresponding career fair by the end of the week. This promotion will create a sense of urgency and incentivize action by providing supplemental value in a narrow period.  

The Fordham Career Center would promote this content with an integrated platform strategy:

• Social Media: Focusing on LinkedIn, the content would be promoted with CTAs directing the audience to read or view further. Select posts could also be sponsored or boosted to reach a wider audience. These platforms would be ideal for our top and middle-of-funnel content.
• Email Marketing: Including the content in email newsletters will help it reach an audience already expressing interest in our offerings. Targeted messages could further these efforts by providing personalized recommendations. This outreach would be most impactful for our middle and bottom-of-funnel content. 
• SEO: Optimizing our web content and hub will support organic discovery and online brand visibility. This tactic would be most useful for our top-of-funnel content, like blog posts, where the goal is to drive awareness and organic traffic. 
• Influencer Marketing: Everyday influencers and brand advocates will help to spread positive word of mouth through sharing our content like the infographic (Chaffey 2023). This method will benefit all funnel stages, as sharing our content will help expand our audience while generating social proof. 

Since content marketing is not best suited for short-term campaigns, success would be measured in impressions, reach, shares, and lead generations like email newsletter sign-ups. Content like the promotional offer could be judged on more short-term metrics like conversions and service purchases. These metrics, derived from specific and measurable goals, would be used to judge the effectiveness of the strategies and content outlined above, evaluate areas for adjustment or improvement, and benchmark increased brand awareness and trust.