In our relentless pursuit of making information more accessible through good design, while also educating / empowering clients to allow social media to pervade and enhance every (logical) aspect of their business, strategy, goals and employee network, we’ve partnered with one of our key clients and partners — Eloqua — to produce The Content Grid.

It is meant to help organizations figure out — and work through — oft-asked, burning questions about social media such as:

1. Which platform works best for what we are trying to achieve?
2. Where does social media figure in the purchase funnel / sales cycle?
3. Who should “own” social media?
4. How can we utilize social channels outside of just Facebook and Twitter?

Along the X-axis, we’ve plotted the purchase funnel: from awareness to consideration (and ultimately conversion and advocacy). Along the Y-axis, we’ve plotted to what extent their should be organizational input, oversight and control — and to what extent employees should be leading the charge to create content.

Still left asking: What does this all mean? A few more thoughts / thinkers weigh-in…

• Joe Chernov, client / mentor / friend extraordinaire has done a stellar job explaining the impetus for the infographic, as well as the process for its creation, in his blog post (linked above and here) as well as in his responses in the comment section of the blog post (another place where things can often get interesting and richer): “You see, the director of content marketing (a.k.a., me) is responsible for extracting the expertise that’s nestled comfortably inside colleagues’ minds and desktops, twisting it into a new shape (tweets, slideshows, ebooks, videos, images, blogs), and setting it loose on the social Web.”
• Peter Kim opines: “It’s a great way to think about corporate content marketing from communications ace Joe Chernov.”
• Paul Armstrong endorses: “Great infographic/depiction of the various content types and roles different platforms play. Forward it on, this deserves to be shared. V interesting blog too. Kudos to the crew over at Eloqua.”
• Barbara Rozgonyi says it best: “Infographics like this illustrate the power of strategic communications and validate the need to have a corporate social media marketing, PR and communications plan. That’s why I’ll be using this infographic in my social media marketing and PR communications presentations.”
• Dave Balter (Founder / CEO of BzzAgent and Joe’s former boss) remarks: “My buddy (and BzzAgent Alum) Joe Chernov just published this wonderful image to explain ‘Content Marketing’. There is little doubt that the next era of social media will be dominated by the ability to generate and disseminate the right content into the right places.”
  
• Leslie Zeigler (fellow Leslie & start-up queen!) points to utility: “What a useful graphic for start-ups or anyone else who wants to understand how to build and manage content syndication and a social ecosystem.”
  

Thoughts to share? Questions to work through? Hit us in the comments, we are all ears.

Tags: eloqua, infographics, leslie post, The Content Grid