2. Ann’s story…
Kodak is listening… Remember the
Groundswell concept of listening?
Imperative that companies create online
content as a cornerstone of their marketing
for 3 reasons:
1. Interruption marketing is not working
anymore.
2. Customer behaviour and expectations are
shifting.
3. Everyone is a publisher.
3. What is content, exactly?
Pg 6 “Content Rules”.
Words, images, video, podcasts, FAQs, webin
ars, white papers, e-books, facebook
posts, facebook pages, all of your twitter
stream, LinkedIn group page…
Better question is:
What is COMPELLING content?
But before we go there…What’s the
difference between Content Development
and Content Marketing?
4. Compelling Content pg. 7 “Content Rules”
The purpose of creating compelling
content is to: CONVERT browsers into
buyers, and customers into regular (rabid)
fans, ambassadors, and advocates.
How? Frequent and regular contact with
customers providing content that they
care about and want to share.
5. Content as a Cornerstone
Pg. 8 “Content Rules”
Attract Customers.
Educate your buyers.
Overcome resistance or address objections.
Establish credibility.
Tell your story.
Build Buzz.
Build a base of fans.
Inspire impulse buys.
6. The Content Rules pg. 14 Content Rules
11
Rules to follow to ensure your content is
compelling.
1. Embrace that you are a publisher.
2. Insight inspires originality.
3. Build momentum.
4. Speak Human
7. The Content Rules pg. 16 Content Rules
11
Rules to follow to ensure your content is
compelling Continued…
5. Reimagine…don’t recycle.
6. Share or solve…don’t shill.
7. Show, just don’t tell.
8. Do something unexpected.
8. The Content Rules pg. 18 Content Rules
11
Rules to follow to ensure your content is
compelling Continued…
9. Stoke the campfire.
10. Create Wings and Roots.
11. Play to your strengths.
9. Lesson 2 assignment:
View the infographic about Content
Marketing by Marketo.
Describe (in words) the answers to the first
three questions: 1. Why should companies
use content marketing? 2. How are
companies using it? 3. What are some of
the biggest challenges facing content
marketers?
Then do some additional research and
summarize by describing the importance of
good content in achieving marketing
objectives.
Minimum of 500 words.
Notas del editor
Read about Ann’s story on page 3 of “Content Rules”. Creating compelling content online is imperative because creating brand awareness through buying mass media is just not enough anymore. The web has changed the rules and engaging with your customers is the more efficient way of marketing these days. Customers are researching online before they buy… everything from condoms to condos. 3 out of 5 shoppers search online. You want online content that appears on the first page of search results. And most importantly as Mitch Joel pointed out in his book: “Six pixels of separation” everyone is a publisher. Any company, large or small, profit or not-for-profit, or any organization or individual can publish to the world. The key is to publish COMPELLING CONTENT.
What’s the difference between Content Development and Content Marketing. Content Development is the name of this course. As the name implies we’ll learn about how to create (or develop) content. Content marketing is how you market what you create. But in today’s world of web connectivity the line between the two is blurred and as you create content you should keep in mind how you will market it. We’re back to the old question of media or message. Is the medium the message? As Marshall McLuhan suggests. I say that the message and the medium have merged in that you can create compelling messages without knowing which medium you’ll use. So although we’ll focus on the message we won’t ignor the medium. Most of the other courses in your 5th semester will focus more on the medium. Here’s some more good explanation from the Content Marketing Institute that explains the definitions of content: More than a decade after Bill Gates’ seminal essay, “Content is King“, content marketing is still coming into its own. There are many competing definitions for content marketing circulating through the business world right now, each fighting for mainstream adoption. Although definitions are a rather nuanced part of a business strategy, I believe they have the power to shape how that strategy is perceived and used.That is why I cringe every time I hear content marketing defined in terms of media types, such as eBooks, videos, and infographics. Not only are these definitions too narrow, they also ignore the key motivation behind content marketing: going beyond traditional “push” strategies to entice people to engage with your company on their own terms. Content marketing that is aimed at this goal, by definition, must be media agnostic. Some of the most successful content marketers use their audience needs and interests as the starting point and then work backwards to create the content. Not only has this approach seen tremendous engagement from audiences, it has also been the catalyst to an unprecedented level of campaign creativity.So back to the second question what is COMPELLING content? Need another slide for that >>>
The company that has the more engaging and compelling content wins. “Done right the content will position your company not as just a seller of stuff, but as a reliable source of information.” (Content Rules page 7) What you create online will be searchable indefinitely. It generates web traffic and provides answers to most all questions your customers might have about your product or service.
This list is what you can accomplish with compelling content. Does it sound weird to use words like “inspire” “credibility” “telling stories” as marketing strategies?But don’t you want to inspire… don’t you want to build relationships…don’t you want to tell stories about your product or service? As Ann Handley says in Content Rules… Create awesome content that engages with your customers. Regard your content as something more, as something other than just words and images on a page.. Make your content an extension of your brand. Just as a person is more than flesh and bones and hair and teeth, good content too, is the soul of your brand.
In a age where there are so many media channels with so much bad content how are we going to create good content that achieves some of the results listed in the previous slide? By following the content rules. Embrace that you are a publisher: Not much proof needed here. There has been an explosion of blogs, websites, webinars, e-books that are not part of the traditional publishing industry. That includes broadcast. Technology has simplified the publishing process so that anyone can publish. Don’t forgot that just because anyone can publish does not mean that the published content will be good. So the first rule is really just an observation. Insight inspires originality: Know yourself better than anyone. Get your brand story straight and give voice to your distinctive point of view based on your mission and attributes. Know your customers, too, as well as what keeps them up at night. What are their concerns and objectives? What do they care about? How will your brand help them in their daily lives?Build Momentum: Why are your creating? Good content always has an objective; it’s created with intent. It therefore carries triggers to action. (Key words here are “objectives” and “triggers”.) Your content, to be worthwhile, needs to address marketing objectives. Your content will be consumed better if you include triggers which we’ll cover later. (Read “Fascinate” by Sally Hogshead.)Speak Human: Communicate your brand mission, values, and philosophy in simple terms, using the language of your customers. Speak in a conversational tone, with personality, empathy, and true emotions. Kill corporate speak, buzzwords and other language that makes you sound like a robot.
5. Reimagine…don’t recycle: recycling is an afterthought; good content is intentionally reimagined, at its inception, for various platforms and formats. 6. Share or solve don’t shill: Good content doesn’t try to sell. Rather, it creates value by positioning you as a reliable and valuable source of vendor-agnostic information. Your content shares a resource, solves a problem, helps your customers do their jobs better, improves their lives, or makes them smarter, wittier, better looking, taller, better networked, cooler, and more enlightened, and with better backhands, tighter asses, and cuter kids. In other words, it’s high value to your customers, in whatever way resonates best with them. 7. Show; Just don’t tell: Good content is not about storytelling; It’s about telling a true story well. Good content doesn’t preach or hard sell. Instead, it shows how your products lives in the world. It demonstrates through case studies or client narratives how your customers use your products or services and explains in human terms how it adds value to their lives, eases their troubles, and meets their needs. 8. Do something unexpected: There’s no business like show business, right? Occasionally adding an element or surprise to your content both drives viral sharing and enhances your company’s personality.
In a age where there are some many media channels with so much bad content how are we going to create good content that achieves some of the results listed in the previous slide? By following the content rules. 9. Stoke the campfire: Like a good campfire, good content sparks interaction and ignites conversation between you and your customers, and among your customers themselves, in a the social sphere. 10. Create Wings and Roots: This advice is usually applied to parenting. But it applies nicely to content too: ground your content solidly in your unique perspective and point of view but give it wings to soar freely and be shared across social platforms, all over the web. 11. Play to your strengths: You don’t have to create everything and publish everywhere; you don’t have to do it all inclusively- create killer blogs and podcasts and white papers and webinars and e-books and puppet shows and whatever else you can imagine. You don’t have to do all that. But you do have to to somethings or at least one thing really, really well.