Learning Objective 1: Different types of content and content creation.
Learning Objective 2: How can your company's content stand out from the rest? (not end up in the spam folder)
· Products and brand content
Learning Objective 3: How to involve the consumer in the content creating process?
· How to engage consumers to create content for you?
Learning Objective 1: Different types of content and content creation.
According to Hannah Smith on her publication : 4 types of content that every site needs:
- Content to entertain
Why do you need content to entertain if you want to make money?
Content to entertain allows you to reach people right at the top of the sales funnel, and indeed those who might not even know that they need your products/services yet.
Content which has been created to entertain might not be directly related to your products/services, however in order to do its job, it does need to appeal to your target audience.
This sort of content has an emotional rather than rational appeal. It’s the sort of content that’s very shareable (and deliberately so) - the more it’s shared the further your reach.
Content which has been created to entertain might not be directly related to your products/services, however in order to do its job, it does need to appeal to your target audience.
This sort of content has an emotional rather than rational appeal. It’s the sort of content that’s very shareable (and deliberately so) - the more it’s shared the further your reach.
- Content to educate
Content that’s created specifically to educate achieves the same goals as content to entertain, but is often a next step in showing readers and potential users why your website or product is worth sticking around for. While content to entertain appeals to a reader’s emotions, content to educate appeals to their rationality.
- Content to inspire (persuade)
Inspiration doesn’t necessarily have to be quotes on a picture.
In fact, the best kind of inspiration often comes in the form of case studies, customer testimonials and stories of failures and challenges that successful people have faced along the way.
- Content to convince (convert)
Apparently, content created with conversions in mind is needed in order to close the deal. This content typically uses a rational rather than emotional appeal.
(http://www.smartinsights.com/content-management/content-marketing-strategy/the-content-marketing-matrix-new-infographic/attachment/content-matrix/)
Learning Objective 2: How can your company's content stand out from the rest? (not end up in the spam folder)
I asked myself "Why content (marketing) is that important?" and Content Marketing Institute gave me real figure as a confirmation "70% of people would rather learn about a company via an article rather than an ad". Truth be told, in this real time, content is what valued at core.
I quote Alexander Jutkowitz in his HBR article: "Branded content is a brave new world and a brand’s editorial team, regardless of how it’s organized, must learn to live and breathe a company’s bottom line while also being mindful of the kinds of stories that appeal to readers. The editorial organization within a corporation has to be independent enough to form unique perspectives, but embedded enough to access exclusive information"
Of course, not all brands can—or should—be expected to cover scientific breakthroughs or economic theory, but every brand can do better than a contrived content marketing strategy. Ninety percent of B2C marketers use content in their strategy, but few brands recognize the real opportunity in doing so.
Content can be the means by which a brand shapes and impacts business and consumer landscapes; it can be a thoughtful investment in a company’s legacy. Armed with quality content, corporations can become thought leaders, change agents, and experts. They can, in fact, become enlightened.
(http://www.smartinsights.com/content-management/content-marketing-strategy/the-content-marketing-matrix-new-infographic/attachment/content-matrix/) I asked myself "Why content (marketing) is that important?" and Content Marketing Institute gave me real figure as a confirmation "70% of people would rather learn about a company via an article rather than an ad". Truth be told, in this real time, content is what valued at core.
I quote Alexander Jutkowitz in his HBR article: "Branded content is a brave new world and a brand’s editorial team, regardless of how it’s organized, must learn to live and breathe a company’s bottom line while also being mindful of the kinds of stories that appeal to readers. The editorial organization within a corporation has to be independent enough to form unique perspectives, but embedded enough to access exclusive information"
Also from the same author, his wise words:
"Content, when it aligns with exemplary brand publishers of our time, gives companies a new opportunity that didn’t necessarily exist in the last century. Conventional wisdom told brands to keep knowledge quiet, to put “trade secrets” under indefinite embargo and to let exclusive information gather dust in corporate archives. But with the advent of the Internet, social media, and the dispersal of knowledge in every direction, corporations are in the unique position to distribute the information they’ve gathered in exchange for audiences, readership, and brand loyalty.Of course, not all brands can—or should—be expected to cover scientific breakthroughs or economic theory, but every brand can do better than a contrived content marketing strategy. Ninety percent of B2C marketers use content in their strategy, but few brands recognize the real opportunity in doing so.
Content can be the means by which a brand shapes and impacts business and consumer landscapes; it can be a thoughtful investment in a company’s legacy. Armed with quality content, corporations can become thought leaders, change agents, and experts. They can, in fact, become enlightened.
Case: General Electric, is a pioneer in content marketing because the company is unafraid to transform internal knowledge about various subjects, from aircraft mechanics to wind turbines, into headline-worthy articles, viral GIFs, corporate microsites, and Tumblr followers. The result marks an evolution for the brand from a company that makes things to a company that produces ideas. Through content, GE establishes itself as a brand in possession of constant newsworthy knowledge.
In another HBR article "Produce content that customers care about":
"You can’t just snap your fingers and produce great content. To get stories and images that people actually care about, you need to address the higher-order problems your customers are facing today or will face tomorrow. You have to do the sustained work of thinking through these problems and coming up with relevant insights"
The author put up Adobe as the case:
"Several years ago the company’s mainstay business of graphics applications was struggling against new competition, including free software. In response, executives made a concerted effort to step back and think about customers’ most important graphics-related problems. They saw that although online retailers were putting up fancy websites, the companies weren’t connecting their accumulated consumer data to the pages in order to drive sales. So Adobe invested in R&D and made some analytics-based acquisitions in order to develop a platform to make that possible. Dubbed the Marketing Cloud, this new platform would enable websites to show the right images to the right customers at the right time.
Adobe then went on a content-marketing spree. A team of 20-plus experts traveled the world, posting blogs and speaking at digital-marketing forums. Wherever companies were talking about e-commerce, dynamic online environments, or analytics, Adobe wanted to be there — not just as a sponsor, but as a provider of insights. Those insights came from the research Adobe had done to develop the platform, as well as the data the platform was already generating from early adopters.
Retailers were all ears. Adobe’s intellectual offensive convinced them that the company had become a leading player in the field. The Marketing Cloud is now Adobe’s biggest source of revenue, contributing (along with a shift to software subscriptions) to the recent explosion of the company’s stock price"
Adobe then went on a content-marketing spree. A team of 20-plus experts traveled the world, posting blogs and speaking at digital-marketing forums. Wherever companies were talking about e-commerce, dynamic online environments, or analytics, Adobe wanted to be there — not just as a sponsor, but as a provider of insights. Those insights came from the research Adobe had done to develop the platform, as well as the data the platform was already generating from early adopters.
Retailers were all ears. Adobe’s intellectual offensive convinced them that the company had become a leading player in the field. The Marketing Cloud is now Adobe’s biggest source of revenue, contributing (along with a shift to software subscriptions) to the recent explosion of the company’s stock price"
Check out their video on launching
Another example in B2B is DPR, a construction company, a highly profitable global contractor in the notoriously difficult construction industry. Rather than duke it out in conventional bidding processes, DPR invested in the emerging practice of building information modeling, or BIM. The idea is to go beyond blueprints and “construct” a building ahead of time in digital format, an approach that can improve quality and reduce total costs.
BIM is complex, expensive, and still in development. But DPR has widely shared the knowledge and practices it has gained, in venues ranging from industry forums to a co-taught course at Stanford University. All of that content marketing not only increased the buzz about DPR in the industry; it also enhanced its customers’ perceived value of BIM. DPR executives didn’t mind that they were helping competitors get up to speed as well, because they wanted to elevate the entire industry around this new approach. They used content marketing for thought leadership, in the true meaning of the term.
BIM is complex, expensive, and still in development. But DPR has widely shared the knowledge and practices it has gained, in venues ranging from industry forums to a co-taught course at Stanford University. All of that content marketing not only increased the buzz about DPR in the industry; it also enhanced its customers’ perceived value of BIM. DPR executives didn’t mind that they were helping competitors get up to speed as well, because they wanted to elevate the entire industry around this new approach. They used content marketing for thought leadership, in the true meaning of the term.
Speaking of B2C example: Home Depot, whose executives know that customers are eager to do as much of their own home-repair work as possible. For years the company has offered a series of how-to books, and now it has stocked its website with hundreds of videos. The physical stores offer free or low-cost classes in how to do the most common jobs. As new home-repair problems and new tools and materials emerge, Home Depot can easily expand and update this content and push it to new channels. Home Depot is helping customers become better do-it-yourselfers, and in the process it is strengthening its brand far more effectively than would have been possible through advertising.
Jayson Demers on his HBR's publication Why No One’s Reading Your Marketing Content (Nov 14,2015) stated about the importance of distribution:
"There’s been plenty written about how to create smart digital marketing content. But less attention gets paid to what happens after you click “publish” and whether your videos, infographics, social media posts, and other pieces of content are actually reaching the right people. According to Altimeter, only a quarter of content marketers actually invest in distribution, even though more than half recognize that it’s a critical need
Having a smart distribution model is just as important as developing good content in the first place — it’s how you bring in more business. So I’ve put together a distribution strategy refresher. Here are the critical steps for getting your content where it needs to go"
Therefore he gave out a list of possible strategies to be paid attention to and apply:
Optimize for search and for mobile. This step is essential. According to one study, search contributes about a third of the traffic that websites receive. The principles of good search-engine optimization (SEO) must be applied to every piece of content as you create it, not just after-the-fact, in the metadata. Who is your audience? What answers are people looking for? What keywords will they use to find those answers? That’s what you need to know on the front end. You can certainly extend your reach by crafting sharp headlines, managing the on-page SEO, and building a diverse but relevant link portfolio — but you extend it all the more when the content itself follows best SEO practices. Also create content with mobile in mind. Think carefully about how the length of your message, the formatting, visual elements, and links will shape user experience. The better the experience, the more likely customers are to stick around and absorb the message.
Design a modular but cohesive content plan. You can increase your impact by creating “content modules” — small bits of content, each with a targeted purpose, that can be used in a variety of ways. For example, a blog post can be excerpted to provide social media status updates, included in your e-mail newsletter, syndicated on LinkedIn, and more. But each module should also plug into a clear narrative arc. In a screenplay or a novel, that arc follows the hero’s journey; in content marketing, you use it to guide the buyer’s journey. The typical arc goes from broad (for instance, who we are and why our brands can help solve people’s most urgent problems) to narrow (the differences that define a superior product or service). To build a cohesive user experience, map out how you’ll use these modules to tell your story from beginning to end.
Segment your audience. Use customer data to personalize your message. Is your email newsletter a blast to everyone who signed up for your list? Or do you tailor your distribution? The latter approach will yield much better results. You can send existing customers exclusive information about an upcoming feature release, for instance, and leads can receive content that’s designed to move them toward a purchase. Personalization — whether it’s based on interests, demographics, or where customers are in their journey — gets you noticed and persuades people to take action. The more relevant your content is to them, the more effective it will be. And by targeting certain outlets or platforms, such as Facebook for B2C sales and LinkedIn for B2B sales, you’ll increase your relevance even more.
Create relationships with branded publications and sites. The term “brand journalism” is a controversial one, but it nicely encapsulates where content creation has gone: using good writing and storytelling techniques to create high-quality marketing messages. As customers are exposed to your content — particularly through publications and websites they respect — they’ll learn more about your brand and begin to trust your authority in whatever space you’re playing in. To build relationships with other sites, try writing guest posts for niche or industry sites, again with a clear focus on relevance. These often have a relatively open contributor policy, in that you apply and are able to blog there, but each piece undergoes editorial vetting. (Business2Community is a good example.) Blogging for sites that allow contributors to run columns on a case-by-case basis requires more persistence and even stronger writing, but such outlets generally have more engaged, more targeted, and often larger audiences, as well as more credibility. You can also connect with journalists and other bloggers, in hopes that they’ll link to your content in their own columns and posts. Sharing original research or creating an infographic that they can write about is a great example of this approach in action.
Pay for distribution. Paid distribution can work well for a variety of formats, including entire stories (newswire-style), headlines, videos, links, and social media updates. Tools such as Outbrain enable you to get your content onto major platforms in the form of “suggested posts” that appear below the site’s own content. Sponsored posts and status updates are also gaining in popularity. They’re essentially ads that allow you to exploit the extensive data that websites and social networks collect about their users.
Share with relevant communities. After publishing your content, share it in communities where it’s likely to be of interest. For example, if you’re writing about inbound marketing techniques, you might reach out to BizSugar.com, Inbound.org, and relevant subreddits on Reddit.com. Make choices based on relevance and value so you can generate interest and discussion in communities where your ideas will matter. You don’t want to spam any community.
Reach out to influencers in your market. The idea here is simple: you create content that’s potentially interesting to leading figures in your market and their audiences. As you’re compiling your list of influencers, think about the opportunities that you’re seeking. For instance, do you want them to review a book you’ve written? Be clear about how you’d like to benefit and what you can offer in return, such as a review of one of their books or a plug on your company blog. Once you’ve established these important connections, strengthen them by sharing influencers’ content through your channels and commenting on their blog posts and social updates. Focus on building relationships rather than conducting one-time transactions.
While a successful content strategy starts with publishing exceptional content, the strategic distribution of that content is the real key to positive ROI. (You can measure impact through various metrics, but I recommend starting with Google Analytics.) Broaden your distribution capabilities by building relationships with media, understanding your audience, and tailoring your social media activities to humanize your content and reach your audience in a way that’s relevant to their interests.
"There’s been plenty written about how to create smart digital marketing content. But less attention gets paid to what happens after you click “publish” and whether your videos, infographics, social media posts, and other pieces of content are actually reaching the right people. According to Altimeter, only a quarter of content marketers actually invest in distribution, even though more than half recognize that it’s a critical need
Having a smart distribution model is just as important as developing good content in the first place — it’s how you bring in more business. So I’ve put together a distribution strategy refresher. Here are the critical steps for getting your content where it needs to go"
Therefore he gave out a list of possible strategies to be paid attention to and apply:
Optimize for search and for mobile. This step is essential. According to one study, search contributes about a third of the traffic that websites receive. The principles of good search-engine optimization (SEO) must be applied to every piece of content as you create it, not just after-the-fact, in the metadata. Who is your audience? What answers are people looking for? What keywords will they use to find those answers? That’s what you need to know on the front end. You can certainly extend your reach by crafting sharp headlines, managing the on-page SEO, and building a diverse but relevant link portfolio — but you extend it all the more when the content itself follows best SEO practices. Also create content with mobile in mind. Think carefully about how the length of your message, the formatting, visual elements, and links will shape user experience. The better the experience, the more likely customers are to stick around and absorb the message.
Design a modular but cohesive content plan. You can increase your impact by creating “content modules” — small bits of content, each with a targeted purpose, that can be used in a variety of ways. For example, a blog post can be excerpted to provide social media status updates, included in your e-mail newsletter, syndicated on LinkedIn, and more. But each module should also plug into a clear narrative arc. In a screenplay or a novel, that arc follows the hero’s journey; in content marketing, you use it to guide the buyer’s journey. The typical arc goes from broad (for instance, who we are and why our brands can help solve people’s most urgent problems) to narrow (the differences that define a superior product or service). To build a cohesive user experience, map out how you’ll use these modules to tell your story from beginning to end.
Segment your audience. Use customer data to personalize your message. Is your email newsletter a blast to everyone who signed up for your list? Or do you tailor your distribution? The latter approach will yield much better results. You can send existing customers exclusive information about an upcoming feature release, for instance, and leads can receive content that’s designed to move them toward a purchase. Personalization — whether it’s based on interests, demographics, or where customers are in their journey — gets you noticed and persuades people to take action. The more relevant your content is to them, the more effective it will be. And by targeting certain outlets or platforms, such as Facebook for B2C sales and LinkedIn for B2B sales, you’ll increase your relevance even more.
Create relationships with branded publications and sites. The term “brand journalism” is a controversial one, but it nicely encapsulates where content creation has gone: using good writing and storytelling techniques to create high-quality marketing messages. As customers are exposed to your content — particularly through publications and websites they respect — they’ll learn more about your brand and begin to trust your authority in whatever space you’re playing in. To build relationships with other sites, try writing guest posts for niche or industry sites, again with a clear focus on relevance. These often have a relatively open contributor policy, in that you apply and are able to blog there, but each piece undergoes editorial vetting. (Business2Community is a good example.) Blogging for sites that allow contributors to run columns on a case-by-case basis requires more persistence and even stronger writing, but such outlets generally have more engaged, more targeted, and often larger audiences, as well as more credibility. You can also connect with journalists and other bloggers, in hopes that they’ll link to your content in their own columns and posts. Sharing original research or creating an infographic that they can write about is a great example of this approach in action.
Pay for distribution. Paid distribution can work well for a variety of formats, including entire stories (newswire-style), headlines, videos, links, and social media updates. Tools such as Outbrain enable you to get your content onto major platforms in the form of “suggested posts” that appear below the site’s own content. Sponsored posts and status updates are also gaining in popularity. They’re essentially ads that allow you to exploit the extensive data that websites and social networks collect about their users.
Share with relevant communities. After publishing your content, share it in communities where it’s likely to be of interest. For example, if you’re writing about inbound marketing techniques, you might reach out to BizSugar.com, Inbound.org, and relevant subreddits on Reddit.com. Make choices based on relevance and value so you can generate interest and discussion in communities where your ideas will matter. You don’t want to spam any community.
Reach out to influencers in your market. The idea here is simple: you create content that’s potentially interesting to leading figures in your market and their audiences. As you’re compiling your list of influencers, think about the opportunities that you’re seeking. For instance, do you want them to review a book you’ve written? Be clear about how you’d like to benefit and what you can offer in return, such as a review of one of their books or a plug on your company blog. Once you’ve established these important connections, strengthen them by sharing influencers’ content through your channels and commenting on their blog posts and social updates. Focus on building relationships rather than conducting one-time transactions.
While a successful content strategy starts with publishing exceptional content, the strategic distribution of that content is the real key to positive ROI. (You can measure impact through various metrics, but I recommend starting with Google Analytics.) Broaden your distribution capabilities by building relationships with media, understanding your audience, and tailoring your social media activities to humanize your content and reach your audience in a way that’s relevant to their interests.
Check this out https://blog.bufferapp.com/10-awesome-infographics-to-inform-your-marketing-plan-for-2014
(http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/leibtag_content_checklist.pdf)
Learning Objective 3: How to involve the consumer in the content creating process?
· How to engage consumers to create content for you?
· How to engage consumers to create content for you?
-In
a week more than
40.000 visitors, 8.900
ideas and 67.000
comments
-Users can
• Get ideas • Comment the ideas of other users • Vote for ideas
-Users can
• Get ideas • Comment the ideas of other users • Vote for ideas
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