throwing shit against the wall & analysing what sticks - content marketing show: november 2013

throwingshit against the wall & analysing what sticks…

HANNAH SMITH

CONTENT STRATEGIST @DISTILLED

that has

negative connotations

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

I beg to

differ@hannah_bo_banna

present an idea &

test the reaction

@hannah_bo_banna

is the only way to

succeed@hannah_bo_banna

but I’m jumping ahead…

@hannah_bo_banna

hannah.smith@distilled.net

@hannah_bo_banna

Caffeine Addict

Moz Associate

Writes on State of Digital, Medium & SEO Chicks

HANNAH SMITH

Content Strategist at Distilled

what do I

actuallydo?

@hannah_bo_banna

here are some

things I’ve made

@hannah_bo_banna

http://www.concerthotels.com/ipod-visualized-as-vinyl @hannah_bo_banna

http://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/microsites/googleplus-for-small-businesses/

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_bannahttp://www.twolittlefleas.co.uk/happiness-generator/

http://www.twolittlefleas.co.uk/happiness-generator/ @hannah_bo_banna

http://www.thetrainline.com/tools/festival-finder/ @hannah_bo_banna

I endeavour to

create content that…

@hannah_bo_banna

will blow

people’s

minds

for a precious heartbeat or two…

create things that are useful

things that will

blow

their

minds

things that will

blow

their

minds

create things people willlove

that sounds

hard@hannah_bo_banna

do you really need to do that?

@hannah_bo_banna

yesI think you do

@hannah_bo_banna

content marketing is

not new

@hannah_bo_banna

but

how we consume

content online

@hannah_bo_banna

has & will continue to

change@hannah_bo_banna

we surface content through

filters…

@hannah_bo_banna

do you actually

see updates from the companies

you follow?

@hannah_bo_banna

“A squirrel dying in front of your house may be more relevant to your

interests right now than people dying in Africa.”

~ Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook

@hannah_bo_banna

facebook protects us from

unwantedcontent

@hannah_bo_banna

& so does our technology

@hannah_bo_banna

With four months of steady

decline, it’s apparent that tabs

are affecting opens in Gmail.

After the introduction of the

tabbed inbox in May,

Gmail opens have dropped 20%

Justine Jordan, Litmus

@hannah_bo_bannahttps://litmus.com/blog/48-of-emails-are-opened-on-mobile-gmail-opens-down-20-since-tabs

permission

may no longer be enough…

@hannah_bo_banna

to bypass the filters your content must be shared

by lots of people- not just you

@hannah_bo_banna

people need to love your marketing

todayI bring you

@hannah_bo_banna

the stumbling blocks,

pitfalls @hannah_bo_banna

& gut-wrenching

anguish@hannah_bo_banna

that I’ve encountered when

creating content

@hannah_bo_banna

& tips for how to live to fight

another day

@hannah_bo_banna

stumbling blocks

@hannah_bo_banna

can’t we just create

something that shows why people should buy

our stuff?

~ The Client

@hannah_bo_banna

me:

the sort of content thatdrives conversion?

@hannah_bo_banna

yeah, do that

& get people to share it

~ The Client

@hannah_bo_banna

me:

you want me to get you free advertising?

@hannah_bo_banna

yeah!

~ The Client

@hannah_bo_banna

content should be

goal-driven

@hannah_bo_banna

what you create depends on what you

want to achieve

@hannah_bo_banna

advertising

isn’t shared unless it also

entertains / educates

@hannah_bo_banna

content to ‘persuade’

isn’t shared unless it also

entertains / educates

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

sometimes itworks

@hannah_bo_banna

sometimes it just ‘appears’ to

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

yay!

@hannah_bo_banna

but people see through this…

@hannah_bo_banna

Time to start buying food

for Christmas!

(says supermarket chain)

@hannah_bo_banna

you’re getting coverage…

@hannah_bo_banna

it’s even hitting your target audience

@hannah_bo_banna

but@hannah_bo_banna

self-serving messaging can

alienate the people you seek to

engage@hannah_bo_banna

people need to love your marketing

pitfalls@hannah_bo_banna

limitedcreative scope

@hannah_bo_banna

that’s off-brand

~ The Client

@hannah_bo_banna

sometimes this is true…

@hannah_bo_banna

but@hannah_bo_banna

your brand is not what

you sell@hannah_bo_banna

your brand is how

you sell it

it’s about your

values

@hannah_bo_banna

your content must not

contradict your brand values

@hannah_bo_banna

but@hannah_bo_banna

don’t limit your content

@hannah_bo_banna

don’t limit yourself

@hannah_bo_banna

your content doesn’t have to be

*just* about what you sell

@hannah_bo_banna

sell soft drinks

@hannah_bo_banna

but their content is about

extreme sports

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

because that’s what their target audience

love & share

@hannah_bo_banna

it’s our job to persuade brands to

think beyond their products

@hannah_bo_banna

& think about their

audience

instead

@hannah_bo_banna

http://www.concerthotels.com/ipod-visualized-as-vinyl @hannah_bo_banna

http://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/microsites/googleplus-for-small-businesses/

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_bannahttp://www.twolittlefleas.co.uk/happiness-generator/

http://www.twolittlefleas.co.uk/happiness-generator/ @hannah_bo_banna

http://www.thetrainline.com/tools/festival-finder/ @hannah_bo_banna

so@hannah_bo_banna

howdo you figure out what

your audiencelove / need / want?

@hannah_bo_banna

what will blow

people’s

minds?

to succeed you’ll need to…

@hannah_bo_banna

research

your audience

@hannah_bo_banna

surveys & focus groups

@hannah_bo_banna

• What problems do they have?• What do they love? • What do they hate?• What do they share?• What sites do they read?• How do they spend time online?• What about offline?

@hannah_bo_banna

research

what sticks

@hannah_bo_banna

study what works & try to deconstruct why

@hannah_bo_banna

but don’t spend too much time on this!

@hannah_bo_banna

what works for one company may not work for

you

@hannah_bo_banna

frame your content

appropriately

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_bannahttp://www.cordless-phones.uk.com/blog/ligo/news/social-media-bad-phone.htm

there’s some stuff about being bad for your phone…

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

but there’s also some stuff about your well-being…

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

but remember there are

noguarantees

@hannah_bo_banna

it’s incredibly hard to predict what will resonate

@hannah_bo_banna

at some point, you have to

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

if you don’t launch anything

you can’t learn anything

@hannah_bo_banna

throw

shit against the wall, & analyse what sticks

@hannah_bo_banna

sometimes…

@hannah_bo_banna

you’ll

fail

@hannah_bo_banna

gut-wrenching

anguish@hannah_bo_banna

it is the

worst

@hannah_bo_banna

but failure is a

necessary

part of the process

@hannah_bo_banna

how to

live

to fight another day

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

pick your

battles@hannah_bo_banna

if there’s no appetite for content to

entertain / educate

@hannah_bo_banna

focus on content to persuade or convert first

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

recognise the pitfalls & stumbling blocks

@hannah_bo_banna

don’t just power on through

@hannah_bo_banna

you risk wasting time & effort

on something which might never be launched

@hannah_bo_banna

acknowledge & address issues

@hannah_bo_banna

be prepared to start over if you have to

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

make your content

go further

@hannah_bo_banna

make sure your content works across all

browsers & devices

@hannah_bo_banna

make sure your social share buttons

work

@hannah_bo_banna

make your headline & social share copy

‘clicky’

@hannah_bo_bannahttp://www.upworthy.com/you-will-not-believe-how-easy-it-is-to-make-something-go-viral

create images for social sharing

@hannah_bo_bannahttp://www.upworthy.com/you-will-not-believe-how-easy-it-is-to-make-something-go-viral

place retargeting pixels on all of your content

@hannah_bo_banna

test paid promotion

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

plan to

fail@hannah_bo_banna

be honest

@hannah_bo_banna

talk openly about the risks & why it’s important to try

anyway

@hannah_bo_banna

manage expectations

@hannah_bo_banna

agree what

‘success’ looks like before you launch

@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_banna

learn from

failure@hannah_bo_banna

deconstruct what did and did not work

@hannah_bo_banna

share your learning with everyone

@hannah_bo_banna

and keep

going@hannah_bo_banna

how we consume

content online

@hannah_bo_banna

has & will continue to

change@hannah_bo_banna

permission

may no longer be enough…

@hannah_bo_banna

people need to love your marketing

throw

more shit against the wall and analyse what sticks

@hannah_bo_banna

hannah.smith@distilled.net

@hannah_bo_banna

Caffeine Addict

Moz Associate

Writes on State of Digital, Medium & SEO Chicks

HANNAH SMITH

Content Strategist

Image Credits

• I don’t know what I’m doing - http://www.flickr.com/photos/melinesafaryan/7278677702/• Content Marketing Matrix - http://www.smartinsights.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/content-matrix.jpg• Blow their minds - http://imgur.com/r/wallpapers/rOMaqRf• Heartbeat - http://feelingfertile.wordpress.com/2012/01/27/maternal-low-heartbeat-link-to-miscarriage/• Useful - http://www.thatshouldbemine.com/cool-stuff/stone-age-swiss-army-knife/• And - http://www.kingston.ac.uk/news/article/681/12-oct-2012-and-now-for-a-graphic-design-students-creative-play-on-words/• Make everything better - http://coding.smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/23/50-useful-new-jquery-techniques/• Love - http://realtruelove.wordpress.com/2013/02/14/love/• Brave new world - http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/petermullen/100158080/aldous-huxleys-brave-new-world-is-upon-us/• Filter bubbles - http://whathaveweturnedinto.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/eli-pariser-beware-online-filter-bubbles/• Gmail tabs - http://blog.sendblaster.com/2013/07/29/email-marketing-the-potential-dangers-and-benefits-of-the-new-gmail-tabs/• Email - http://www.traceymeagheronline.com/is-the-gmail-promotions-tab-killing-internet-marketing/• Launch - http://www.palantir.net/blog/its-launch-time• 1 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/204714598/sizes/l/in/set-72157594159394280/• 2 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/5489483429/sizes/l/in/set-72157594159392957/• 3 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/94877877/sizes/l/in/set-72157594159391763/• 4 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/5122443605/sizes/l/in/set-72157594159390514/• 5 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/4322212584/sizes/l/in/set-72157594159389491/

@hannah_bo_banna