content marketing ideas: beware of imposters

content marketing ideas: beware of imposters

by mark johnstone

we make content to gain attention online

for example…

the vocal ranges of the world’s greatest singers

http://www.concerthotels.com/worlds-greatest-vocal-ranges

111,240 likes 5,079 tweets 772 links 2.2m visits

how quickly tech companies make money

21,498 likes 5,902 tweets 597 links 162,831 visits

https://www.worldpayzinc.com/tech-wealth/

the history of the fortune 500: the rise and fall of the world’s greatest companies


actually, that’s not true. we didn’t make this idea.

we did pitch it, we did gather the data, and we did visualise it. but then we got stuck.

we ended up staring at graphs like this...

and tables like this... for days!

we thought we might show the change in the industrial landscape over time

http://fathom.info/fortune500 : we used this tool to explore the data

but GE has been around the top of the Fortune 500 since the beginning

and so has Ford

HP has risen slowly over time

and Apple has had a rollercoaster ride

but ultimately, what does this really show?

this idea is an imposter!


imposter!

imposter!

it seemed like a good idea, but it wasn’t. we weren’t clear about what we wanted to show.


imposter!

imposter!

2 things to learn from this…

1. don’t be fooled by a clever-sounding headline

what’s the one thing this shows?

visualising the careers of the world’s famous authors

http://itsallaboutthebooks.uk/infographics/what-age-did-the-greatest-authors-publish-their-most-famous-works/

we had to decide upon the ‘one thing’ to show

we thought about showing how many books each author wrote per year

but we focused on the age they each published their breakthrough book

this turned out to be a good call. more on that shortly...

when focusing on the ‘one thing’ you’re going to show, you don’t necessarily need to show them something new

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

you can simply show them something in a new light

the fact that ipods hold a lot of songs is not news, but we made it more concrete, and allowed people to wrap their

heads round it – to literally get a ‘sense’ of it

sharks kill 12 humans per year humans kill 11,417 sharks per hour

sharks kill 12 humans per year humans kill 11,417 sharks per hour

this is a powerful stat, but even more powerful when you can see it

http://ripetungi.com/shark-attack/

http://www.infowetrust.com/creative-routines/ http://nymag.com/health/bestdoctors/2014/genius-sleeping-habits-2014-6/

these 2 infographics show the creative routines of famous people, but they don’t make the routines that easy to see.

we saw an opportunity to do more...


we weren‘t first to this idea. we weren’t even second.

but we were still more successful, just by allowing people to see things more clearly

https://podio.com/site/creative-routines

why will anyone care?

the second question you need to ask

why would anyone care when authors had their breakthrough book?

a lot of people who love reading, secretly harbour the desire to write a book one day

and this piece told them it’s not too late!

we visualised all the previous six nations rugby matches

http://www.thomson.co.uk/blog/infographic/rugby/index.html

31 likes 59 tweets 9 links

very few people cared!

31 likes 59 tweets 9 links

why? when it comes to this year’s tournament,

very few people care what happened last year


imposter!

imposter!

imposter!

imposter!

remember our imposter idea?

we said there were things to learn from this…

1. don’t be fooled by a clever-sounding headline

2. topic + format ≠ idea

we said there were things to learn from this…

infographics surveys guides

the history of…

visualisations

these are all formats. they’re not ideas


the history of…

visualisations

this is probably the most dangerous one, because it sounds like you automatically have a story


the history of…

visualisations

simply putting things in chronological order will give you a story, but not necessarily an insightful one


the history of…

visualisations

showing ‘the history of’ could contain a good idea, but you haven’t done the hard work yet…


the history of…

visualisations

let’s look at a few examples of ‘the history of’ – the good and the bad…

http://www.concerthotels.com/100-years-of-rock/


the ‘one thing’ this shows is the lines of influence –

which genres gave birth to which genres


not only can you see the lines of influence –

you can hear them too (by clicking each genre to hear a sample)

now let’s take a look at the other extreme…

let’s recap…


don’t be fooled by a clever-sounding headline

topic + format ≠ idea

ask yourself the hard questions

what’s the one thing this shows?

why will anyone care?

if you can answer these 2 questions succinctly, you’re more likely to have a clear and compelling idea

this will give you a better chance

of gaining attention online

thank you

@epicgraphic

content marketing ideas: beware of imposters

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