Examples of how content marketing has evolved from 1895 to 2014
Did you know that content marketing started in 1985 when John Deere launched 'The Furrow Magazine' and P&G were the first to sponsor a soap opera, and this is where the term 'Soap Opera' comes from?
We're sharing this video since it gives a simple introduction and interesting examples of how content marketing formats have evolved from sponsorship to video to editorial. Of course, the video is an example of a piece of content marketing too...
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As the video states: 'Content marketing is at the centre of many brand's marketing strategy with powerful visual content, as it becomes so much more personalised with the tools and technologies that marketers have today.
'Content Marketing is Engaging consumers with the stuff they really want, in a way that serves your brand's purpose and ideals, rather than just trying to jam your logo onto their periphery,'
Keith Blanchard, NYC
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How and why we should move on from "Content is King"
"Content is King"... That phrase has been used so often over the years that it has become something of a mantra and a well-worn one at that. That doesn't make it any less relevant than it was at the time or that we should lose sight of its meaning - which is that content will always, and should always, carry great significance.
In case you're wondering, Bill Gates coined the phrase 'Content is King' - it was the title of an essay he wrote back in January 1996. 'One of the exciting things about the Internet is that anyone with a PC and a modem can publish whatever content they can create,' mused the co-founder of Microsoft, over 18 years ago.
And Gates was right. As a journalist at the beginning of my career in 1996, I…
Should we give our content more personality - the most common feature of the most shareable content?
We talk about targeted and relevant content for our audience, though can we cross the line with humour and show our personal side, or does it have to be ‘corporate’? Some companies play it safe and keep it less personal where others show more personality with humour, if it aligns with their brand and tone of voice. Once we share content then we know that we can’t remove it, so is there any research to help us?
Which are the top 3 emotions we invoke in our social media content?
Over 10,000 top most shareable articles were analysed by Buzzsumo and the topic and tone matched to an emotion as shown in the chart. Interestingly, ‘the top 3 invoked emotions are awe, laughter and amusement.'
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What length of copy is most shareable across social media?
As we all put more effort into content marketing and our competitors do as well, we want to get cut-through, to maximise the chance of sharing. So, it helps to know the length of copy which maximises shares.
We like this research from CoSchedule since it isn't based on opinion, it's based on data analysing the number of shares from social media from 1 million articles, focusing on those with more than 1,000 shares in total... It showed that 'on average, longer content gets more shares’.
Source: OkDork.com
Of course, there will be exceptions to any rule-of-thumb based on a large data set, but this clearly shows that content producers who create more in-depth content will be rewarded by more shares.
Their research reinforces researchers found in the…
Examples of rich, long-form, long-haul, brand-led content that don’t add to the noise
Let’s face it, success in marketing generally is difficult. In digital channels we can only see this getting harder and harder. In fact research this week by EMC showed evidence that there’ll be 32 Billion connected devices on the Internet by 2020. How brands get cut-through in the volume of traffic and data on that scale is therefore huge. Of course, with all the potential, it also reveals vast opportunity for those that can get it right.
What works in this emerging reality? There’s no "one size fits all answer", and yet rich, visual and long-form content marketing - complimenting real-time, social media and micro content - uses much higher levels of consideration and quality, it’s already demonstrating where brands can steal a march on their noisier, less considered competitors. We’ve seen long form content work wonders…
A 4 Step guide to maximising your own resources for your content strategy
When it comes to building a strong digital campaign, many businesses underestimate the value of the information and resources they already have – particularly if they are specialists such as negligence lawyers and recruiters who have a wealth of statistics at their fingertips.
The key to creating engaging content is to assess how you can transform the information you already have into a resource that portrays user-friendly and valuable facts about your industry. This will automatically increase the chance of someone who requires your services finding your business organically online.
4 ways to create shareable and unique content using your own resources
1. Define your end goal?
As with all marketing strategies, identify your goal before devising a plan to achieve it. This will give you the information required to assess the customer you are looking to attract and the type of…
Examples and research showing why content marketing is now key for driving Ecommerce customer journeys
Ecommerce is constantly evolving alongside the development of new digital media and technologies, yet one aspect has not changed. That is, the importance of search intent in the buyer journey. Consumers continue to use search to find, research and buy the products that they want.
However, though this basic fact may not be changing, the way search works is. Search algorithms and in particular those by Google are regularly updated to focus more on quality and relevance of content. So now ecommerce businesses have to think differently about content's position in the buyer journey.
Long gone are the days of keyword density, link farms and ghost pages. Want your products to rank well for search? You need quality content.
The intersection of content marketing and ecommerce
How are ecommerce businesses using content marketing? New research from Econsultancy…
3 techniques to weave content marketing into your storytelling
In 1791 a Dublin theatre owner named Thomas Daly bet his friends that he could invent a word that didn’t mean anything in 24 hours. Thinking he was crazy, the friends took the bet. Thomas chose the word “quiz” which hadn’t ever been seen before, and he plastered the word all over walls and billboards in the city of Dublin.
24 hours later, the theatre audience was speaking of and using the word “quiz” in conversation, and Mr. Daly won a large sum of money from his counterparts.
There is a strong chance you’ll never forget this story. The next time the word “quiz” is brought up in conversation you’ll think of Thomas Daly. That’s the power of stories.
Stories have been around since the beginning of time and continue to enthrall us.
There’s something visceral about the plot, drama, and heroism in stories that we…
7 Steps for completing a blog or website Content Audit
It’s easy to forget about your website’s old content, especially if it’s getting buried under your newer posts and pages. These stagnant pieces of content might be the reason your website isn’t ranking very well on SERPs, or could even be driving away potential customers when they stumble upon them while browsing.
Conducting a content audit is the best way to optimize all your current and future content to serve your audience better.
Why should you audit?
As Google’s own Matt Cutts says, it’s important to review your content to prevent it from 'going stale'. Conducting a blog or website content audit can take a lot of work, but if you’re serious about improving your website’s traffic, conversions, and user experience, it’s something you cannot and should not avoid.We found that many of their clients thought their on-page…
How the Met Office plans and evaluates its content marketing
The weather is always a talking point in our daily lives, especially since many have experienced floods and extreme weather recently. Events like this attract even more visitors to the Met Office website - the site has anywhere from 6 million to more than 24 million unique users per week, depending on external influences such as severe weather conditions and even astronomical events. As we will see, other types of events can also generate interest in the weather.
Digital marketing at the Met Office
In 2009, a dedicated digital team was introduced to manage the organization’s online portfolio, Simon Swan, is head of digital marketing at the Metoffice. You may also recognise Simon's name as a Smart Insights Expert commentator on digital and content marketing strategy. A key part of the digital strategy for the Metoffice today is to use content to give site visitors an enhanced…
