Marketing has evolved so fast in the digital era that many major brands and agencies are finding it very hard to keep up. The quote above by Seth Godin was said over 6 years ago! Think about that for a second. In 2009 he declared the demise of traditional advertising. But it was true then, and it’s even truer now.
I believe we can take Godin’s statement and go a bit further. I believe that we can remove the term “content marketing” from our business vocabulary. Today, it’s simply what marketing is. Brands, businesses, and agencies that don’t understand this are finding themselves to be the rotary dial phone on the big maple desk. They’re analogs, in an overwhelmingly digital world.
The old push style approach only works because they throw so much money at it to force feed us pablum. And when I say “it works”…we’re talking measuring success by basically trumping up fractions. Many agencies haven’t grasped the concept of actually giving people what they want. And they’re suffering.
But fortunately, the dinosaurs are being set out to pasture and a lot of brands and businesses are waking up. Even Hollywood is beginning to get it. In a speech to broadcast execs, Kevin Spacey underscored the need for creating content that resonates.
“The audience wants control. They want freedom. We have learned the lesson that the music industry didn’t learn — give people what they want, when they want it, in the form they want it in, at a reasonable price, and they’ll more likely pay for it rather than steal it”.
So let’s roll up our sleeves and let me show you a really simple content creation technique. Actually, I just showed it to you! Did you catch what I did? Don’t worry, let me explain.
I’ve been advising a few clients and agencies on how to create content. Inevitably, I keep getting asked how to find a subject and how to get it done without having to hire a staff of writers.
Unfortunately, for many businesses and brands, what makes for good content is that which they resist in investing in. Quality content creators. That’s because there’s no “easy” way to create stellar content if you’re not committed to actually doing it.
Good content is that content that gives your audience what it wants, how it wants it and when it wants it. Once you’ve learned the answer to that personal algorithm, creating content that works can indeed be quite easy. Quick caveat…a commercial isn’t content!
But I do have some good news. I’m going to show you how you can jump in and begin building your content empire in a very low-barrier to entry way that ANYONE can execute. If you do this correctly, it should take you less than 20 minutes from start to finish.
Personally, I love the way that FTW creates their stories. ( your focus should be on the word “story”)
Their methodology is quite simple and easy to follow. There’s really no excuse that a brand or business can’t create relevant and timely content.
Here’s a really simple example of a content method that I use that I call the “Video Exploit“. I either have my virtual assistant do it, or I do it myself since it’s so fast and easy.
1. Find a video that your audience will be interested in. That video can be anywhere.
2. Use Download Helper on Firefox and download the video
3. Edit the cut you’d like to use and upload the video to your own YouTube channel (no, I’m not stealing, I’m transforming…think newsclip)
4. Keep the video “unlisted” on your YouTube channel (in this regard you’re not interested in video views for your YouTube channel…you’re interested in getting people to YOUR story)
5. Write a few words (under 300) about the video giving your opinion.
6. Frame the words around the video
7. Post and promote.
8. Open the post with a large, relevant image.
Now do you see what I did above? Yup, I showed you specifically how to execute the blueprint…and if you’re still reading this article, then you are your own focus group. It actually works!
Here’s A Quick Example Post of the Video Exploit In Action
Let’s assume for a second that you work for a company that seeks to publish content to businesses and prospective clients to offer social marketing services, this might be something you could post:
Will Your Company Survive The Social Era
Jonathan Mildenhall, the former VP of Global Advertising Strategy and Content at Coca-Cola and now the Chief Marketing Officer at AirBNB says that companies that don’t embrace risk are at a real disadvantage in the social economy.
I agree! I believe that failure enhances success. In order for a company to truly move forward and progress beyond last year’s results…in order for a company to enjoy deserved growth, you have to promote disruption.
[Tweet “The status quo will not be enough to sustain your business in the digital era.”]
Not counting my instructional “preamble” of sorts, the entire example post above is 100 words! So…please…no more excuses about not having enough time to produce interesting content.
Just find videos that appeal to the audience that you want to reach and you’re golden. Before you discount it…actually try it. And if you’re wondering why you just wouldn’t share the video on Facebook or Twitter without posting it on your own site, then you really are missing the the entire concept of content marketing.
I’ll leave SEO, distribution, and promotion for future posts. If you’d like to subscribe to make sure you don’t miss the subsequent installments, please subscribe here.
