Is it just us or does it always feel better to wake up on a Friday morning versus a Monday? It’s the last day before the weekend, and right now, the summer sun is still shining strong and those beach days are still extra long. Oh, and of course Friday around here is Friday Fix day; the Friday Fix is our weekly run-down of all things content marketing. This week, others and we focus on the importance of visuals and visual storytelling in content marketing, from why you need visuals to Instagram tips to public art. We also explore the state of virtual reality among other things. So, go ahead and grab an iced latte, kick back, and get Fixed.
The Greatest Brand Story a Company Can Tell: An interview with Coldwell Banker’s Victoria Keichinger
When a brand’s blog views rise 60% in a year and when organic search views are up 44%, heads start to turn, and invariably, the question is asked, “How’d you do it? What’s your secret?” Thus Jon Simmons touched base with Coldwell Banker’s manager of brand engagement, Victoria Keichinger, to get insight on this powerful uptick. The recipe for success? Much involves having some guidelines for permissible content while other policies involve letting the real estate franchise’s bloggers write in their own voices and styles. This means a mix of long-form content, videos, listicles, and more, which really works for helping Coldwell Banker tell their story.
11 Top Hacks to Finding Fame on Instagram
outboundengine.com
So, we respectively realize that there’s no such thing as trickery that will take you to the top of people’s lists and that will keep you there…you still have to have an authentic story for that, but there are some tips and tricks that help folks find the good stuff sooner. In this piece, Larry Kim zeroes in on how to accelerate the process from cross-promoting your hashtag to adding descriptions to your Instagram posts (a la National Geographic) to having your own style to maintaining control over tagged photos and more.
10 Reasons Your Instagram Marketing Campaign Isn’t Working
Even if you’re employing the above-listed hacks, it’s not a guarantee that your Instagram strategy is going to blast into the stratosphere. Why? Because it’s just not that easy. Enter SEO and online marketing de-mystifier, Jayson DeMers who explains ten reasons most Instagram marketing campaigns fall flat. His reasons include poor timing, lousy photography, inconsistency, improper hashtagging, and more.
How Public Art Can Help Initiate Difficult but Important Societal Conversations
There are many strategies for visual storytelling; in this piece, Nicola Brown explores how The Brain Project in Toronto is being used to spread awareness in an effort to support brain health. The city-wide installation features 100 sculptures scattered in over 50 locations throughout the city such as malls, railway hubs, historical sites, office buildings and other public sites. The goal is to create a dialogue in a natural and creative way. The project uses the hashtag #NoBlankBrains; the results speak for themselves.
Virtual Reality to Change Marketing
mediasourcetv.com
Virtual reality has been garnering attention for about a year now, and while there were many predictions about when it would shake things up, there were equally as many that implied VR wasn’t ready; however, in this piece by Rich Ord, it is suggested that easy and affordable VR tools like Google Cardboard will enable viewers to consume YouTube content as VR content. The belief is that VR will take storytelling to its next level and will be a real power tool for marketers, which has been a consistent message in terms of the future of VR marketing.
How Virtual and Augmented Reality Transform the Brand Story
In case you’re still skeptical about the potential of virtual reality, let Dave Sutton convince you with two of the most popular words in the world: Pokémon Go. Unless you’ve been living in a tunnel for the past two weeks, you’re aware that Pokémon Go has literally transformed people into Pokémon-hunting zombies. While it’s unlikely every pending virtual or augmented reality phenomenon (or story) will have the same impact, it’s safe to say that the future is likely to be virtual.
A CMO’s View: How Dollar Shave Club Built Its Brand on Video Marketing
Hopefully by now, everyone is familiar with Dollar Shave Club for their irreverent and comical approach to content marketing. Everyone might even know what their products are. In this piece, Amy Gesenhues interviews DSC’s first marketing employee, Adam Weber, who is now the brand’s CMO. Per Weber, the brand’s focus has consistently been finding stories to tell as well as the right distribution platforms. Video storytelling is the brand’s strategy along with using a “distinct tone and style.”
Video Marketing – Misunderstood and Under-Utilized by B2B Companies
1v1net.com
Fun fact: did you know that watching videos is the most popular online activity? Who knew, right? Well, apparently B2B marketers don’t, or at the very least, they don’t see how video storytelling can work to their advantage, which his why Barb Mosher Zinck penned (or should we say clicked since she no doubt typed the piece?) this article on how video storytelling can yield results for B2B companies.
The Undiscovered Virtues of Data Storytelling
For those who don’t know, data storytelling involves using data as the foundation for narrative content. Most probably think that sounds painfully boring…incorporating data into story; however, as Nitin Srivastava and other pundits point out, data storytelling can be interesting, exciting, and memorable for the audience. By presenting the data in an interesting format and using it to set the stage for a simple yet powerful story, your data might just be the best weapon in your storytelling arsenal.
Unlocking Content Strategy to Drive Superior Customer Experience
This article is great for anyone getting started in content marketing or who’s still on the fence as to whether or not a content strategy can be effective. In this piece, Sandra McDowell reviews five steps to developing a strong content strategy along with tips for how best to execute each step. She advises that you: begin with your story, know who your audience is, plan content, organize people and process, and engage your leaders.
The Importance of Incorporating Visuals into Your Content Marketing Strategy
thestorytelleragency.com
We all know that one has mere seconds (if that) to capture an audience’s attention and to keep it. You might have the best blog or brand story or social media content on the planet, but without visuals, you’re not casting a wide enough net to reel in the proverbial fish. Visuals are an essential part of your content marketing strategy. In addition to hooking your audience, they can tell their own stories, add depth to your written content, transform your social media presence, and help define your brand.
You want to tell your story, but sometimes it’s easier said than done. Contact us at The Storyteller Agency and let our team of dedicated professionals help you develop a content strategy that will make a difference for your business.