What’s fun, fabulous, and totally fixed? Fridays around here at The Storyteller Agency, that’s what. It’s a particularly happy Friday because it’s the Friday before daylight savings time. Hooray for extra sunshine and for that “Turn Back Time” Cher meme that’s been circulating the Facebook (yeah, I said “the Facebook”, which signifies that I’m over 30, that I have kids, and that I’m therefore on a spiraling trajectory to being patently uncool in 10 years). I digress, speaking of Facebook, this week’s Friday Fix delves into how Facebook marketing videos are tuning out TV as well as why you should hire journalists to handle your content, how to tell your unique story, and much, much more. So, keeping in mind that you’re about to have an hour to spare, check in…it’s Friday Fix time!
How to Tell Your Unique Story
Bryan Kramer starts this article with a Phillip Pullman quite that essentially puts stories on the same survivorship scale as food, shelter, and companionship to which we say, “Preach.” Stories are a critical part of our hardwiring and are actually critical in advancing us as a society (um, awesome?). I guess what’s being said here is that stories are critical to you and your evolution as a brand. The great thing is, we all have a story to tell (true story), and while tapping into your unique yarn can pose a bigger challenge for some than others, Bryan delivers on some well-spotted how-tos of storytelling.
Six Good Reasons to Hire Journalists to Create Your Content
verticalmeasures.com
We’ve all heard from at least one good buddy that journalists are the cream of the crop when it comes to delivering killer content, but the question is why? Other than the fact that they’ll seriously work for next to nothing (I’m kidding…pay your journalists well, and they’ll deliver the goods), Jeff Hinkle has six very good reasons for hiring journalists, a list that includes journalists’ skills in instant engagement and their unique ability to think like your audience. Check out the rest of Jeff’s article for more on why journalists are A-list talent at writing content.
Media Column: How The New York Times Has Turned ‘Paid For’ Content into a Lucrative Art
You may read “paid for content” in the title of Ian Burrell’s article and think “advertising”, but what we’re actually looking at is evolutionary content. The article looks at Orange is the New Black and T Brand Studio’s role in creating content that somehow rides the fence between native advertising and editorial content. Other examples and how they’ve managed to transform the nature of paid for content are discussed in the article, and the takeaways (and the potential) are nothing shy of fascinating.
How Facebook Marketing Videos are Tuning out TV
skyword.com
John Montesi proposes a pretty wild prospect (at least for those of us in the 30-and-up crowd), which is that Facebook may usurp both YouTube and TV as the place for video. The reasons (Facebook algorithms and volume of users) are seemingly simple; however, there’s more to it than that, which John covers in this piece.
Content Marketing is Simply Storytelling for the Digital Age, Right?
Andy Williams kicks into this article with the super-salient observation, which is that we consume media via technology. He reveals that 54% of us prefer web surfing over book reading (ouch) and that half of us check the phones at least 50 times a day (I’m pretty sure I’m guilty on this charge). His point isn’t to shame us into picking up a paperback; he’s just making a compelling argument toward audience-centric digital storytelling (I skipped the details on how he makes that leap, so you’ll be more compelled to get online and read Andy’s story.).
How MeUndies Gets People to Buy Products through its Snapchat Account
If you’re a regular Fix reader, then you’ve seen our coverage on the prevalence of Snapchat (numbers don’t lie) as an innovative force in terms of social content. What this article by Tim Peterson fixates on is how one brand (MeUndies) has used Snapchat not only to flash its underpants (relax, that’s one of their products) but also to sell regular casual wear. It’s a strategy so simple, you won’t be able to believe it’s not butter. Wait…wrong product, but you get the idea.
Your 6-Point Spring Cleaning Content Marketing Checklist
marketingland.com
I’ll be the first to admit that my desk looks like a landfill 99% of the year –not with trash, just clutter, but I’ll also be the first to admit that I love a good spring cleaning. There’s nothing like a little tidying…a little refresh to get the wheels running smoothly. In this piece, Quinn Whissen proposes doing just that but with your content strategy.
5 Smart Ways to Find Content Marketing Ideas
The title of Aki Merced’s piece struck my funny bone because I’d like to see the companion article: “5 Idiotic Ways to Find Content Marketing Ideas” because is there such a thing, and if so, are we falling victim to those follies? I digress. We are all –at times—absolutely uninspired, so where do we turn for inspiration? In this article, Aki highlights five areas, which includes social media, Google News, social listening, and others.
Content Marketing: Downtime is Golden Time
If you could literally hit a homerun by being on-point, then Kenneth Hein nailed it in this article in which he describes the precise timing in which B2B execs actually sit down and read stuff; it’s during their downtime. It’s those precarious moments when they’re most vulnerable…not on the hunt (i.e., just after the wake up or are at the airport on a layover, or (dare I say it) hiding in the bathroom for five minutes of chill time). So, how do you reach these folks in the handful of minutes where you actually have a shot? Read Kenneth’s article to find out.
4 Essentials to Wring Results from Your Content Marketing Budget
entrepreneur.com
Recent reports have indicated that there’s more revenue going toward content marketing budgets now than ever because duh. But, all of that aside, let John Rampton highlight what you absolutely should be getting from those hard-spent content marketing dollars (for example, budget by customer journey versus channel and allocate by channel). John details the specifics in the piece as well as two other essentials to wring.
Amy Delcambre is a freelance content and travel writer from Mobile, Alabama with a Master's in Creative Writing. When she's not painting the page with nouns, verbs, and adverbs, she's slaying grammar beasts as a freelance editor and saving the world one sentence fragment at a time teaching university writing classes. In her free time, Amy enjoys cooking, traveling, and testing which plant species best survive prolonged neglect.
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