Hello, hello! It’s the best day of the week; that’s right, it’s Friday Fix Day! Today we look at telling your brand story on social media, yesterday’s launch of Facebook Canvas, thoughts on good storytelling, the importance of using a data-driven approach in marketing, and what five content marketing conferences you absolutely should attend this year among other fantastic things related to content marketing. So, if you’re ready to get fixed, dial 1-800-Fix-A-Lot and kick those content thoughts (into high gear, am I right?).
Thought Leadership: What Makes a Good Story?
We (writers and storytellers) spend a lot of time waxing on what makes a good story…probably so much that you wonder why we still talk about it (after all, we have at least one article per week on best-storytelling practices). Well, the thing is, there’s always something new to learn and new ways to analyze storytelling. In fact, I just read something on the rule of threes that helped me think of things in a totally new way. Hence, this is why Cheryl Connor’s article is so valuable. The focus of her article is on story and why how it’s told is actually more important than what it’s about. It’s a great read for any writer interested in improving their craft.
How to Tell Your Brand Story on Social Media
futurpreneur.ca
Think of a brand; what comes to mind? An image, right? Well, according to Alex Frias, there are a few important dos for telling your brand story on social media and the first among those is to have images that relate to your brand. In addition to encouraging you to empower the community to tell your story through their eyes (yes!), Alex also advises against using hashtags for the take of hashtagging (yes! Yes! A thousand times, yes! I’ll have what she’s having, yes!). Obviously, I’m not a fan of frivolous hashtagging or using a hundred handtags just because you can. I digress…check out the article for the other two tips on telling your brand story on social media.
Should Marketing Leaders Outsource Their Digital Content Strategies?
As one who has worked on both sides of the agency fence, Daniel Ruyter holds an unbiased opinion as he evaluates whether or not it’s best to outsource digital content strategies. Daniel starts by discussing some of the observations he made as a digital creator and then as a client. Focusing on strategy, Daniel outlines the key takeaways from his experiences and why a blended, diverse team is essential for success.
What the Content Marketing Team of the Future Looks Like
skyword.com
I only have one question regarding this topic for pundit Kyle Harper and that is: are future content marketing teams prettier than we are? I’m kidding…more importantly, are they better storytellers? Actually, hopefully they (we) will be better storytellers as we evolve as adaptive content teams. According to Kyle, the future’s adaptive teams will be brand investors; they’ll be comprised of managers and editors; and they’ll use external networks to grow their teams. Though these teams will probably change shape, the essence of storytelling for audience connectivity remains –as always—at the heart of things. That said, what does your team look like, and is it adaptive or heading in that direction?
Smart Content Marketing from the Next Big Brands
I love breaking down successful content marketing stories and strategies to figure out what companies are doing right (and then seeing how those approaches can be applied). In this article, Meg Cannistra explores five smaller companies that are using content marketing to make big splashes. Meg highlights Lyft, Net-a-Porter, Dollar Shave Club, BirchBox, and Casper with the takeaway that smart storytelling and audience-centric content marketing isn’t exclusive to the GEs of the world.
Content Marketing Cookbook: 5 Easy Recipes for Quick Content
bostinno.streetwise.co
I know what you’re thinking…can’t we just do take-out? Hah. Wouldn’t that be nice…to just call someone and order an already-made perfect content marketing strategy? Well, sorry to say you can’t just call and order a pre-made approach, but Kyle S. Gibson’s easy, customizable recipes are kind of the next-best-thing. He gives you the recipes for a statistics roundup, relevant quotes, tool introduction, the checklist, and the analogy. Delicious. Are you as hungry for good content as I am?
Facebook Officially Launches Canvas Ads that Load Full-Screen Rich Media Pages In-App
New tech alert! With the launch of Canvas ads, users get rich full-screen ads that don’t take them off of the social media site’s network page (so, no more waiting for mobile websites to load). Josh Contine breaks down where Facebook started with Canvas last year and where it is now; interactive elements including animations, tilt-to-view-images, videos, and more are allowed with Facebook Canvas. At no additional cost, this vehicle for storytelling through ads vehicle is worth checking out.
Data: The Heart of Content Marketing in 2016
It’s been a while since we’ve talked about data-driven storytelling. In this article, Juliette Otterburn-Hall focuses on data as not only a way to avoid being buried in the crush of content that’s “out there” but also as a way to reach the audiences you most wish to engage with. Specifically, Juliette looks at data on social media content and how using data-driven insight can be a predictor of success; she cites Coca-Cola’s YouTube Christmas video as a negative example of why you definitely want trial content before airing it.
How the Cloud Can Improve Content Marketing
Later in the Fix, we talk about five content conferences you definitely want to try to attend this year, but obviously, money is an object. While Sarah Patrick and we are sure you’ve heard of Cloud storage solutions, you may not have related those to how they can help you produce better content (or save money…you know, money that can be used for traveling and honing your storytelling skills). So, check out Sarah’s piece to see how Clouds can improve your content marketing.
5 Marketing Conferences Content Creators Should Attend in 2016
skyword.com
We know that budgets are skimpy enough without scrapping up the cash to attend content marketing conferences on top of everything else; however, there are a few conferences out there that are worth scrapping for. According to Emma Siemasko Conversion XL Live, Content Rising Summit, Content Marketing World, MozCon, and INBOUND are the five you should absolutely make it a point to attend this year. Click the link to see why (and to get ideas on ways you can convince the finance department to fund the trip).
Leap Year 2016: 5 Reasons Your Business Should Leap into Video Marketing
In case you haven’t yet realized, this year is a Leap Year...a bizarre occurrence in which once every four years, February has an extra day. Even weirder is that it’s called “Leap Year”, but hey, rather than analyzing it, we’re jumping on it (pun intended) and suggesting that you do, too. Make this year the year you “leap” into video marketing. Look, we understand why you might be hesitant (for example, maybe you don’t know a thing about making a video), but that’s why we’re here. Let us start by showing you give ways in which you absolutely should throw caution to the wind and “leap” into video making (the payoff is beyond with it).
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.
Connect with Amy: LinkedIn
