sowal.com
Greetings and welcome to the Friday Fix! Are you like me and spent the entire week confused about what day it was because Monday was Labor Day holiday? Oh…just me? That’s okay. Well, at least I figured out that it’s Friday, right? (How else would you get your Fix…I mean before happy hour? (wink)) This week, we have highlights from Content Marketing World 2015 (#CMWorld), insight on visual marketing, and some really great advice on visual storytelling. All in all, it’s been a pretty darn good week. So, kick back, relax, and Fix your Friday!
Content Marketing Field of Dreams
In case you missed out on Content Marketing World, pundits are already posting with some of the highlights. In Jason Stewart’s article, he relates how the story behind Field of Dreams relates to content marketing (which is perfect considering Content Marketing World’s 2015 theme is Bright Lights, Big Content). Drawing on the famous phrase, “If you build it, they will come”, Jason goes into further detail on that idea because as he says you have to do more than build it to make them come (but if you don’t build it, they’re definitely not coming). (‘They’ in this case are audiences.)
Visual is a Critical Piece of Storytelling
clepop.com
In case the CMW 2015 theme wasn’t a big enough cue (Bright Lights, Big Content) or the volume of posts we’ve shared in the past few fixes on visuals didn’t convince you, then check out Jack Loechner’s read seal the deal; visuals tell stories and are of tremendous importance in any successful content marketing strategy these days. Importantly, as Jack’s statistic-laden article points out, it’s not just any visual that takes the cake; it’s photography and video (especially video) that are going to increase and that need to be part of how you tell stories.
Video Marketing is King: Oops, I Meant Content!
Here’s a fun fact from Diane Primo’s article that gives me instant arthritis: “Video is worth 1.8 million words per minute of text.” Holy clicking keyboards, Batman, that’s a lot of words; I can’t imagine jamming out 1.8 millions words let alone for the sake of covering the space of a minute. Not only does video cover a lot more territory in less time, it also promotes engagement. The power of its outreach and ability to relate stories are impossible to ignore.
The Importance of Visuals in Social Media; #SMBuzzChat Community Talks How to Create Perfect Narrative Content
Remember when you were in school and you had a really important question, but you kind of didn’t want to ask it because you were concerned it was a boneheaded question? Well, I was one of those shy kids, and if no one else asked my question, I was up a creek because there was no Internet to speak of then. Anyway, Adam Mitchell hones in on some important Q&A relative to visuals and other social content questions like: “Does a narrative matter within social content?”, and “Which social networks lend themselves best to brand storytelling?”
For Social, Be Subtle: How Emotional Storytelling Inspires Customer Loyalty
I agree with Taylor Mallory Holland; the things I best remember and feel most connected to are the things that seem to “get me” or that I relate to. Off the top of my head, I think of those Luvs diaper commercials where the mom compulsively sterilizes everything with first baby and then passes off second baby to a grease-covered mechanic. It’s hilarious, and it’s so true. It’s not the most heart-wrenching story out there, but it’s subtle and relatable. It’s not about the diaper; it’s about the story. The message of “we ‘get’ you” is only one of Taylor’s five subtle marketing messages highlighted in this article; check it out and learn how to make friends with emotional storytelling.
The Vans Life and Why Content Creation Deserves to be Cool
I feel this article ties in well with Taylor Mallory Holland. In this case, Braden Becker tells the true story of how to tell a real story in content creation. His three key tips? Grow with the audience; forget the product; and write with knowledge. In other words, you’re not just writing about something the way you think a user would want to read about it (in this case, some snazzy Vans); you’re writing about it from the passionate POV of a user. There’s a little more to it in Braden’s article, which is a definitely must-read for all storytellers.
huffingtonpost.com
The 5 Cs of Digital Marketing
Sorry, Cookie Monster, but none of the Cs in Vala Afshar’s article are for cookie; instead, the five 5 Cs of content marketing focus on convergence instead of consumption (or at least, it’s a different kind of consumption). The 5 Cs are: consumer, context, content, commerce, and convergence. The idea is that if you focus on these 5 Cs of digital marketing, success (regardless of industry will thus follow). Vala explains the formula with details and with colorful diagrams, as well as how each C works together for your benefit and to keep you relevant.
Most People Think Native Ads are Real Articles – and They Later Feel Duped: Study
Log Brendan James’ piece under “the more you know” because this is important information. So, native advertising is cheesing a lot of people off “despite the headlines” as Brendan points out. Also, he says that native ads don’t even prove to be that effective. I can understand. It reminds me of when people on my Facebook page angrily share an article on my Facebook page about Obama using $10 billion in taxpayer dollars to take a luxury vacation on Mars (and then other people like it and chime in). Everyone feels like a real a-hat when they realize it’s fake (in case the “luxury resort on Mars” part wasn’t a key tip off). So, what’s to be done? The thing is, I’ve polled my Millennial college students and like the majority of respondents to a poll in this article, they don’t trust sponsored media. So, what to do? Read this Brendan’s piece to see what he has to say.
5 Ways to Take Risks in Content Marketing
smallbiztrends.com
As important as planning is in content marketing, it’s equally important to take risks. Risks are not only fun (who doesn’t love a little adrenaline rush), but their payoff can be stellar. You won’t always take your content marketing on a meteoric journey to success with risks, but at least you tried; more importantly, you learned something (I hope). So, take it from one of my favorite content marketing writers, Jayson DeMers, and see how he suggests to roll the dice and when to go all in.
15 Things to Know about Content Marketing World 2015 in Cleveland (photos)
Okay, so I didn’t know John Cleese was going to be at CMW 2015. I’m immediately more jealous of whoever got to hear him speak; he’s not only British, he’s brilliant. Anyway, I digress. Janet H. Cho’s article brings you all of the stats and details and what-the-what from #CMWorld 2015. As a bonus, you learn what Joe Pulizzi’s favorite color is (try to guess before you read the article!).
7 Tips on Executing a Successful Marketing Campaign
Like a Monday morning without coffee, the cold hard reality of pioneering a content marketing campaign is that it takes work, persistence, and effort. After all, if it were easy, wouldn’t everyone be knocking their content marketing out of the park? Think of this post of tips on executing a successful content marketing campaign as that cup of coffee that gets you going in the right direction. Here, we highlight critical components of a content marketing campaign that’s going to go places.
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