Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

As Mark pointed out recently in Content marketing and the challenge of radical filtering, we are turning to increasingly personalized search results and artificial intelligence solutions to get only what we want without ever exposing us to the masses of content that is available.

Like search did 15 to 20 years ago, radical filters will fundamentally change how we find or discover information. If you are a content marketer today, how will this change your world?

Here are six ways you may respond. Some are familiar, but almost no one today is taking the familiar approaches far enough for the future Mark outlined. Others are new areas of opportunity content marketers are not focused on today....

Using storytelling to sell a product, brand or service isn’t in any way a new concept. The developing technology around us however, has given us new ways in which to engage and interact with our audience. Content marketing has become increasingly important as brands realize that in order to speak to their customers they need to invest in content that matters. The more brands have begun to focus on quality content, the more it becomes clear that storytelling is a key component to the content marketing process.

You wouldn’t (willingly) sit through a terrible film, or keep reading a book that you thought had a terrible plot, so why should people read your content if it doesn’t have a good story behind it?...

Discover how your company can easily integrate characters and stories consumers want to share into your content, as well as examples of brands getting it right. The best marketing transcends corporate messaging, and becomes stories about people and characters which beg to be shared.

Aflac’s duck has been telling their company’s story for around 13 years now, and has increased their company’s recognition from 13% to 90% of consumers along the way. While content and social media best practices may change, few marketing tactics have more staying power than brand storytelling.

Storytelling isn’t just for brands who can claim over a century of history, like General Electric, or IBM. It’s for any company with the savvy to create a consistent customer experience online. As Debbie Williams of SPROUT Content puts it, your story is made up of “all that you are, and all that you do.” Brand storytelling isn’t about creating the perfect hero on your first try, it’s about finding ways to integrate your company’s history, goals, values, and audience into every component of your content marketing strategy....

You can have the most useful information in the world for your target market but if you don’t package it so your audience can understand, it’s useless. You literally have seconds to win your audience’s attention or they’re onto the next thing.

How do you make your content stand out and grab your audience’s attention? Tell a good story. It provides an emotional connection and context that draws your audience in and makes them remember it....

We talk a lot about the importance of storytelling when it comes to your small business or nonprofit blog or website, and even how you use social media. We’ve moved away from merely spitting out messages, particularly hard sales or marketing messages, and are now emphasizing the need to tell your story.

Your story as a brand, your story as an owner or manager, and the stories of your employees, customers, and clients. Telling your story isn’t just a matter of having something to talk about. There are actually a number of reasons why it makes good sense, and why you should take the time to rethink your online strategy, and begin telling your story...