Had a wonderful conversation with students from Ringling College of Art & Design. What is, and what isn't, content, tips on strategy and creation, and how social media marketing works (and how it doesn't).

1. Content Marketing:
Strategy & Creation

2. …or…
“Why I Get Paid to Daydream
and Tell Stories.”

3. who am i? glad you asked.

4. have many interests; never stop learning.

5. So, what is content?

6. Content is …
the information people need,
the stories they desire,
and the mindless distractions
they can’t resist.

8. What isn’t content?

9. This isn’t content. It’s an ad.
1. Is it information I need?
Nope.
2. Is it a story I desire?
Nope.
3. Is it an irresistible distraction?
IfTwitter or Blue Nile think I’m easily distracted by
“shiny,” then (A) they’re wrong, and (B) I’m offended.

10. But how about this one?
1. Is it information I need?
The first part, maybe … but the rest?
2. Is it a story I desire?
Facebook seems to think so.
3. Is it an irresistible distraction?
No kittens? No babies? No gorgeous photo of an
exotic destination? No distraction.

11. Is it or isn’t it?

12. is it or isn’t it? sponsored content & native advertising.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/geico/animal-vines-that-will-make-you-laugh-every-tim#.rl8QjbNVo6

13. is it or isn’t it? sponsored content & native advertising.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/geico/animal-vines-that-will-make-you-laugh-every-tim#.rl8QjbNVo6

14. is it or isn’t it? sponsored content & native advertising.
http://learn.walmart.com/Beauty/Articles/
Take_command_of_your_color/11579/

15. is it or isn’t it? sponsored content & native advertising.

16. is it or isn’t it? sponsored content & native advertising.
https://www.upworthy.com/prepare-to-laugh-protein-shakes-arent-as-harmless-as-you-might-think-take-a-look-at-these-men?c=tpstream

17. is it or isn’t it? sponsored content & native advertising.
https://www.upworthy.com/prepare-to-laugh-protein-shakes-arent-as-harmless-as-you-might-think-take-a-look-at-these-men?c=tpstream

18. is it or isn’t it? sponsored content & native advertising.

19. is it or isn’t it? sponsored content & native advertising.

20. Tips On:
Strategy

21. All you have to do is ..
Give them something they will really
cherish, something they’ll genuinely
want to talk about for weeks.
Something they’ll share and
something that is awesome.
@EricaCampbell, Homes.com

22. to build a solution, you must first know the problem.
Internal or external, before you build a
content strategy you must first listen to
your stakeholders.

23. content strategy step-by-step.
1. Listen.
Clients first say what they want. Keep asking questions.
Be an active listener.They will tell you what they need.
2. Read and research.
Content audit; competitive analysis; audience personas; insights
3. Plan with purpose.
Need of audience; goal of content
4. Schedule and assign.
Content platforms; types; sources; calendar
5. Determine the true meaning of success.
KPIs; benchmarks

24. to build a solution, you must first know the problem.
• Why do we need content?
• Ask your stakeholders “Why” questions. Follow-up with more.
• What do we want content to do for us?
• Sell product isn’t an answer.Ask “Why content?” to this.
• Who is the target audience of our content?
• Who influences your customers.That’s your audience.
• What does our audience need from us?
• Check out your customer reviews, complaints, and buzz from social.
• What stories do we want to tell?
• You & your audience are on a first date.What are you talking about?
• What stories do we want our audience to tell?
• Enough about you.What are THEY talking about?
• Where is our audience?
• Where do they go for content?
• How will we define successful content marketing?
• Define your KPIs, please please please think beyond the ROI.

25. the audit & the analysis: use what you have & they don’t.
• Create an Inventory of Everything.
• Commercials, logos, product info … these are not content.
• But they could be! See the potential of assets repurposed.
• Include user-generated commentary and social content.
• Performance metrics are a must, but they’re not the only.
• Now do it all over again for your competitors.
Audit:
• Format of content
• Location of content
• Focus of content
• Audience
• Metrics
• Recommendation
Analysis:
• Company name
• Format of content
• Location of content
• Focus of content
• Overview

26. audit & analysis: the building blocks
• Understand the context.
• Your goals; audience needs.
• Evaluate the landscape.
• Comparative & competitive.
• Check your current vocabulary.
• What does it say about your brand?
• Match content to an audience and a moment in their journey.
• Customer journey maps are essential.
• Assess the situation.
• Where is the opportunity your competition doesn’t see?
• Perform an audit & analysis. Deliver a strategy.
• Audit & analysis are research. Strategy is built from the insights you gather after.

27. the difference between an audit and a strategy
=
=

28. persona’s aren’t people, they’re patterns.
Behavior Persona
• Demographic
• Hispanic
• United States
• Some college
• Behavior
• Groceries include baby food, frozen meals, alcohol
• Heavy coupon user; loyal to certain baby brands
• Media
• Cable; watches sports regularly
• Uses mobile device in store
• Social platform: Facebook
Character Persona
Pam is 37 years old. She has been at
her place of employment for over 10
years, and is now head of HR. She is
married and has a 6-year-old
daughter and a new baby. Her family
enjoys soccer; her daughter plays in
a local league. Pam tries to save
money where she can so she can
spend more money on family
vacations and save for retirement.
The household income is about
$100,000.

29. persona’s aren’t people, they’re patterns.
Surprise! It’s the same
person. But which
example gave you
insights you could really
use?

30. what happens when you market to a persona…

31. customer journey: it’s not what you think.
Not this. More like this.

32. style guide: sound like no one but yourself.
• Create, or uncover, your brand’s personality.
• What does your brand stand for? Believe in?
• If your brand were a person, what would he
or she sound like?
• Pick three tone of voice base notes.
• “Human” isn’t a base note. It’s a given.
• Here’s mine: Friendly, optimistic, irreverent.
• Create the tone of voice guide.
• Write the guide in voice.
• Include good & bad examples.
• Voice never changes.Tone does.
• Embrace the jargon of your people.

33. content plan: i love it when a plan comes together.
• Determine content ratio.
• Original, Curated, User-Generated
• How often will you refresh content?
• Does your content have seasonal relevance?
• Does your audience have seasonal interests?
• A calendar is a schedule.
• A content plan is assignments, sources, distribution channels, etc.
• Include the “Why” for better internal alignment.
• BeVERY nimble to change.
• Leave room for spontaneous content.

34. ROI is NBD. Here’s why.
Numbers can be
misleading.
Impressions are
fairy tales.
nooooooooooooooo.com
1 page website; 1.3 page views
*H/T @unmarketing
Blocks all ads, tracking, malware
domains, even on Facebook and
YouTube.

35. Tips on:
Creation

36. Why do copywriters get stuck under
“Content” & designers get to be
“Creative?”
Content IS Creative.
@theautumnstar

37. brainstorming: you’re doing it wrong*.
*H/T @jasonkeath, Social Fresh
• Creativity is work.
• Never stop thinking, learning, active
daydreaming.
• Brainstorming isn’t a bullet on a meeting
agenda. It IS the meeting.
• Ideas require time, freedom and work.
• Gather clouds before the storm.
• Come in with ideas. Refine them in the
storm.
• Gather lots of clouds.
• Get the bad ideas out early.
• For every 10 ideas; 1 is a keeper.
• Teams affect change more than individuals.
• Find power players, influencers, big idea
people. Bring them to the table.
• Surrender your right to be right.
• Stop walking in withTHE solution.
• Creativity isn’t taught.
• But effective collaboration can be.
• And these skills combined make you a very
desirable recruit for companies.

38. collaboration: play on the same side of the court.
• This is not a one-man (or one-woman
show).
• It is better to create something amazing
together, than something mediocre alone.
• Build a Bryan Brothers team.
• Find your greatest minds. Collaborate as
often as possible.
• Define the strengths. Play to them.
• Story/ideas
• Strategy/management
• Technology
• Innovation

39. collaboration: Account Managers, Designers and other aliens
• Create your Justice League.
• Build a team of the best from every
department.
• You are Superman.
• A leader owns every project, but doesn’t do
it alone.
• Communicate to collaborate.
• 15-minute meetings and CC emails
• Speak alien languages.
• Know their words to communicate better.
• Remember … they’re only human.
• Empathize. Be the leader who listens,
become the leader who is listened to.

40. content writing: don’t be a good writer, be a great one.
• Write with an unforgettable voice.
• The unforgettable voice of your brand.
• “Best words, best order.”
• Intentional word choice.Word banks. Good
jargon.
• Speak from the deeper story.
• Calling branded content “story” doesn’t
make it a tale worth telling. Craft does that.
• Craft micro-copy.
• Transaction and bounce-back messaging can
still be fun.
• Become a story connoisseur.
• Read more.Write more.

41. content writing: spiders, robots and hummingbirds can’t read.
• Robot spiders search; people read.
• Yes, SEO still matters.
• But in content, it’s about keyword association, not
keyword stuffing.
• Write for people.
• Optimize for the robots.
• What others say about you is actually more
important than what you say about yourself.
• Link anchor text & social shares matter.

42. visuals: designers are your new best friends.
• Images attract; stories captivate.
• Average human attention span? 8 seconds.
1 second less than a goldfish.
• Sometimes the image IS the story.
• Go beyond stock photography for the image
that says it all.
• Your fans are your photographers.
• Build deep loyalty with UGC imagery.
• An image is worth 81 words, not 1,000.
• That’s science.

43. social: it’s about conversation.
• Social content builds community.
• But only if you’re creating & commenting.
• Content has nine lives.
• One piece of content can have many iterations.
• One theme to rule them all.
• Themes create cohesive storytelling across
platforms.
• Best in class: Dunkin Donuts
• Dunkin Donuts wins with social by giving the
keys to its customers and creates true
engagement with reply content.
https://vine.co/v/hQgnKlqEpdV

44. social: a two-way street, or a double-edged sword.

45. social: a two-way street, or a double-edged sword.

46. social: a two-way street, or a double-edged sword.

47. Extra Credit:
Inspiration

48. Econsultancy’s Marketing Manifesto.
• Strategy: Marketers should sit at the board room table and help set strategy.
• Brand:The Internet has forced transparency upon brands and businesses.
• Experience: Improving the customer experience must be the relentless focus of modern marketing.
• Data: Data must be turned into insight and action.
• Digital: Digital should be embedded in marketing strategies as a matter of course.
• Personalization: Offer the greatest opportunity to transform what customers currently get.
• Technology: Modern marketers must be comfortable and adept at procuring and using technology.
• Creative:We need creativity just as much as we need technology.
• Content: Content reinforces a brand’s credibility and authenticity in what it stands for, believes in
and cares about.
• Multi-screen: See beyond “mobile.” TVs, books, in-store kiosks, billboards, etc.
• Social: Recognize that everything we do happens in an environment where customers can, and will,
talk about it and share it with the world.
• Commercial: Sales and marketing must be more closely aligned and have common points of
accountability.

49. Reading & listening list.
• Books on writing
• Best American Writing
• Best Words, Best Order. Stephen Dobyns.
• Elements of Style. Strunk & White.
• On Writing. Stephen King
• On Writing.William Zissner
• Books on marketing
• Content Rules.Anna Handley
• Unmarketing. Scott Stratten
• Youtility. Jay Baer
• Websites to visit
• Content Marketing Institute
• Convince & Convert
• Copyblogger
• Podcasts to listen to
• Marketplace,American Public Media
• This Old Marketing Podcast, CMI
• Unpodcast, Scott Stratten

50. In Conclusion:
Don’t stop asking, “Why?”
Don’t stop testing the boundaries.
Don’t stop daydreaming.

51. Don’t stop believing!

52. Thank you!
ak@largeinc.com
@theautumnstar