The 3 basics of unparalleled content marketing

The days of just pushing product are over. Of course, companies can still make a decent buck by “focusing on product and sales only”, but the high operating margins are mainly found in companies that add value beyond the product itself; companies that stand for something, that inspire, that have a meaning and a purpose.

Enter content marketing.

We’ve all heard the flashy term and thoughtlessly used the hashtag, but what’s the meaning of the word behind the buzz? The uncool truth is that “content marketing” has been around as long as the advertising industry itself; it simply refers to the technique of selling your brand’s values in conjunction with your product.

Take GoPro as an example. GoPro doesn’t just push its product; it sells a lifestyle, inspiring you to get off your chair, get out of your comfort zone and start living – life is short, so go make the most of it! Sound appealing? You’re damn right.

So, sticking with the GoPro example, let’s consider how this approach has worked for them. At the time of writing, GoPro had 6.5 m Instagram followers, 9 m Facebook likes, 3.3 m YouTube subscribers, and 1.45 m Twitter followers. That’s incredible reach!

So how does it work?

Be real

There is a general cynicism towards companies and their intentions – it’s invariably about the bottom line, after all – but the end goal doesn’t have to only be about “profit”. As soon as consumers sniff that a company is purely concerned about its financial well-being and is cutting corners, hiding, and making excuses, they will pounce. Many big brands have learnt this the hard way (Woolies vs Frankie’s Soda being one example).

So, how do brands get real? Consumers realise that you need to make money, and they will forgive mistakes (because everyone makes them), but for this to happen, they need the company to be transparent in the way it conducts business. Get off any high horse you might be on, admit to mistakes, apologise, rectify where possible, and try not make the same mistake twice.

Being real also means having a personality and, importantly, a consistent one. Every touch point between the consumer and the brand (be it on social media, at the till, via email, on the phone) should consistently reflect the brand and what it stands for. This is not impossible. It just means being very clear about your brand’s personality and values, hiring the right people, and training them properly.

Produce excellent content

The drive towards producing excellent content and seeding that into the various channels has gained a lot of momentum in the past couple of years. A great way to get consumers to engage with your brand in a profitable manner is to offer them outstanding, valuable content and up/cross-selling around that.

Again, one does not have to look any further than GoPro. Just think about how vastly different GoPro’s approach to content is when compared to most other companies; where most brands would hire a junior copywriter out of university and tell them to manage the social media accounts, GoPro pays Jamie O’Brien to catch waves at Pipeline or Shaun White to do crazy things on a mountain, etc. The difference in approach and resulting quality couldn’t be greater when compared to what most brands do.

Mimicking this is not appropriate for all businesses, but the above scenario and the chasm between the two approaches should encourage brands to think about content and content creation differently, and question whether their content is hitting the mark.

Evoke emotion

Given the sensory overload that most people experience on a daily basis, it is safe to say that there is a general numbness amongst consumers that wasn’t around 15 years ago. Attention spans are shorter and patience is wearing thin. We can’t even watch TV without our phones next to us to play with during commercials. We endlessly scroll through Twitter and Instagram, consuming content at an incredibly quick pace without truly engaging with any of it. What does this all cry out for?

Make us FEEL something – humour, sadness, joy, empathy, love, gratitude – anything! It’s not surprising that the most successful ads of 2014 on YouTube all made us feel something. Like this one or this one. Note the number of views. The brand and ad agencies have struck gold. The old style of advertising does not work anymore. People not only have physical filters (ad blockers) but, more importantly, emotional filters as well. Bear this in mind when creating your next campaign.

In a nutshell, if companies don’t add value to our lives, they must get out of it. On the other hand, if your marketing campaign is honest, evocative, and contains excellent content, your brand is sure to reap the rewards.