3 minutes
Think like a media company to highlight your brand
During the recent MarketingProfs Content Marketing Virtual Conference, Andrew Davis, author of Brandscaping Monumental Shift, spoke about the power of content and subscription.
Content builds relationships. Relationships build trust and trust drives revenue, he said. “Valuable content increases demand for the products and services you sell.”
What if we value long-term relationships over views or downloads or likes? he asked. What if we ignored click-through rates, he asked, and the goal was opt-in rates?
To increase opt-ins, you need a good content marketing strategy. He shared five secrets to get it right.
1. Get rich, target a niche: Think of your market like a tree, with lots and lots of branches. Each one of those branches and offshoots could be a profitable niche group. For example, Tractor Supply is the Wal-Mart of the agricultural world. It serves commercial and hobby farmers. Down the hobby farm branch, you’ll find more branches for rural vs. suburban hobby farmers; agriculture vs. livestock; big vs. small livestock; rabbits vs. chicks.
Tractor Supply, partnering with The Chicken Whisperer, found a profitable niche in the backyard poultry crowd. The Chicken Whisperer is an expert in backyard poultry and creating content. He does a regular show with 20,000 weekly listeners and has built a network of in-person meetup groups in all the major metro areas. Tractor Supply recognized him as the expert for this niche and invited him to produce videos, workshops, etc., for the company.
Among your membership base, who are your niches? What content would appeal to them?
2. Exploit content holes: What content is your audience missing? Where is there a gap you could fill? An example Davis shared is a woman who runs a company called FoldRite, offering direct mail fold templates. Each week, she does a 60-second YouTube show featuring the super cool fold of the week. Her graphic designer audience loves it!
Where are the content holes in your marketplace? You could try a YouTube show, blog post or newsletter article featuring consumer finance news, budgeting and savings tips. You might find that your local newspapers, news website and TV stations also want this kind of information.
3. Make an appointment with your audience: Davis suggested owning a specific time of your audience’s day or week with a piece of content. For example, 7:58 a.m. on Fridays is Venn-day. Every week at that time, Say Daily sends out a different venn diagram.
Davis suggested using the American Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Time Use Study to help determine when you want your content appointment to be. He pointed to a New York Times interactive report to review the data.
4. Attach talent your audience trusts: Think about the kind of talent that will power relationships with your audience. For example, the American Specialty Institute—representing companies that sell promotional products —produces The Joe Show. The show’s talent, Joe Haley, has become a celebrity, an icon, in the industry.
Who are the people who power your content? Find and develop a spokesperson, whether you’re producing videos, newsletters or blog posts, who will resonate with members. What are some things you can do to turn that person into a local celebrity? Try a great hook!
Secret 5. Create a hook: A hook is a simple twist on a familiar theme. For example, Trish Witkowski of FoldRite always wears a funny, design- or fold-themed T-shirt (and then sells them!). Gary Vaynerchuk, who started the Wine Library TV video show, differentiated his show from the many others available by doing a Sports Center meets wine expert mashup.
If you have a hook for your content, people can’t copy it, Davis said.
Theresa Witham is a senior editor at CUES.
