From a customer’s perspective, marketing, sales, and advertising can seem like the little brother who keeps knocking over furniture, blasting his kazoo, and jabbing your shoulder to get your attention while you try to talk to your friends. It isn’t long before you want to swat the pesky kid away and have some peace. And the more you ignore the kid, the louder he gets.
Now, in your imagination, replace bratty bro with cool dude. He’s presiding over the keg, surrounded by a gaggle of giggling girls. He glances your way, gives you a thumbs up, and motions you to join them for a beer. What would you do?
Would you take him up on his invitation?
These scenarios illustrate the difference between traditional interruption-based advertising and sales and what content marketing based on brand storytelling brings to the party. While these older types of marketing acted like the obnoxious little brother you can’t wait to get rid of, content marketing based on brand storytelling is the place you want to hang out.
“Over the last two years, as marketers have become better at content marketing, they’re creating content customers love to read because it’s aligned to their passions,” explained Patricia Travaline, Vice President of Marketing at Skyword.
How are brand storytellers accomplishing this transformation?
It takes a careful discovery process. Explained Travaline, “You have to ask who you’re trying to influence, both in on a professional and a personal level. What keeps them awake at night? What topics do they love both at work and at home? What ideas make people think differently? And then from a marketing perspective, you need to determine whether these topics align with your brand.”
The key is to provide customers with information that addresses these questions in an unbiased, trustworthy, and transparent manner that solves their problem. “Once you know who the person is, try to reach them in a holistic manner,” said Travaline. “Solve the professional problem, entertain them, and deliver value on a personal level.”
The benefit to you as a marketer is that offering this type of content helps you create an advisory relationship before an in-person conversation ever takes place. And by offering this content on an ongoing basis, the customer will keep coming back to you for valuable information—both before they purchase your product and after. This not only helps you make new customers, but also spurs repeat business from existing ones.
Some companies that are successfully using this model to create awareness, thought leadership, and establish themselves as trusted advisors through their publishing sites include:
Red Hat—opensource.com
Designed as a thought-leadership vehicle, Red Hat’s opensource.com publishes stories about the broader impact of open source software and highlights how open source affects the world around us. Recent stories include case studies (e.g. how Facebook uses open source), news, development tips and tools, and presentations. The site publishes themed content weeks, such as Women in Open Source or Back to School with Open Source. Evergreen resources include the “What is Open Source?” page and the “What is OpenStack?” page.
Cisco—newsroom.cisco.com
The Cisco site contains articles and videos about technology and industry trends and best practices. For example, a recent issue contained an infographic on the background of Kevin Ashton, father of the Internet of Things, profiles of startups in wearable technology and an article on sensors in smart toys.
IBM—securityintelligence.com
The securityintelligence.com site describes recent security attacks and breaches, tips for securing the enterprise, research studies, and a host of related articles on topics such as how to find the next generation of security professionals.
Skyword—contentstandard.com
As an agency that provides content marketing, Skyword’s Content Standard site provides content for both clients and for the writers it recruits. The site provides strategies for both content marketing and creation. Feature articles highlight innovators in content marketing as well as advice and tips for writers.
Do you want to be the bratty brother who interrupts and gets on your customers’ nerves or the cool dude that draws people in? By getting to know your customers, finding out their most pressing challenges, and give them the content they love, you can make your content a destination.
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