Content marketing has changed dramatically in the past five years. Just one look at National Geographic's approach to content marketing will show you what's expected of your brand if you wish to achieve immense success and notoriety. Today, social media has immense power to drive a campaign to unprecedented success, turning it viral within a matter of minutes. As such, content marketing strategies have had to shift their approach to ensure that they appeal to a global audience who will want to like, comment and share that content.
Some of the main features that make a content marketing strategy fantastic include:
· Appealing to your target buyers – though not necessarily directly
· Presenting your product in real-life situations
· Making the advert easy to follow
· Leaving people talking about your product
American male grooming products brand, Old Spice, was stereotypically associated with older men. In the early 2000s, the company struggled to fend off competition from the likes of Dove, Right Guard and Axe. As such, they hired an ad agency who shifted their focus from appealing to men to appealing to women.
After a survey found that women were responsible for 50% of body wash purchases, they created this advert which went viral within its first day of release. It successfully presented the product in real-life situations, was easy to follow, and left people talking about it for many months after.
After generating more than 18 million video shares, traffic to the Old Spice website increase by 300% and sales went through the roof, after which point this 75-year-old company quickly repositioned itself to be successful in an increasingly competitive market.
Successful Marketing Formulas Summarised
1. Go against the grain to create something unique
Don’t be afraid to create something different and even a little quirky. This is what will remain in people’s memories for longer.
2. Be willing to take risks
Risk-taking plays a huge part in successful content marketing. Though some risks might result in failure, others might generate extraordinary levels of success.
3. Know your audience very well to cater your ads specifically to their interests
Perform plenty of marketing research before executing your campaign. This will enable you to craft an advert that appeals specifically to your target audience.
4. Making it memorable and engaging
Whether you decide to use humour or take a more emotional approach, make sure that the end result is engaging and memorable. Ultimately, you want people to talk about your campaign for many weeks or even months to come, so focus on creating something short and sweet that hits the right buttons.
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