Rethinking Content Delivery: Big Brands Embrace Video

Video’s snagged a place in the Top 5 Trends for 2016

Take a look at any of the experts’ Top 10 Marketing Trends for 2016 and video has snagged a place in the top five. Sure, we all know we should be doing video—it’s great for SEO, it’s fun, engaging, informative and for certain demographics, this is the preferred way to receive information. But let’s be realistic. Good videos are expensive; they require scripts, perhaps a narrator, background music and professional videographers to create a polished product. And once you’re finished, it’s time for another one, and it takes time and money to keep producing high-quality products. You think they cost too much and have limited reach. Let’s take a look at a video that Marriott produced that’s been wildly successful.

Marriott’s 19-minute video: more than 8M YouTube views

Marriott released the follow-up to its Two Bellmen original short film earlier this year, with the sequel approaching 8M views on YouTube — more than the number of viewers who tuned in to see CBS’ premiere of Man with a Plan. This 19-minute action comedy, Two Bellmen Two, built its viewership over a period of months as consumers shared the content with friends via social media. This is important because it’s the result of consumers increasingly shifting their viewing habits from TV to smartphones and laptops. Savvy brands are creating content that makes an emotional connection with viewers andgets them in front of impressive numbers of potential new customers — in some cases, more than they could with a traditional TV ad.

“ If you deliver something that is valuable and they want to watch, they will actually engage,” said David Beebe, VP of creative and content marketing at Marriott International.

 Content production moves in-house as big brands build studios

This shift in the traditional content creation/delivery model was the topic of a panel discussion at the ad: tech conference in New York in December that featured executives from Marriott International and Charles Schwab. These two big brands are building in-house content studios to produce the kinds of content that today’s new consumers want. Make that millennials. They’re shifting away from TV to embrace a variety of digital content formats.

Demand for video is growing

As consumers look for compelling online content they can share with friends, the demand for video is growing. Brands need content that transcends traditional advertising, and this can be difficult for agencies to grasp. Two Bellmen was first launched in early 2015 and has received more than 5M YouTube views. A sequel came out in early 2016 and a third installment has debuted. Marriott’s efforts have proven successful enough that it is now licensing some of its content, turning its marketing into a revenue source. They’ve developed travel documentaries, webisodes, VR experiences and influencer-driven videos.

You have to be able to take risks; legacy attitudes can stand in the way

For marketers looking to jump into this kind of quality content, one of the biggest hurdles can be resistance from executives who are reluctant to make a significant investment when they don’t see a direct link to a sale. Legacy attitudes can hold companies back, so they must be able to take risks, make mistakes and learn from them. Charles Schwab, long recognized for clever advertising that reaches consumers on a personal level, created a small team three years ago that is focused on telling brand stories that connect with people. Previously, most of the content was focused primarily on traditional selling of products and services.

Today’s marketing is about telling stories

As brands increasingly become content creators, they need to consider new metrics that keep pace as they open the door to new relationships. At Charles Schwab, the content team demonstrated that the videos it created acquired new customers and drove existing ones to sign up for additional products. Brands embarking on a content strategy need to ensure that they continue to engage with their audience.

Are you trying to develop a results-oriented marketing strategy? Talk to us at Top of Mind Marketing. We're writers and internet marketing experts.  

Web Trends 2017: Back to the Basics

I recently worked on a website for a construction company; one member of our team kept suggesting things to make the site “pop”. I, on the other hand, was looking for great navigation and classic design that would endure, lots of white space that would serve as a backdrop for well-written content and project pictures. I wanted our work to capture audience attention, not gimmicks.

It’s been an evolution

We’ve spent years adding stuff to our websites—frames, sidebars, headers, banner ads, sidebar ads, calls to action, comments, popups, social media buttons, signup boxes, etc. Now we’re taking them off--all of the elements that cluttered up our websites, detracting from the primary message, which is the content.

Back to the basics in 2017

In 2017, websites will start moving back to basics, placing more emphasis on content. Keep in mind that a big driver for many of these changes is mobile users who increasingly rely on their phones to transact business and access information. To accommodate these users, sites have had to simplify—a growing trend over the last few years. Mobile use has had a significant impact on navigation, color palettes, typography and the way we deploy images and other assets.

Geometrics

It seems as though the use of geometric shapes, lines, and patterns have really taken off in the late part of 2016, and this is expected to continue through 2017. The use of circles around images, photos that are geometric heavy, or the overall design of the site relies heavily on the use of lines and patterns.

Creative headings

We’re starting to move away from the basic, boring heading style seen on websites (san serif, all caps, centered heading) and moving more toward imaginative or creative headings. Look for a change in the layout, justification or websites without a heading at all.

Animations and gifs

Animations are starting to be used more heavily on websites as they easily communicate how things work and are more lightweight than several images or even a video, which is good news for mobile users—animations generally load quickly.

Putting navigation on a diet

More people are now accessing the web on their phones than their computers, which has had a significant impact on navigation. Drilling down through complicated schematics on a phone is a complete turnoff; it’s much easier to scroll through pages than click and wait. Restricting the main navigation bar to four to five items is becoming the norm and it’s challenging organizations to think critically and strategically about how they organize information.

More emphasis on landing pages, less on a home page

In 2017 we will likely see a rise in landing page designs—not just home page design. While you still need a home page, as content marketing spreads, marketers will want to direct traffic to dedicated landing pages to better target their visitors and their needs. It makes sense: The idea of content marketing is to increase awareness and conversions, and what better way to increase conversions than to have visitors land on a page strictly made for them. These pages will be as well designed and thought out as others on the site, but target the visitor much more.

Are you thinking about a new website for 2017? Talk to us at Top of Mind Marketing. Building online brands.

Double Your Page Views By Using Great Images

You may be a great writer, but content without images will produce disappointing results. We’re drawn to content that contains rich, attractive graphics. Adding images to an article can nearly double its views, and 67% of users say that images are more important than descriptions when making a purchase.

Thoughtful image selection

Just adding an image is not enough. It needs to be relevant, visually appealing and appropriate for your audience.

• Does it convey your message? It should contribute to the overall meaning of the article. Click-bait companies may have some success using an unrelated image for their web ads, but you should be in it for the long-haul--these strategies don’t work.
• Does it fit your brand? Images should tell a story about your company’s brand—your integrity, customer service and industry expertise.
• Is it engaging? Drab, boring images don’t engage you and they won’t engage your readers. I write a regular blog for a legal company, and we used to use uninspiring images of legal documents—trusts, deeds, etc. When we thought this through and realized that we were all about creating peace of mind or improving lives for the people behind these documents, we began posting pictures of happy families and couples taking care of each other and we experienced a huge boost in views.

How many images should you use?

There no magic number, but you can use more than you might think. Including good images:

• Breaks up the text for improved readability.
• Can increase your SEO value.
• Provides more options for social media shares and engagement.

Each image should serve a purpose

Think about screenshots, for instance that will illustrate a new website or function. Images break up a page and make it more accessible. Use two or three images, but be aware of load times—if a page takes more than three seconds to load, you could lose 40% of your readers. Remember that more than 60% of users are pulling up information on their phones.

Size matters

If you’re downloading images from your phone or stockphoto sites, reduce the size of those beasty files. For websites and social media, I see that 800 x 1,000 pixels is a recommended size. For social media, I generally reduce the size of my images to 650-750 pixels. In some cases, you may want to use a series of thumbnail images, which can be effective. These can be 125-250 pixels, and they should all be the same size with the text wrapped around them.

Don't forget to label your images and add alt tags--a description of the image

Best practices: Don’t forget to name your images

If you download your images, they’ll have a number. Don’t just upload them to social media or your website with these numbers--rename them. Think about the topic of the article and what people would be keying into a search engine to find this information, then name the images accordingly. If your article’s about images, use a name such as using alt tags or sizing images for websites.

Missed SEO value of images 

When you upload images to your website, you’ll see a field to identify an alt tag for each image. This should be a description that makes sense to the reader—it’s a summary of the image. If you’re adding an alt tag to a graph, make it a summary of the data. If I’m adding a screenshot of my new website, the alt tag would be something like Top of Mind Marketing’s new website has enhanced visuals, streamlined navigation and more than 250 blogs. 

Great images won’t save bad content

But thoughtful, quality images can increase traffic, improve engagement, increase conversions, and improve the overall experience for your audience.

Thinking about outsourcing your content marketing program? Talk to us at Top of Mind Marketing. We’re content marketing experts.

9 Months Later: Microsoft Gives Birth to a New Linkedin

In June 2016, mighty Microsoft purchased LInkedin, and it spawned a lot of speculation about how the deep pockets and resources of the sotftware giant would affect this social media platform that’s set itself apart by becoming the preferred social media application for professionals.

Nine months later, we’re seeing the first big change: a new interface

This wasn’t just a little fluff and powder or a reorganization, it was a major overhaul. And guess what? It looks just like Facebook! The formerly awkward design is now much more intuitive, cleaner, faster and easier to navigate. The biggest change is on the homepage. Just like Facebook, the newsfeed cascades down the middle, just below an entry field for sharing articles, photos, and status updates.

• There are now 7 core areas on the navigation bar. Home (Your Feed), Messaging, Jobs, Notifications, Me, My Network, and Search. With one simple click on the “more” icon on the navigation bar you can also launch into other experiences that matter to you, like LinkedIn Learning.
• Richer Feed to keep you informed: Linkedin has fine-tuned your Feed to surface the most relevant content from people and publishers you care most about. We’ll see about this one.
• Powerful search capability. Click on the Search icon and a field opens up that will give you the option to search people, jobs, companies, groups and schools. Coming soon: ability to search posts.
• Who’s viewing your content: You can now see who’s reading and engaging with the content you share—by company, job title and location.
• Suggestions to make your profile stand out: You can more easily see what you need to do to look your best professionally

Stealing from Facebook: blatant and smart

With more than 1.8 billion Facebook users worldwide, Facebook’s interface is the one that people know how to use. Linkedin and Facebook user demographics may vary, but their goals are the same: to get people to connect and share information.

Thoughtful, subtle changes transcend homepage facelift

From a user-experience perspective, it’s clear that Linkedin has thoughtfully implemented these changes. I noticed a subtle difference was when I posted my weekly blog to Linkedin. It was easier to drag and drop an image into the image field, easier to add keywords and publish. I also noticed that I can click on a link on my homepage to view the stats on who’s viewing and commenting on my blogs. In the righthand column, there’s a block that shows who’s been viewing my profile.

Nine months ago there was a lot of speculation about what Microsoft’s investment meant to the social media landscape. This redesign should put to rest to rest any doubts about Microsoft’s desire to own a comprehensive, competitive social network or to suggest that it’s just emulating Facebook. It’s not. And this isn’t a productivity play. The new Linkedin is clearly Microsoft’s attempt to become a bigger player in the social media and digital marketing space.

A little bit boring becomes a little bit cool

Linkedin has always been a little big boring when compared to the newer, flashier social media applications. The new Linkedin is infinitely more accessible with great new features. It may become cool to be using Linkedin. Never underestimate the power of Microsoft.

Thinking about outsourcing your content marketing program? Talk to us at Top of Mind Marketing. We’re content marketing experts.

Holiday Ads: I've Never Known Anyone Who's Gotten a Car for Christmas!

As someone who's spent a long career in marketing, I’m still fascinated by advertising. Most of it is shockingly bad, but some of it is somewhere between engaging and brilliant. The stakes are high for retailers this time of year, so advertisers pull out all the stops.

The biggest promotion is for cars

This one continues to astonish me--luxury car dealers seem to think that everyone has the discretionary dollars to be buying cars for their SOs for Christmas. They're creating the expectation that we'll wake up on Christmas morning, and a quick look outside will reveal a luxury car with a big red bow on top. I don't know about you, but I've never known anyone who's ever gotten a car for Christmas.

Follow the advice of the ads and you’ll wake up fat and broke, with a hangover

Other notable ads are for alcohol and food. You're going to be dressed to the nines, attending
an endless round of galas and events as well as hosting glamorous parties for which you'll need expensive wine and gourmet food. Online sales are way up, and we’ve been receiving catalogs from a variety of high-end retailers, including Petrossian, soliciting our dollars for caviar, smoked salmon and other high-end delicacies. Advertising is all about the power of suggestion, so if you follow the recommendations of these retailers, you'll wake up around the first part of January fat and broke, with a giant hangover. The reality? Real people aren't celebrating the holidays like the people in these TV ads.

Time to slow down and take care of yourself

Years ago, my family and I decided to donate to our favorite charities in each other's behalf rather than buying gifts that we didn't need or like. Besides supporting some very worthy causes, we just eliminated a whole lot of shopping, wrapping and schlepping.

This was our way of getting off the holiday rollercoaster and focusing on the things we loved about the holidays that didn't cost a dime--holiday music, spending time together, playing a rousing game of Monopoly like we used to do when we were kids.

These days, I try to carry on this spirit of the holidays--contributing to something more important than myself, making time not just for my friends, but for myself.

Time to work on your marketing plan for 2017? Talk to us at Top of Mind Marketing. We're writers and marketing strategists. 

9 Steps to More Compelling Content

An effective content marketing program requires commitment and creativity

But you don’t have to be a world class writer or marketing expert to be a good content marketer. Here are 9 steps for generating more compelling content.

1. Passion. Ya gotta feel it. People feel it and know if you’re writing about topics that you love, feel strongly about and are clearly knowledgeable. These are the reasons you first became interested in your industry, the reasons you started your own business. Sure you get frustrated, annoyed and dog-tired, but you rally and are still passionate about what you do.
2. Preparation. Time to let go of that scattergun approach and one-off efforts. They don’t work and they’re wasting your time and money. Identify your audience—are they babyboomers, Gen-Xers or millennials. It makes a huge difference in the way you design your marketing program. Define your demographic and start building relationships with this group.
3. Action. If you’ve created a strategy or a marketing plan, you need to implement it. This is where a lot of small business owners fail. It can be overwhelming. Break it up into manageable blocks of time each week. Calendar these and treat them like a meeting. Use these blocks of time to work on your action items–writing blog posts, recording podcasts, preparing your monthly newsletter, writing new web content.
4. Commitment. To help you stay committed, create an editorial/content calendar. It should include the publish date, topic, your call to action, the format (blog post, image, video, etc.) and which social media platforms you will be posting to. I like to create a larger editorial calendar that identifies important events and topics, anything that’s seasonal, industry celebrations, etc. Keep this handy, add to it and reference it.
5. Stay flexible. You may have a calendar, but this is a guide to keep you on track. If something better comes along, by all means take advantage of it. I do keep a calendar, but I’ve been taking advantage of some of the articles about the election—looking at these from a marketing perspective. Do stay on top of industry, national and local news and leverage these stories if they’re relevant for your industry.
6. Listen. If you want to create great content that will be engaged with and shared by your community, find out what they want and need. To do this, spend time on the social media platforms they use and watch what they are sharing and engaging with. People like, comment and share what they feel emotional about, whether these emotions are positive or negative.
7. Become a good communicator. Once you know what your community wants, you need to communicate in a way that resonates and is easily consumed and shared by your them. Remember that attention spans are short, so you need to quickly get to the point. This is as much about formatting as it is about actual content. Create blog and social media posts that are crisp and can be easily scanned and consumed. Use subheads to break up paragraphs and seduce your audience. Bullet points are a great way to make content more accessible.
8. Be generous. Share your knowledge with your community and build trust. Remember that there will always be a group of people who’ll see the value in the information you provide, lack the time, skills or desire to do it for themselves. These are the people we call clients—they will happily pay for your expertise!
9. Become a continuous learner. Never stop learning. Whether it’s in your industry or about content creation itself, take the time to stay up-to-date on what’s new, what’s important and what’s changing. Stay passionate and genuine and you’ll build your community.

Thinking about outsourcing your content marketing program? Talk to us at Top of Mind Marketing. We’re content marketing experts.

Election 2016: Where Did We Go So Terribly Wrong

On election day, I’d spent the day nervously checking headlines and social media looking for election news. I was encouraged by Hillary’s strong poll numbers despite FBI director Comey’s possibly illegal attempt to sabotage her with that endless email scandal. In the evening, I went over to a friend’s house with a bottle of champagne to watch the returns and celebrate the election of the first woman president. But it was more than that. As President Obama has pointed out, no candidate has ever been more qualified to be President of the United States. Looking at her opponent, no candidate has ever been more ill-qualified or poorly prepared for this office.

As the returns began to drift in, I began to get a disturbing feeling that something was wrong. There was an undercurrent that this would not have a happy ending. We sat in stunned silence watching state after state fall to Trump. The angry white masses had spoken with their votes. No one slept well that night, and the next day we wandered around in a fog.

We began to imagine what a Trump presidency might look like, and it was chilling

I thought of what this country looked like after eight years of Bush/Cheney—we took big steps backwards on the environment, science and technology. Forget an unnecessary war for now. One of the first things Bush had done when he got into office was to try to shut down Planned Parenthood. I read about our new VP Pence, who doesn’t believe in evolution or global warming. Both Trump and Pence believe that women should be punished for having abortions. Pence wanted women in his state to be forced to have funerals for fetuses. This is positively medieval.

What kind of cabinet would these men assemble, what kinds of advisers? Trump clearly placed no value on women except as objects of gratification, so there likely would be no smart women bringing their unique experience to his cabinet. With a Republican Congress and Supreme Court appointments, I simply can’t imagine what America will look like in four years.

So there’s a marketing lesson here

Let’s face it. Hillary is not for every taste. She has always been a divisive public figure. People are seldom neutral on Hillary. But as Oprah said, “You don’t have to LIKE her. Just vote for her.” She’s simply extraordinary, smart, prepared and hard working. She never gives up.

Hillary spent millions on a comprehensive multichannel marketing campaign, using print, TV and electronic media to communicate with her audience. Donald benefited from more than an estimated $3B in free media. In the end Trump did pour a significant amount of money—much of it his own– into advertising – and it apparently outperformed Clinton’s.

Marketing 101: Identifying, listening to and responding to her audience

Clearly, the biggest problem with the Clinton campaign was not listening to her audience and telling them what they want to hear. A total disconnect. This is Marketing 101. Hillary ostensibly won all of the debates because she was superbly prepared, articulate and polished, as compared to her bumbling opponent. But every time she talked about the ideals of inclusiveness—the very tenets upon which our Democracy is based—she drove a wedge into that mass of angry white voters. Every time she featured a disabled person, a Latina, Muslim or African American in an ad or one of her many very moving videos on YouTube, she turned off another one of the white working class (WWC) voters.

They’re not interested in inclusiveness

They see these people of other races as threats, taking their jobs, bringing multiculturalism to their communities. Instead, Donald Trump has empowered the WWC to hate the disabled and those of other races who have come to America seeking opportunity just as their own ancestors did. As Hillary reveled in our Democratic legacy, the angry white masses rejected it and voted for Trump.

No one predicted an upset

Everyone missed the signals–the pollsters, the political operatives and the media. Clinton’s team apparently didn’t go into the countryside, the little towns where people are struggling and many aren’t making it. What does the liberal elite know of this demographic? Apparently not enough, but this is where there were masses of Trump signs for the masses of angry white voters.

So what can we do?

Be aggressive. We still have a voice. Get to know your congress men and women. Work for change. Four years of Trump is one thing, but we can’t bear eight years.

Thinking about outsourcing your content marketing program? Talk to us at Top of Mind Marketing. We’re content marketing experts