BLOG

EditorialPR Musings
Content Marketing Blog

Keep up to date with the latest content marketing tips and news.

16/Oct/2017
Santander-and-private-equity-firms-the-latest-to-see-content-marketing-benefits-.jpg

The versatility of content marketing was highlighted again this week after Spanish banking group Santander revealed how it has been using an educational content hub to reach new audiences, and a current survey found that private equity firms are leveraging engaging news and articles to build their brands.

Digital content marketing has been around for a decade now, but large organisations are still discovering how beneficial a targeted and relevant marketing campaign can be for driving positive business goals and objectives. Santander said it recently turned to content marketing after struggling to acquire customers due to a focus on product promotions.

Santander realised that its previous strategy was failing to meet the needs of its current customers and decided to create a “Prosper and Thrive” content hub to address the problem. It says high-quality content has been a core component of its strategy as informative articles have driven social engagements, website visits and email signups.

Santander has used content to demystify finances for millennials, a group of young people it claims has often “shied away” from the industry. The latest targeted campaigns have not only been practical and entertaining but have added value by improving the financial wellbeing of millennials.

“Millennial expectations have dramatically shifted. They want and expect more from their everyday experiences, which includes how they bank, who they trust and how they consume information,” Arnold Worldwide VP and Director of Engagement Planning Jessica Newton said.

She added: “Content allows us to build and nurture relationships with millennials without talking about products and services, on their time and in environments most relevant to them. Through this approach we’re able to make them more aware of who we are as a bank and shift their perception of us as a bank.”

The program launched less than a year ago, but it has already been a huge success, having driven more than a million site visits and 200,000 engagements on social platforms. The 125 published articles have also led to thousands of people opening new accounts and opting into the bank’s email initiative.

A new report from Pitchbook and BackBay Communications has also revealed how private equity firms have embraced content marketing campaigns en masse during the last two years to build their brands. Content is now seen as an asset in an increasingly competitive market where deals and funding are more difficult to secure.

Creative videos and articles are now used by almost half of the enterprises surveyed to demonstrate their expertise within the industry and company culture. Demand for excellent copy is also set to soar during the next 12 months, as 58% said they are increasing budgets to improve their visibility and reach to give themselves the best chance of succeeding.

BackBay Communications President & CEO Bill Haynes concluded: “It is essential for private equity firms today to have a professional approach to media relations — whether residing in-house or outsourced to an agency — to manage and protect their reputations and that of their portfolio companies, as well as to capitalize on positive news and demonstrate their expertise.”


12/Sep/2016
Content.jpg

In an era of high competition amongst brands, and some of the shortest time spans in history with which to grab people’s attention, it is vital for content marketing to make its mark on customers immediately. For the best strategies to work, there must be immediate impact so that target audiences remain engaged for long enough so that a piece of content’s messages can be conveyed. For advertisers trying to tackle bounce rates and boost interactions, there are numerous data-backed tactics to utilise.

One of the most important priorities for any content marketer is to ensure they have an accurate buyer persona. It’s useless targeting content towards uninterested parties, and keeping people engaged relies on customers actually wanting to hear what’s being broadcast. To do this, brands must focus on unique buyer personas that allow them to identify what people are looking for and, therefore, help shape content and increase engagement. On average, marketers have four defined ideal customers, though niche companies may have fewer. It’s vital, however, to stop treating any audience as a single entity if any improved interaction is to be noted.

Another tactic, though one that may have to be run past superiors, is to increase the content marketing budget. It’s a fact that real results often come from a boost in spend. Marketing strategies can be kicked off with little capital, but to keep the ball rolling and improve results requires more money. As such, marketing budgets should not solely be for the purpose of written content curation. Money should also be spent on increasing multimedia content, investing in eBooks and whitepapers, and paying for increased promotion and analytics opportunities.

There is also some importance in not overlooking potential platforms, even if a host of networks are already being used. For example, LinkedIn can be incredibly useful for conducting B2B content marketing. In recent studies, the platform was found to be the only truly effective place for B2B marketing. Creating an account and blog is relatively simple, and this allows for original content to be shared across the network. Even better results can be found by utilising LinkedIn’s niche groups.

Email marketing should also play a role in any content marketing strategy. Whilst disseminating material across social media networks can provide good results, any curated email list provides a direct link to consumers. A report from CMI found that 73 per cent of B2C firms still believe email marketing is extremely effective – even more so than producing video content. There are many automation tools on the market too, allowing strategists to easily add email advertising to their content plans. Even sending out a single monthly email can be a very good way of maintaining brand visibility and keeping customers involved.

The best content marketing efforts are not solely focussed on new prospects, but aim to boost relationships with current customers too. And, by using a variety of data-backed tactics to keep people engaged, brands can boost the effectiveness of advertising plans – not only to better the bottom line, but to nurture consumer relationships for the future as well.


04/Jul/2016
Email-marketing.jpg

Marketing in the digital world can be a complex challenge, and strategists have to utilise various content advertising and techniques to create any successful campaign. However, investing in this area can be extremely worthwhile as content marketing can be one of the best ways for brands to boost their appeal whilst widening their audience. Content is essential whether a firm is looking to boost engagement, conversion or even lead generation.

There are few important pointers when it comes to content strategies that can make, or break, a campaign. Firstly, creating excessive content can actually undermine a strategy. Instead, the emphasis should be upon creating regular articles, blog post, or videos of consistently high quality. Too much content which oversells a product or service can seem like overkill in the consumers’ eye, and can turn people off a brand. This can lead to a drop in engagement and falling audience levels.

To combat this, strategists should develop a flexible content calendar which can be used to plot out future publications in a systematic manner. This will give creators the chance to properly research and identify current market trends, enabling them to produce top quality content.

It’s also vital to ensure that a variety of content is produced to keep both current and future consumers engaged. This also applies to the way in which content is distributed, and it’s a good idea to deliver advertising materials through different channels. Producing the same content format time and time again can bore readers, even if the subject matter is of high quality. After investing so much to get the content right, it’s disappointing if it’s not received well. Therefore, it’s essential to create inventive ways of getting the information out. For example, whitepapers can be a great content format to get readers engaged. However, many people won’t download the publication, and some of those who do will not read the entire document. Smart marketers will not only target their core audience to raise engagement, but might product other content, such as infographics, to support the whitepaper in a different format.

Another tip that marketers shouldn’t ignore is to use social media. It might sound obvious, but there are some strategists who might believe social media isn’t that effective. Alternatively, they believe their content will be shared on social sites like Facebook and Twitter without any action on their part. To take businesses to the next level, the power of social media channels must be harnessed. Each platform has its own communities, expert groups and audiences, and all of these can be used to increase the effectiveness of content marketing.

Finally, strategists must add interactive elements to their content to encourage interaction and engagement with fans and readers. There are many ways to add an interactive element, including utilising videos, statistics, infographics and podcasts. By adding such things, the value of content can be dramatically increased, and this can result in more shares and, as a result, higher engagement rates.

In conclusion, marketers must product high quality and interactive content on a consistent basis without flooding readers with too much information. In addition, social media can be harnessed to boost the reach of content for greater success.


27/Jun/2016
Digital-marketing-strategy-keywords.jpg

New data has suggested that many strategists will be heavily focussing on digital marketing throughout 2016. In fact, it is likely to become one of the most important platforms for content creators, with many marketers already spending vast amounts of time and money on creating campaigns to boost engagement on digital posts, videos and other content. With the plethora of platforms that enable content to be spread across the globe, each having the potential to hit the lucrative ‘viral’ status, a lot of priority will be placed upon digital advertising.

The latest predictions for the remainder of the year come courtesy of Ignite Digital, the recruitment specialists. In a new study, it was revealed that two thirds of marketers have already created content campaigns with the aim of raising engagement and interaction levels. It’s been well reported for some time that content marketing has been seeing a noticeable shift towards highly engaging, interactive and creative mediums.

It was only in February 2016, that 29 per cent of Canadian-based marketers revealed their primary marketing focus this year would be on content marketing. This was 10 per cent above those who chose engagement on social media as their top priority, and 16 per cent more than those who mentioned search engine optimisation (SEO).

There are also some interesting findings in relation to just where campaigns are being run. For instance, social platforms have become big business for strategists over the past few years, with Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook taking the fore. In the study, it was shown that 83 per cent of content marketers are conducting campaigns on these platforms, engaging with both clients and customers through these portals. Meanwhile, 80 per cent of people are marketing via website development, far ahead of content marketing and email marketing, both of which scored 69 per cent.

It is also interesting to note that though there is a huge buzz around the potential for mobile applications, only 26 per cent of survey respondents are placing a priority on developing new apps. Instead, social media continues to be one of the most popular tools for boosting engagement, with almost two thirds of marketers saying they regularly monitor places like Facebook and Twitter, not only to connect with customers, but to identify the latest trends and developments.

For content creators wanting to put efforts into the right type of media, it’s important to note that blog-type articles and videos continue to be successful. They make up a notable contributing percentage of marketing activity, with 78 per cent of people saying that the personalisation and management of content remain a critical operation. There’s also a similarly weighted emphasis upon SEO and the value of social media for creating and running a successful and effective digital marketing campaign.

Ignite Digital’s data was published as part of the ‘Canadian Marketers 2016 Outlook Report’. It was revealed, overall, that 83 per cent of marketers aim to boost their campaigning efforts this year. In fact, 43 per cent of respondents said they believed company budget for content marketing would be higher than in previous years.


28/Apr/2016
Video-production-filming-in-studio.jpg

Video is becoming one of the most engaging social tools, with users engaging in the medium far more than written content or static images. As a result, many marketers are on the lookout for new software that has the capability to disseminate video content across multiple channels in a simple and easy way. Now Hootsuite has helped answer that need, integrating video into its one-stop hub to make video management that much easier. It will also give marketers the chance to reach a larger audience with their content.

The rise of social media has been well documented, and as of late, video content has found particular appeal with both marketers and consumers.

video app on ipad

Facebook led the way, introducing a wide variety of new tools and options so that companies can more easily find and target their content in the right direction. Now Hootsuite has revealed they will help social media managers distribute video quickly, offering a video management tool that has access to YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook from a single interface, eradicating the need to repetitively post content on each channel individually.

There will be a variety of innovative features for marketers and social media strategists to utilise. For example, in the same way that other content can be scheduled, users will be able to set up a publication itinerary for videos so they’re automatically released over multiple social channels. Users will also be able to post replies to comments from friends, fans and followers from the Hootsuite application itself. Meanwhile, the company is making adjustments to their analytics tools. This will enable marketers to better analyse and keep an eye on their competitors, as well as industry trends. There will also be the option for brands to utilise the mobile device management of their campaigns so they’re never far away from the action and can remain vigilant at all times.

Ryan Holmes, the chief executive officer of Hootsuite, explained that the new features have been added as a key way for brands to continue evolving their digital strategies. With the upwards trend in video content, the new integration will mean companies can easily distribute video content to as many people as possible. This should enable brands to expand their audience and broaden their overall appeal.

Video content has become so important that Hootsuite will be holding a webinar on the subject on May 3rd. With the focus placed upon having a ‘video-centric mind-set’ for modern social strategies, Hootsuite will cover topics from creating and finding engaging video content, to how companies can correctly market such tools to advertise themselves better.