Content is king… but there’s a catch.

It’s been the mantra of digital strategists for the past couple of years: “Content is king”. But simply posting content isn’t enough to engage with customers. In fact, bad content can actually be more detrimental to a brand than posting nothing at all. It appears that in 2014 the mantra needs to be re-written: “Content is king, as long as it’s relevant.”

Content Marketing is defined by Wikipedia as “any marketing format that involves the creation and sharing of media and publishing content in order to acquire customers”. But, author and SEO specialist Jeff Cannon better describes it as “content [that is] created to provide consumers with the information they seek.” There is subtle but incredibly important difference. Successful Content Marketing is providing customers with information that they actually want.

Too often brands get caught in the trap of producing irrelevant content for their emails, websites, blogs or social networks simply because they need to fill a gap in their content calendar. But irrelevant content is by definition unwanted content. It’s noise; it’s unwelcome; it’s spam. With so many brands out there fighting for customers’ attention, brands simply cannot afford to be seen as spamming even once. In the digital age, there are no second chances.  

Last week, web-based food-ordering service Eat24 posted a humorous open letter to Facebook ending their relationship and closing down their Facebook account. What was interesting, however, was Facebook’s reply to this post. Facebook’s Director of Communications, Brandon McCormick responded to their letter with this: 

 

What McCormick is saying here is that Facebook users are more interested in connected with their friends, than with humorous brand posts. A ballsy move for company that relies on brands sponsoring posts in order to make a profit, but was he right? When you log into Facebook do you do so with the anticipation of seeing a witty post from your local pet shop, or a photo of your best friend’s new baby?

That’s not to say that customers don’t want to see content from brands. At some point they have actively opted in to receiving that content – either via email, hitting follow, or hitting like. But this content needs to be relevant to what that brand is to the customer. As consumers ourselves, we need to constantly ask, “is this relevant to my brand?” And perhaps, more importantly, “is this worth interrupting my customers day with?”

You would have all seen those “bet you can’t name a band that starts with S” posts. These are designed to generate conversation and drive artificial engagement. But for every user who comments with “Soundgarden” you will get 5 more than press “hide posts from.” Especially if the brand in question is a pet store, who would it not be better to post a “how to change the water in your fish tank” video.

And that’s the point. Whether it’s a Facebook post, a tweet, an email or even a YouTube video – content only becomes information once a customer views it. Otherwise it remains noise, or worse still, spam. But good, relevant content will indeed create a deeping, richer relationship with customers.

In 2014 content is very much still king, but the real trick is making sure your content is actually [wor]king.

How to make your smartphone smell like bacon

Modern day smartphones are undeniably capable (here’s one solving a Rubik’s Cube in under 30 seconds). And whether it is Apple’s fingerprint scanner, or Samsung’s heart rate monitor, they are also increasingly coming packed with hardware to answer the whims of both developers and users alike. But there is a limit on how much you can pack in to these devices. Enter the smartphone dongle.

A dongle is a piece of hardware that connects to another piece of technology to augment its operation. Wireless modems, USB sticks, memory card readers – these are all dongles. Today, we are starting to see companies creating their own bespoke dongles that attach to smartphones and increase their functionality.

American meat and cold cut production company, Oscar Mayer, is one such company. This week they have announced their new smartphone app that wakes you up with the sweet sounds — and scents — of sizzling bacon. That’s right, scents. Using a dongle filled with bacon-scented liquid, that connects to your iPhone or iPad’s headphone jack, you can now awake each morning to the unmistakable smell of cooking pork product.

More locally, BNZ recently launched their own smartphone dongle known as PayClip^®. A portable debit and credit card reader that fits into the headphone socket of a smartphone or tablet, when paired with a free downloadable app, PayClip will let customers process payments on the spot wherever their smart device has reception.

And, if you believe their website, The LIVR Reverse Breathalyzer App will be yet another company venturing into the world of smartphone dongles. Launching this year the app uses a breathalyser dongle to measure a user’s alcohol levels before granting them access to an exclusive social network. Creator Kyle Addison describes it as a “biometric bouncer”. 

So what does this mean for New Zealand brands? Will we see this sort of branded dongle appearing more and more in the coming months, or is this just a passing fad? And is it a risk to develop technology that is dependant on another company not changing their functionality?

Regardless of the risks, this type of hardware will no doubt continue to develop in parallel with smartphone technology itself. And with retailers looking for that ever-shrinking edge over their competitors – smartphone dongles may just be the thing ace up the proverbial sleeve.

Pay-per-gaze: What Google Glass means for retailers

In April last year, Google answered the “what’s next for smartphones?” question when they announced their latest in paradigm-changing technology – Google Glass. It now seems they may have also answered the “what’s next for advertising?” question at the same time.

On Thursday last week (August 15^th) Google was granted a new patent for a Google Glass-based ad system dubbed “Pay-per-gaze”.  Using eye-tracking technology, the system would allow Google to charge advertisers for the number of times someone literally looked at their ad.

For advertisers themselves, the analytics that could be performed on their ads suddenly becomes mind-boggling.

But what else could be in store for consumers who are wandering around with an augmented-reality interface strapped to their face?

Here are just a few places this technology could go in the not so distant future:

·      Augmented Reality Billboards: Imagine looking up at a billboard and then seeing it burst in to life – think the Jaws 19 billboard in Back To The Future 2. 

·      Window displays and POS: As the technology reaches critical mass, you may start to see POS react to your stare – a personalised experience for every viewer.

·      Pay-per-emotion: The patent also made mention of tracking eye-dilation to determine the viewer’s emotional state. This would allow Google to charge extra if your ads made an emotional connection.

And where to from there?

In November last year the Puzzlebox Orbit was launched on the crowd funding website, Kickstarter.com As reported by CNN, this is a brainwave-controlled toy helicopter that literally lets you navigate by thinking. Users simply need to wear a special headband and think were they want the helicopter to fly.

How long until this technology is built into the likes of Google Glass? How long until you can call a friend, make a Google search, or buy something online, simply by thinking about it?

9 Gaurunteed ways to make your video go viral.

Viral campaign. Two words that can send shivers down the spines of advertising creatives and marketing managers alike. But equally, attempting to make content that will “go viral” is also one of biggest creative opportunities in modern advertising. So what’s the magic formula?

First - be realistic. If you’re selling toilet cleaner, you’ll be hard pressed to give Psy’s Gangnam Style a run for its money. However there’s no reason why you couldn’t be the next Dollar Shave Club. It’s important to note, though, that Dollar Shave Club was bolstered through paid media.

So, without further ado, here are nine reasons content goes viral:

1. It’s extremely funny

As the song goes - Make ‘Em Laugh. When it comes to virality, a two-minute knee slapper can be just the ticket. However the operative word is extremely. If you make something akin to Christmas cracker joke, expect it to end up in the trash just as quickly.

2. It’s jaw-droppingly incredible

If your brand can cause jaws to drop you’re probably on to a winner. And don’t be limited by your product’s limitations – often it’s people that do incredible things, brands just tag along for the ride.

3. It’s deeply emotional

Content that touches us emotionally, whether that be negatively or positively, has a built-in share factor. It is in our nature to make connections with people by sharing experiences.

4. It agrees with your worldview

Everyone has an opinion these days, so when something comes along that backs up our view of the world, there’s a pretty good chance we are going to share it with as many like-minded individuals as possible.

5. It makes you wonder

When we stumble across something that makes us ponder the big questions in life, we often want to share this with other too – if for no other reason that they can ponder the big questions with us.

6. It’s too hot for TV

Let’s face it; sex sells. And life would be boring without a little spice, which is exactly why risqué content will always be shared. The trick is setting the dial at the right level. You want to be spicy enough that people will want to view your content, but not so much that they won’t share it. 

 7. It’s extremely cute

As the old saying goes, “never work with animals or children.” These days you should probably tack onto the end  “unless of course you want something to go viral.” Because whether it’s a cat playing with a cardboard box, or a baby laughing, people love cute.

8. It’s extremely dramatic

People do love a good bit of drama. And we’re not talking soap operas here. People like theatrics. Giving your brand a bit of drama may just be enough reason for people to share it with their friends.

9. It’s embarrassing.

Just like a proverbial train-wreck, sometimes something that is hard to watch is the one thing we can’t help but want to. Content that plays to this desire can often push your brand viral.


At the end of the day, even the very best content might fail to launch. There isn’t any magic formula. However what is clear is that content that goes viral is almost always an extreme example of something: extremely funny, extremely emotional, extremely cute, and so on. You can’t create something middle of the road and expect extreme results.
   
Good luck!

Don’t waste your time: When is the best time to make a Facebook post?

As any Social Media Manager will tell you, Facebook fans don’t operate on business hours. It could be 3 in the morning and someone somewhere will always be interacting with your brand. So with all this constant activity, when is the best time to make a post to ensure the highest level of engagement? The answer, unfortunately, isn’t simple. But new research reports released this month do give us some clues.
 
Starting at the beginning, how long is the life of a Facebook post? According to a new report from Wisemetrics, it’s only two hours. Within the first two hours of making a post 75% of your audience will likely have seen your message. From then on it’s buried deep into their timelines and can take another 9 hours for the remaining 25% to see it – if they do at all.

Wisemetrics‘s report indicates 75% of users see a post in 2 hours or less

Time is on your side
 The reality is that the perfect time to make a post is when YOUR fan base is most active. This will change from brand to brand and page to page. Have a look at your insights page to determine what time of day your posts get the most activity. It might be mid-morning; it might be midnight. It all comes down to your particular fan base.

However if you haven’t been testing different post times, or you are setting up for the first time, there has been plenty of research into the best times to post on different platforms. However when it comes to Facebook, the general consensus is:

When to post:
•    Early in the morning - 80% of Smartphone owners check their phone as soon as they wake up.
•    Between work and dinner – This is capturing both the people who can’t Facebook at work, and those who have long commutes on public transport.
•    Bedtime – More people now access Facebook from their mobile than the web.

When not to post:
•    After dinner – This is when Facebook gets most active, which means you now have to fight for attention between user posts.
•    During work – Studies have also shown that more than half of users only access Facebook when they’re not at work or school.
•    Weekends – Weekends are for going out and doing all the things we post about during the week.

The key is to remember the two-hour window. In order to optimise your post’s chance of engagement, you need to ensure that you are not only posting in the keys times, but also allowing enough of a buffer for a significant amount of your fan base to see it.
 

Seize the day

Just like the time you post, the day you post can be equally if not more important. Again, it all comes down to when YOUR fan base is the most active. Although there is research is on hand to give you further guidance. A report from LinchPinSEO shows that different brands will find better success on different days. In short:

•    Automotive: Saturdays and Sundays
•    Clothing and Fashion: Thursdays, Saturdays and Wednesdays
•    Consumer Packaged Goods: Sundays, Saturdays and Wednesdays
•    General Retail: Mondays, Fridays and Tuesdays
•    Health and Beauty: Mondays, Sundays and Saturdays
•    Technology: Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays
•    Entertainment: Sundays and Mondays
•    Finance: Mondays, Fridays and Sundays nights
•    Food and Beverage: Saturdays and Sundays
•    Not for profits: Thursday nights, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays
•    News and Publishing: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and late Sunday
•    Telcos: Fridays, Sundays and Mondays
•    Travel: Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and peaking on Sundays.

That same report also found a rise in engagement for posts that were shared after 8pm and before 7pm. It also found that brands and companies that posted more than 7 times per week saw a 25% drop in engagement levels.

When it comes to Facebook there isn’t one single time of day that works for all brands. The key really is to do a bit of trail and error to see when your fan base is most engaged.


 

Short attension spans: The rise of Vine and Instagram Video

With the arrival of any new piece of technology, you can rest assured that somewhere in the world, marketing and advertising teams are scrambling to use it in their next campaign - as has been the case with Vine and Instagram Video. 
   
Twitter owned Vine and Facebook owned Instagram video (an extension built into the vastly popular Instagram) are smartphone applications that allow users to create very short video content. Users can then share their video on in-built galleries or via their parent social media platforms.

In July this year, only a month after Instagram video launched, automotive giant Nissan became one of the first major brands to embrace these new platforms. The carmaker challenged their customers to post a clip on Vine or Instagram using a printable version of the Versa Note. Creators used the hashtag #VersaVid to submit their entries, which could be featured in a Nissan commercial coming out this September.

At the same time, rival automotive brand Honda used Vine to help promote their Summer Clearance Sale. Known as "Live Vine Day", the brand responded to #wantnewcar mentions with personalised Vine replies. The campaign received 100 million impressions and 10,000 #wantnewcar mentions for the cost of a smartphone and a couple of energetic employees.

But, this is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Here are some more examples of brands making good use of Vine and Instagram videos in marketing mix:

•    American DIY store, Lowes, has already created a plethora of tips and tricks for life, which they sum up in just six seconds.

•    PayPal has also created a six second tutorial – although it took a few watches to understand.

•    Starbucks has taken to Instagram to tell 15 second stories – such as showcasing the first ever Starbuck.

•    Online office suppliers, ReStockIt.com, have taken things one step further by creating an Instagram video series called “Revenge of the interns”. 

•    Fashion store Sabo Skirt are appealing to fan’s desire to be ahead of the curve by offering 15 second sneak peaks at their latest designs.

•    Burberry were able to sum up their London Menswear Spring/Summer fashion show in just 15 seconds.

•    Intel has also stepped into the world of mini-tutorials, creating quick guides such as how to turn your hoody into a laptop bag.

•    MTV kept their fans up to date by announcing the VMA nominations on Instagram video.

•    Even multinational Cisco Systems are in on the act, creating 15 second weekly summaries.

Instagram VS Vine

Like any good Social Media campaign, the question always comes down to which platform to use.  

Features – Instagram is already famous for its filters; any photo can suddenly look professional by simply picking a filter. Instagram videos offer users the same filter treatment options – something Vine videos don’t have.

Quality – This is a hard one to choose – on the one hand Instagram Video also boasts video stabilization, another feature Vine doesn't offer. However given Vine users penchant for stop-motion, this benefit can almost be negated. It really comes down to how you intend to use the content.

Video length – Twitter has a character limit of 144 characters, so it comes as no surprise that Vine has an equally small limit of six-second videos. Instagram, on the other hand, let’s users create up to 15-seconds of footage. The obvious choice would seem to be Instagram - however sometimes restrictive limits can actually bolster creativity.

The Cool Factor – On paper Instagram seems to have Vine trumped – however Vine is the underdog here, and with that status they also get a lot more of the cool factor – which is why you will find a lot more Hollywood stars posting Vines than Instagrams. 

Perhaps it’s societies’ ever-diminishing attention span, but any new communication platform that allows for short, visual executions seems to be appealing more and more to consumers. Vine and Instagram Video are the latest players in this market – the question is how to best utilise them before their audience gets bored?