Tag: content

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

12 best (and worst) viral brand videos

Posted on by Red Slice

What makes something get shared or go viral? This seems to be the Holy Grail of brand bliss. Everyone wants their day in the Internet sun. Recently at a Content Marketing Conference at which I did a keynote presentation, another presenter talked about taking her non-profit’s blog from a ghost town to shared by thousands. One of her nuggets of wisdom? Make people laugh, cry or fume.

Here are 12 great examples of brand videos that went viral – and a few are big misses in my opinion. See if you can determine each one’s “secret sauce” and why you think it got shared. How can you apply some of that magic to your own content marketing efforts?

Dollar Shave Club, Our Blades are F**ing Great by Paulilu Productions
10+ million views

Combine a funny, charismatic and good-looking founder like Mike Dubin (he wrote the script) with snappy jokes and quirky scenes, and you get viral video gold. This video makes you laugh out loud while still doing its job of explaining what the heck Dollar Shave Club does for its members. There is no mistaking the brand voice and vibe this company is going after. They make this the cool tribe of which you want to be part. One of my all-time fave brand videos.

Dove, Real Beauty Sketches  by Ogilvy Mather   
54+ million views

Dove uses a forensic artist to compare people’s perceptions of themselves with how others perceive them. Powerful, moving and hopeful. You may choke back a sob. The music and lighting really adds to this piece.

Kmart, Ship My Pants by Draftfcb
17+ million views

You may have seen this ad on TV. Customers use lewd wordplay to talk up Kmart’s free shipping service. It’s clever, fun and a little shocking. Wonder how many outtakes they had on this one that they couldn’t use.

Audi, The Challenge by Paulilu   
5+ million views

Actors Zachary Quinto and Leonard Nimoy of Star Trek (new and old Spocks) square off in a race to the golf club in competing luxury performance cars. While from a true effective marketing perspective, the video is not quite clear on the benefits that make the Audi S7 superior to the Mercedes (except the clear point on trunk space), the video positions Audi as the new kid, replacing the old guard.

Red Bull, Red Bull Stratos by In-house
Almost 3 million views

World record free fall sponsored by Red Bull. Exciting, tension-filled and it captures our imaginations about what is possible. Choice of music is perfect.

Pepsi, Test Drive by TBWA\Chiat\Day
36+ million views

Racer Jeff Gordon takes an unsuspecting car salesman out for a high-speed test drive. This one is a miss in my view, as it’s clearly staged and the man is clearly an actor. Not sure what the main message or takeaway on this should be, but wanted to include it to show you that sometimes shock value is just pure fluff.

Metro Trains, Dumb Ways to Die byMcCann Melbourne
46 million views +

A song listing stupid ways to die, promoting safety around trains. I love this one. It’s clever, quirky, quiet and effective. The use of animation is perfect (I love crazy little monster characters like these so I’m a little biased). And they clearly get their point across with humor rather than by preaching.

H&M, David Beckham Bodywear by Marc Atlan Design
Almost 10 million views

Filmmaker Guy Ritchie directs a short featuring David Beckham running around in his underwear. I’ll let you decide if you think this is an effective video or not. It’s definitely on brand for H&M, though.

Old Spice, The Man Your Man Could Smell Like by Wieden + Kennedy
45+ million views

An idealized man using Old Spice convince the “ladies” to get your man to smell like him, featuring absurd and well-choreographed situations. This entire campaign did wonders for turning around the idea we all had of Old Spice being associated with our dads back in the 70’s.  It’s funny, crazy, well-paced and worth sharing.

Microsoft, Child of the 90s by In-house
33+ million views

“You grew up. So did we. Reconnect with the new Internet Explorer.” Nostalgia targeted toward people who grew up in the 90s. Not sure about the point, except that they are trying to equate those warm nostalgic feelings of youth (within a targeted demographic) with the IE browser. Not sure this one works, as this seems like tugging at emotion for emotion’s sake, not because it advances the brand message.

Expedia, Find Your Understanding by 180 Los Angeles   
2.5+ million views

An elderly father narrates his experience accepting his lesbian daughter’s marriage. Part of Expedia’s “Find Yours” campaign. It’s incredibly moving and may bring you to tears – but as seen in the Comments, it also produced some rage, too, which led to more controversy, views and sharing.

TNT, A Dramatic Surprise on a Quiet Square by Duval Guillaume Modem
45+ million views

A dramatic scene is staged in a public square after unsuspecting people press a red button. Classic staged event technique and it’s pretty clever in touting TNT’s expertise in drama. Not sure what the people who were there, however, made of all of this!

Which one is your favorite? Did I miss a juicy one that you adore? Please share in the Comments!

 

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

What should I blog about? 5 inspirations to spice up your content marketing

Posted on by Red Slice

Does your cursor blink at you, taunting you to come up with something witty and profound for your blog or other content marketing this week?

Our creative wells can all run a bit dry sometimes. And when we’re trying to deliver quality content to our readers, friends or connections, the pressure to create something brilliant can often send our muse packing. (Look, there she goes, hightailing it out the door like someone who did way too many tequila shots and doesn’t want to be reminded of what she may have done at the bar last night.)

When you’re stuck in neutral and want to write a great blog post, create effective content marketing or even just post Tweets that go viral, here are some ideas to lure your muse back in – at least for a cup of coffee and a bagel.

  1. Answer common questions: Seems simple, but I’m sure there are the same ten questions you always get about your business, book or project that everyone always asks. Why not turn each one into a blog post or create a weekly Q&A video, answering reader questions? Marie Forleo releases a Q&A video every Tuesday for entrepreneurial women. While her videos often branch out to other topics or interviews, they still tend to start with a question she’s been asked many times. What questions do your customers or clients always ask? Start documenting them and plan for a blog post series, video or podcast.
  2. Add a spice of pop culture: The Holy Grail of PR is to talk about something topical or celebrity-related. Spin your area of expertise into a commentary on the latest hit song, blockbuster movie or media superstar and add some pizzazz and fun to something that might be a bit dry. One of my best viral blog posts was one I did on “Four Powerful Business Lessons from James Bond and Skyfall“. And this one I did about the fall of Lance Armstrong’s brand.
  3. Revisit or clarify your Brand Strategy: Craft a strong brand strategy and think about what you stand for, why you do what you do, and what your customers really care about. Chances are it goes beyond just your products or services. Is there meaning in your message where you can highlight something related to your business? Brainstorm on a white board every possible topic related to that mission or vision. If you are a nutritionist, what other areas do your clients care about? Why do you do this work? To help them survive a dreaded holiday party? To better deal with family criticism and expectations? To boost their self-confidence? Open the aperture and think bigger about your audience’s needs and what benefits they get, use cases they might encounter or related challenges they may be having. This recent interview I did for Social Media Today, in advance of my conference keynote this week may help.
  4. Showcase other experts: You may not have anything witty to say this week, but I’m sure there are others in related fields who do. And who doesn’t love hearing another voice from time to time? Interview other experts or feature guest posts, as I’ve done with marketers, entrepreneurs and rockstars that I admire – and heck, you may even learn something in the process. My Slice of Brilliance columns & videos, like ones  I’ve done with Betsy Talbot of Married With Luggage about how to woo your audience with great content or a guest post from digital strategist Linda Rubright on better SEO in just 5 minutes a day were extremely popular and well-shared.
  5. Recycle and repackage: Not everything you do has to be completely original. Sometimes, people like to learn in different ways. Maybe you can turn that popular post from last year into a podcast, with fresh updated information. Perhaps you can take a great presentation you did and turn it into a Top 10 tip sheet. Don’t assume your content is “once and done.” It’s still valuable and important for all the people who didn’t know you or know about it the first time it ran, so just repackage it and tie a different color bow on it.

Photo credit: D. Sharon Pruitt, Pink Sherbet Photography, Flickr

What is your biggest headache when coming up with great content each week? Where do you find inspiration for your blog posts, videos or podcasts? Please share on the Facebook page!

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

How to do SEO in 5 minutes (really)

Posted on by Red Slice

Guest post today by digital marketing veteran Linda Rubright

If it is any solace to small business owners, bloggers or online entrepreneurial dreamers, please know the big companies are just as confused about SEO as you are. In my 15 years in helping companies from the extremely big ones to the one-person-shop-small-ones the single commonality amongst all in regards to SEO is – confusion – confusion in regards to the best SEO approach, best SEO tools and whose advice to trust – this week.

In all of this I see countless companies and individuals throw their hands up and decide to rely on other online and offline website traffic driving strategies instead of attempting to decipher the seemingly indecipherable SEO world.

But, I would highly encourage you not to do this.

And here is why: regardless of what the SEO industry would like you to think and what their constantly changing often contradictory information may make you think – SEO is not difficult. It is not even close to difficult. There are a few (seven to be exact) easy (I swear) things to do which when you get in the practice of doing can make enormous differences in getting traffic to your site. AND the bonuses of this? It take five minutes to do and from my experience those who do it typically reap great SEO rewards very quickly!

7 Steps on How to Do SEO in Five Minutes:

1. The first step is the most important one and it does not require any tools (hurrah!).

Before writing a new post think about the two or three keyword phrases which most accurately describe what you are going to write.

As an example, let’s imagine you are writing a post on the best Mexican restaurants in Denver. The two or three keyword phrases that would perhaps best characterize the content of your post (and would also be realistic terms people would use when looking for great Mexican restaurants in Denver) could be:

“Denver’s best Mexican food”
“best Mexican restaurants in Denver”
“top rated Mexican restaurants in Denver.”

It is important that you are as specific as possible. You do not want to pick “best restaurants in Denver” for your post because you are then placing yourself in competition with every other post online that discusses the best restaurants in Denver, Mexican or otherwise.

Likewise you do not want to select “best Mexican restaurants” because then you are competing with every post that was ever written about Mexican restaurants (in Denver, Dallas, Dusseldorf and beyond).

However, when you select keyword phrases such as “best Mexican restaurants in Denver” or “top rated Mexican restaurants in Denver” these are keyword phrases which both describe exactly what your post is about and likely reflect phrases people would actually enter in Google, Yahoo and Bing when looking for information on great Mexican restaurants in Denver.

As our keyword phrases are a bit long, we will select two of the three to optimize our post:  “best Mexican restaurants in Denver” and “top rated Mexican restaurants in Denver.”

2. Put selected keywords in the headline of your post 

The headline, also sometimes called the H1 in the SEO world, is the actual title of the post. The headline is the first great place to look for opportunities to include your keywords.

A great SEO headline for our piece could be, “The 10 Best Mexican Restaurants in Denver”. This is a great choice for a headline because it includes one of our keyword phrases and it let’s potential readers easily understand what the post is about. A win-win!

How to do SEO headlines (also called the H1)

3.  Put your selected keywords in the URL

With most blog and website tools, the URL will default to a version of the title of the post. If you are using Wordpress you can change this default to be able to enter your own specific URL by going to:

Settings > Permalinks > Custom Structure and enter /%category%/%postname%/

URLs are another great place to include your keywords! As we used one of our keyword phrases “best Mexican restaurants in Denver” in our headline we will use our other selected keyword phrase in the URL as follows: www.mywebsite.com/top-rated-mexican-restaurants-in-denver.html. The ‘-‘ between each keyword is critical as this indicates to search engines where one word stops and another begins.

How to optimize URLs for SEO

4. Get the selected keywords in the content of your blog 

Your keyword phrases should be in approximately 2 to 5 percent of the total content. As an example, if your post is 500 words you should mention your keyword phrases in about 12 or so of these 500 words.

Please note, the keyword phrase “best Mexican restaurants in Denver” is five words. As you already mentioned this keyword phrase in your headline you only have seven more words to include to meet your keyword quota. If you were to mention “top rated Mexican restaurants in Denver” once and perhaps “best Mexican restaurants in Denver” another time somewhere in your post you have more than met your keyword phrase quota!

5.  Name your images with your selected keyword phrases 

Imagery is a great way to make your post appear a bit more interesting (and appetizing). It is also a great way to include selected keyword phrases in your post.

For example, let’s say you had a picture of a veggie burrito from one of the mentioned restaurants in your post. Typically this picture’s default name would be something like dsc1010.jpg, which does not help in terms of SEO.

However, you could name the photo: veggie-burrito-from-one-of-the-best-mexican-restaurants-in-denver.jpg and this would be a good boost for SEO. It is a bit more work but a great way to help include your keywords in your post, support your SEO efforts and even have a chance for showing up when in image searches!

Further, you can include your keywords in the ALT image text and the caption. The ALT image text is the content that is displayed if the image does not appear due to slow Internet or other technical issues. It is also the text that appears if you rollover the image. Great SEO content for the ALT image tag and the caption could be, “Veggie burrito one of the best Mexican restaurants in Denver.” (The ALT Image text and the caption can be the same.)

How to name images for SEO

6. Include your selected keywords in your page title 

The page title is the clickable link that shows up in Google searches.

Example of how page titles and meta descriptions appear in search results.

It also shows up at the very top of your post.

Where page titles appear on your post or page

The Page Title is considered the most important SEO element and as such it is very important for you to include your selected keyword phrases in it. Using our example you would name your page title:

Top 10 Best Mexican Restaurants in Denver | Top Rated Mexican Restaurants in Denver

Efforts should be given to make each page title approximately 70 characters. Each keyword phrase can be separated by a ‘|’ or a comma.

Many people make the mistake of giving their business name precedence in the page title. Remember, it is very likely that if you Google your business name you will show up on the first page (likely at the very top). SEO is about ranking for keywords you do not rank for; it is not about ranking for keywords in which you already rank, so it is likely not necessary to include your business name in page titles and other SEO data.

If you do not have SEO features (page title, meta description) already built into your post functionality and if you are using Wordpress, I recommend the Yoast SEO plugin.

7.  Add your selected keywords into your meta description

This is the few sentences that appear in search results below the page title which describe the content of the post. It is a great feature to help people understand what your page is about and as such it is a great place to also include your keywords. Meta descriptions should be approximately 140 characters.

A good meta description for this post could be: “Get the local knowledge on the best Mexican restaurants in Denver and see which restaurants in Denver are considered the best by the locals.”

 

How to add in page titles and meta descriptions with Wordpress Yoast SEO plugin

….

Linda Rubright

Linda Rubright is a veteran of the digital marketing arena with over 15 years in the space. She has worked with companies from major Fortune 5s  to small start-ups in the US and around the world. She also is the founder of The Delicious Day, a blog on living and working well. She can be reached at linda@thedeliciousday.com.

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Art of Seduction: 5 Ways to Woo Your Audience with Great Content

Posted on by Red Slice

Today’s marketplace is noisier than ever and customers not only expect, but demand killer value from you even before they spend a dime. (Tweet this!)

But how can you create compelling free content that engages, informs and delight people enough to keep coming back for more – and eventually buy from you?

Special treat for you guys today: I’m sharing this 30-minute info-rich, delightful and useful free video interview with Betsy Talbot, author and co-creator of Married With Luggage. (they are personal friends and I’m a huge fan so check them out and enjoy their resources for entrepreneurs with big dreams!)

Betsy penned an awesome article for Copyblogger about what the male stripper movie Magic Mike can teach you about engaging your audience and giving them what they really want. I just had to take a deeper dive with her on these tips as they relate to your brand strategy.

In this free video, we discuss 5 sizzling tips for getting your audience all hot and bothered.

You’ll learn how to communicate your brand and you’ll also discover copywriting and messaging tips that will create a “love connection” with your fans.

Yes, it’s about 30 minutes. But it’s super useful. trust me. The tips we’ll discuss in the video:

  • Know what you are really selling 
  • Grab their attention 
  • Provide consistently compelling content 
  • Reward loyal fans 
  • Promote new talent 

And PS, there’s a BONUS tip for you: Make the ask. A little extra just to show you how much I love you.

Which tip do you find most useful? How will you apply it to your future content? Please share in the Comments below and share this post/video with your tribe!

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

The ABC’s of good content marketing with Sarah Von Bargen

Posted on by Red Slice

We all know content marketing is a good idea. It’s the whole “making time for it” and “doing it right” that trips people up. But we’re lucky enough today to hear from  Sarah von Bargen – blogger/writer/internet awesome-i-fier – with whom I have the privilege of working with often.

Sarah has 15 years of writing experience, an MA in Applied Linguistics that she doesn’t use, and a blog read daily by 10,000+ people.  Also: she has a cat named after a Russian historical figure, which is cool. Sarah runs Yes and Yes and helps companies and individuals become (more) awesome on the internet. She personally, professionally, and literally believes that yes is more fun than no – and she helps clients get more of their audience to say “yes” which, hey, isn’t that what good branding is really all about?

Today, Sarah is sharing her tips on good content marketing, how to craft killer website copy that people will attract and the committment secret that she put into her now successful blog.

RS: Sarah, you’re a brilliant copywriter. When and how did you expand your offerings into content and blog strategy for clients?

SVB: Well, gosh!  Thank you so much!  I’ve actually been offering content and blog strategy all long – but that aspect of my business has just recently started to take off.  While a clever, well-written About Page is super important, it needs to be part of an active website with regularly updated, useful content.

You know, like a blog.

I think a lot of people are finally realizing that they need to be more actively engaged with their readers and community – and I help them do that.

RS: It is kind of a “renaissance of customer engagement” we’re in, isn’t it? What is the biggest mistake people make with their blogs that is easily corrected?

SVB: Just talking about themselves and their products!  That’s like a TV show with two minutes of sitcom and 28 minutes of ads.  Create content that’s helpful to your target audience and engages them.

RS: Can you share your top 3 tips for how to attract more readers to your blog? Any specific advice on tags, titles or hyperlinking?

SVB: 1.  Create good content
You’ve probably heard this before (uh, like in the above paragraph) but you need to write things that are helpful and informative.  No amount of tagging and social media-ry is going to help if you’re just posting photo after photo of your own products.

2. Cross pollinate with other bloggers in your niche
Guest post on other blogs, host guest posts on your blog, interview people who have interesting, useful things to say, promote other bloggers’ posts that would be helpful to your readers.  Other bloggers will return the favor.

3. Leave comments on other blogs
Helpful, real comments that contribute to the discussion – not just “Great post!  Come check out my blog at [insert shameless link here].”  People will follow your comments back and return the favor.  For the first 2.5 years that I had my blog, I spent every lunch hour reading blogs and leaving comments.  Five days a week, 45 minutes a day, 2.5 years.  For real.

 

 

Net-net: Building an engaged community takes time. But content marketing helps you get there. Deliver value, be generous, provide opportunities for people to connect – and you will reap the rewards when it comes to converting those adoring community members into paying customers!

 

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

“We’re not selling/writing for strangers anymore”

Posted on by Red Slice

If you are a writer, marketer, content provider, or entrepreneur, please spend 26 minutes listening to this insightful interview with Seth Godin on the Zen Habits website. In it, he talks about not only the state of publishing today, but how to build an audience, what it means to fail and how to finally let go of trying to please everyone.

From the publishing front, which is of particular interest to me as I get ready to self-publish my next book in early 2012, is that we are no longer trying to convince strangers to buy our books. The old model is dead, and self-publishing has turned everything topsy-turvy. Now it’s about collecting friends and creating tribes that you specifically write for and who can’t wait to gobble up your next work. In his view, this makes opportunity more abundant, not scarcer.

Seth ntoes that his experiments with The Domino Project have proven that shorter and cheaper books spread more virally, that cover art with more visuals and less words works well, and that authors don’t need to rely on advances to succeed anymore (especially when that gives the false impression that someone else will be doing the work for you. They won’t.)

Later in the interview, Seth tackes why he does not accept comments on his blog. He states that he used to, but then he started writing with comments in mind and it paralyzed his work. “I don’t write for strangers anymore,” he said.  He decided a blog with posts was better than a blog with comments but no posts. Now he writes to spread his ideas to his tribe, not try to persuade strangers. In his view, the discussion doesn’t stop because he has no comments. There are plenty of places people can debate, get nasty and disagree with me on the Internet if people want, he says.

While a company might need to be a little more open to direct dialogue and interaction, this attitude should hold true with our brands as well. While increasing market share is always a good thing, you need to speak to your “people.” I’ve been doing a lot of work lately with solopreneurs who don’t realize the power they already yield with folks who are on their side or audiences who are primed for their message already. Great brands don’t try to please everyone, so why should your business? It’s just waste of energy and resources.

Photo Credit: Squidoo

Cash flow, creativity, and compassion are not mutually exclusive™

Better get your “content on”: you must read this book!

Posted on by Red Slice

The rules of marketing have changed.

I am seeing more and more evidence that bigger companies do not get what small, strappy entrepreneurs have figured out. The way we need to reach, connect and attract customers has fundamentally changed.

Recently, I got to speak to two good friends who are both marketing execs at Silicon Valley tech companies. Their stories sounded identical. They have crafted plans that include a lot of awareness activity via social media, content creation, blogs, video, etc. And while some people get it, others still want them to do the “old” lead generation stuff”: events, email offers, etc.  And we’re talking about some of the most forward-thinking companies in the tech industry.

Marketing and branding is much more complex than it was even 5 years ago. The old ways of “generating leads for sales” do not cut it anymore. Now, you absolutely need to build a thought leadership and expert brand (especially if you are B2B). You need to have a viewpoint, a philosophy, a personality. You need to connect with the real human beings making the buying decision on a personal and conversational level. People are out there, doing research and searching the Web. You need more than just your home page to come up if you want to make your sales numbers.

A must-read for any business owner, entrepreneur, c-level exec or marketing professional is Content Rules How to Create Killer Blogs, Podcasts, Videos, eBooks and Webinars (& More) That Engage Customers and Ignite your Business (Ann Handley and CC Chapman): It’s a how-to book on how to create effective content through various media, such as podcasts, video, blogs, etc. But the reason I think execs and CEO’s need to read it is that they need to understand the new paradigm, which the book explains very well. They may not need the nuts and bolts of how to do do it (leave that to their marketing teams) but the book provides ample case studies (including a whole section on B2B) about how this strategy impacts long-term success and sales.

It used to be that a differentiated brand strategy was to promote yourself as an advocate, expert and though leader. Now, it is a brand imperative. If you want to create a relationship with customers long before they are ready to buy so that you are top of mind, you absolutely have to start marketing your business in this way.

Practically speaking, what does that mean? If you are a hair salon, it means you need to provide content on the latest styles, proper hair care, how to protect your hair from sand and sun in the summer, and which products are best for which hair type. You could create content around trends, celebs, do’s and don’ts and hairstyles for any occasion. If you are a business ;lawyer, you need to do what my lawyer (and client) Equinox Business Law is doing: Michelle provides a monthly business seminar on all sorts of topics: branding, succession planning, real estate – and then tags on the legal perspective in dealing with those issues. She also reuses such content in her monthly newsletter.

The book has tons of case studies and I highly recommend it. If you are not ready for this paradigm shift in the market, I don’t care what size company you are or what industry you’re in: you will get left behind.