In the past 20 years, content marketing grew up and got married. You still share helpful information, but now the “how” has shifted.
With more businesses flocking to be online, the marketplace is more crowded. Now it takes uniqueness to get noticed.
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Everyone wants their wedding to be unique. When my husband and I decided to get married, we wanted to keep it super simple. Most of our family lived too far away to attend anyway… and we aren’t Gen Z. We’re Boomers.
We started by visiting my best friend, Cynthia. She was my travel buddy and companion for mischief. Thankfully, she’d “adopted” my fiance, Gav. We three had a fantastic tour of northern England and Scotland.
It was only natural we involve her. So we dropped by for a visit.
“We have a favor to ask,” I said when she handed me a glass of lovely sauvignon blanc.
“What’s that?” She shot me one of her gamin smiles that warmed you to the core and turned the unexpecting to mush.
“We’d like you to conduct our wedding,” I replied, trying to tamp down nerves that feared rejection. Cynthia was Catholic, and I worried this might be asking too much of our friendship.
“Oh my!” She dropped into her chair abruptly. Fortunately, Gav was within arm’s reach and steadied her glass of cabernet.
“Well,” she said, gathering herself together. “That was a surprise. But I’m not a priest and not ready to become one.”
We broke into gales of laughter. The image of this 5’4” Scotch-Irish lass with her short bob of vibrant red hair in priest garb just didn’t fit. She was too energetic, sassy, and had a sharp-edged sense of humor.
“That’s okay; you don’t have to be. All we need you to do is fill out this form, mail it in, and bingo, you’re certified. Now you can officiate.
“I already checked with the county. It’s perfectly legitimate and becoming quite common. I’ll help you so we can get it filed and get your certificate in plenty of time for the wedding.”
Cyn looked at Gav and then locked gazes with me. “Then I guess if that’s what you want, I’d be honored.”
“It will be very short,” I interjected. “A Celtic handfasting. Then we pop the champagne.”
“Judi, it sounds lovely. Where?”
“My living room. Brian and Ladene will be our witnesses.”
“Sounds like a fun, unique way to do it,” Cynthia pronounced. “Here’s a toast to the two of you,” she said, raising her glass.
When working with my clients, I help them find a unique way to tell their story. We use it to attract clients and engage with them. It can take a little digging, but there’s always a story that people will love… and it wants to be told.
Next, I help them strategize to share it in different ways across different platforms. Then, when you share it and people engage with it, you see the tangible results.
Your message needs to connect on a non-language level — emotionally. So you’ll want emotional trigger words and images to maximize effectiveness.
Disneyland Paris did it magically with their little duck commercial in 2018. Disney makes magic happen… in a modern way. Overlaid on a background of music we meet an adorable ball of yellow fluff. As always, baby animals tug at our heartstrings.
As the lone baby duck walks through the meadow, he stumbles across a comic book in the grass. There is an image of a yellow duck on the cover. He’s wearing a sailor shirt and a jaunty hat. The baby duck is mesmerized.
He turns the pages and mimics Donald Duck boxing, and generally being Donald. It's cute, funny, and makes you want to laugh.
But then winter comes and Disney asks us to stretch our imagination. The baby duck with no real wing feathers flies through windy, rainy skies with his parents.
The next morning, the baby duck crawls out from under his mother’s wing. He gives his fluff a shake and cautiously ventures across rain-kissed grass. A dark shadow looms across his path. The baby looks up straight into the eyes of his full-size hero.
Their gazes lock and Donald smiles. Baby races to embrace his hero’s ankle as Donald bends to give him a hug.
This is a modern high-budget story. But, a relevant, targeted emotional one works well… even without Donald Duck or Disney graphic artists on your payroll.
Marketing still uses a multi-media approach. However, its scope has broadened and gotten more complex. As a result, it’s challenging to stand out in the noise and get your customer’s attention.
Content started with print messages. Today, it’s text, print, images, and video. You might use multi-channel marketing, social media, and search engine optimization SEO. Social media channels have become the primary way to reach your target audience.
From these shifts, there are three factors that guide your message to higher success. And the success of your messages determines whether you’ll be working the weekend or off sharing time with those you enjoy.
BE DIFFERENT
You need to be a little different if you want to get attention. Successful content marketing works because it is unique, creative, and well planned. In today's saturated marketplace, that’s what it takes.
At our wedding, we went the opposite of the crowd. Not big and fancy. Instead, we kept it small and intimate. And the simple, timeless vows came from an old handfasting ceremony I found on the internet.
When you’re thinking about creating content, you need to consider how you can make it stand out.
Can you say something different? How can you offer a better experience? Or can you share information not found elsewhere?
Unique content is the currency of content value. It’s the currency that can give you a Saturday off instead of working.
QUALITY MATTERS
For your content to be successful, it must be well written. This isn’t the place to scrimp.
Quality content is a workhorse. It boosts your reputation, relevance, and visibility to your target audience. In addition, its SEO factors boost your rankings, traffic, leads, and sales.
Regularity is essential for SEO content to work well. However, if it’s not well written, it’s a loss. Quality needs to be the number one consideration.
And it needs to be the right content for your audience to be relevant.
In the 1920s, Jell-O placed ads in women’s magazines that included dessert recipes. Women clipped the ads and bought Jell-O, so they published more recipes. Cooks still clip recipes today because it’s their interest and relevant.
So you have to have the right content, and you need to know where your audience is hanging out. That’s where the content needs to be seen. If your audience is on Facebook and you put your content on Tik-Tok, they’ll never see it.
WHAT’S COMING NEXT
Remember when Exxon made putting a “tiger in your tank” a big thing in the 60s? They created a rage. People wanted more. So they sold window decals and six-inch orange and black fuzzy tiger tails to tie on your radio antenna.
The marketer who tries something different may be taking a risk, but no one won a race from the sidelines.
Now visual and audio content of wide diversity is increasing in popularity. Everything virtual has come to the foreground. There’s more blending and more offering the content in multiple ways… script, video, or podcast.
Influencers have grabbed this to create a new way to connect with their audiences.
If you need inspiration, look at what’s been done before and how you can twist it into a fresh approach using modern technology. Or message. As an experienced copywriter and problem solver, I can help you.
When I work with clients, we take a good look at their target audience and determine what uniqueness we can bring out. Then we look at how to share them. Blogs, content, newsletters, or all of them. The right content in the right places to get the best results - so your business grows and you get well-deserved time off. Need help? Message me.www.jcpwellnesscopy.com.
Judith Culp Pearson receives three top honors
at the annual Society of Permanent Cosmetic Professionals in
Ft. Worth, Texas - October 7-9, 2023
