What are you most excited about in the digital marketing space at the moment?
I’m excited about the fact that digital is becoming crowded and competitive.
This means that brands and businesses now have to be a lot more interesting and engaging if they want to stand out in this noisy environment. It is no longer okay to just grab the attention of readers with an ad; you have to be able to hold their attention – a whole new concept for marketers.
Previously advertising was regarded as an interruption to the TV series or football match we were watching – and we were powerless to control which advertising was placed in front of us. Nowadays this is not such a problem in the digital space, thanks to more targeted adverts across a series of platforms – such as branded content where brands can be a part of the content that we consume rather than a distraction.
What’s your favourite example of innovative digital marketing?
We all know that real new innovation doesn’t pop up every day. We often call ‘innovation’ a new combination of existing ideas and concepts. Let’s be very pragmatic here: we only value innovation in digital marketing when it leads to tangible results. Therefore I found the example of Lauren Luke – which is now quite famous in the UK – to be very innovative.
Back in 2007, Lauren started creating video tutorials showing viewers how to apply make-up to recreate celebrity-inspired looks – such as Jennifer Lopez, Miley Cyrus and Leona Lewis. Her target was clearly younger than most other make-up brands: 16-25 year-olds. Lauren took a brilliant idea, an understanding of her target audience, and an eye for the latest news; she has created one of the most subscribed-to YouTube channels in the UK.
She currently has over 135 million views to date on her videos – a figure that most global brands can only dream of. The success of her videos eventually led to her successfully launching her own cosmetic product line ‘By Lauren Luke’, and she became so popular that Sephora decided to distribute her products in 135 stores across the US and Canada.
Her secret to success was building a real ‘content brand’ targeted exclusively at the most valuable audience for her products – a benchmark worth studying by any content marketer.
What defines good content?
Asking what defines good content would be like asking my grandfather ‘What makes a great fisherman?’
He would tell you that you need to know the fish well, sit in the right place at the right moment, and use the appropriate type of bait.
More seriously, from a brand perspective, the answer to your question is rather simple: a good piece of content is obviously one that is positively impacting the perception of your brand by the person who consumes that content. Then you’ve also to make sure that this person is within your target group of course.
However, from a consumer perspective the question is more complex – it’s all about relevance. The quality of a piece of content is totally subjective and relative. It depends on your interests, your mood, the time spent consuming content and the device you have in your hands (or around your wrist) to view it.
A piece of content is good for me when I get it at the right moment in real time. For example, I am not ‘in the mood for love’ for two weeks just because Valentine’s Day is approaching. The format is also important and has to be adapted – 46% of Fortune 500 websites are still not mobile friendly (eMarketer) while the usage of mobile devices has overtaken desktops in several countries. Obviously the content topic has to be of great interest to you, even if you were not proactively looking for it when you found it. Maybe you were searching for that cupcake recipe on AllRecipes.com but you’re happy to click on – and spend a moment with – the promoted article about Kate Middleton’s favourite baby dresses.
What is the biggest myth about content marketing?
The biggest myth about content marketing is that it is something new. We can look to the Michelin Guide published back in 1900 as one of the first forms of modern content marketing. Times have obviously changed; nowadays we traditionally market content online in the digital space. However, this is certainly not a new phenomenon.
How are you amplifying and maximising your content?
It’s a well-regarded practice in the industry to invest marketing budgets into platforms where your audience spend most of their time. Simply, if your target audience or consumers are communicating on Facebook then that is where the bulk of your media spend will be placed.
Unfortunately – or fortunately – it is not that simple. Consumers are using dozens of platforms and may not be in the best mood for branded content when they’re reading their friends’ status updates on Facebook.
This is why we place increased value on content discovery platforms like Outbrain. They have a pull-content approach which is much less intrusive for consumers. This is key to legitimising our brand content as real editorial content - and not perceived as an ad. Our branded content is gently suggested to consumers when they are browsing their favourite news websites.
Where do you go for great content?
You really want to know? Well there is a great small bookshop that I love in Paris Latin quarter, where I grew up. But I’m only giving you the address via private message… You see, I’m doing one-to-one content marketing with you right now!
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