strategies for creating interesting, engaging, and effective social media content

BREAKING THROUGH

THE SOCIAL CLUTTERStrategies for Creating Interesting, Engaging

Content

State Farm Digital (Enterprise Marketing), State Farm Insurance

Huonks.com • [email protected]

Linkedin/in/bkhuonker • Twitter.com/bkhuonker

www.slideshare.net/bkhuonker

@Midwest Social Media Conference

atMidwest.com

BRIAN HUONKER, MS, SAFe® Agile, CLU®, Human Factors CUA®

BREAKING THROUGH THE SOCIAL

CLUTTER


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Millennials spend an average of 5.4 hours/day consuming user generated content

80% of all online content is user generated

25% of the search results for the top brands goes to user generated content


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What this illustrations is (tip #1) is know your audience.

Brainstorm them.

Create profiles of them (and have fun)

Discover where they are at

Do they use Twitter (Does anyone?), LinkedIn, Instagram, Email (not if they under 20), etc…

They might have different personalities on them, uses them differently

Allows for the “like” to happen. Not the button, but the relationship.

Once you create a connection, you begin a relationship

Once a relationship, conversations can happen

Once, conversations begin, trust is established


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59% of users are happy to share branded content following a positive experience Referrals deliver higher-

quality leads

References help sales close deals

Buyers prefer to engage with peers

Extends your reach to customers you are not engaging with

Over 70% of consumers trust the opinions of their peers


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Thanks to the proliferation of social media, brands are no longer competing against each other. They are competing against every form of messaging.

Consumers (particularly Millennials) know when they are being marketed to, and anything that sounds like a pitch will be ignored.

Peer opinions, in fact, are considered two to three times more reliable than brand messaging.

Breaking Through the Social

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It’s sharing branded content through stories to:

Capture the brand’s persona through branded storytelling.

Enable social sharing through brand advocates.

Enable brand discovery through consumer exploration.

Connect the brand to consumers in context through cultural, relevant and valuable content.

Change and enhance the consumer experience.

Create visible brand value through the content.

Continuously measure, examine, and optimize the consumer experience.


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Tip #1: Set your social media goal

in order to have clear and

measurable return on investment.

Determine what you want to

achieve with social media?

Does that align with your overall

company vision, mission and

marketing strategy

Should they align it to other

campaign goals

Are your objectives S.M.A.R.T:

specific, measurable, attainable,

relevant, and time-bound?

Record them in your content

calendar (not only for tracking but

for future articles/posts)


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Tip #2: Painted a Story

Create content that is valuable

in customers’ eyes using data

gained from audiences.

Discover what makes your

business unique and weave it in.

Begin work on your content

brand at the point of

transaction (talk to them as if

they were a customer).

Write for the Millennial and

post-Millennial generation (aka

“bathroom copy”).

Create culturally relevant

content.


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Tip #3: Do the research in order to uncover what customers want to hear from you.

What’s in it for the customer

What keywords are customers using

What questions are customers asking

What are customers saying about you already in social media?

What problems do customers have?

What are customers saying about your competitors?

What are your competitors saying about you?

What is industry experts saying?

What comments are customers leaving?

Where is the you in here? Well, there’s one. What have you had success with?


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Tip #4: Answer those questions

with.

Good and bad examples.

Represents the hero and the

villain.

Visuals. Illustrate main points

(people skim… remember the

bathroom copy?)

How to videos. Helps explain

processes or instructions easier

than written (HowToPlay)

Q&A. With you customers

Summaries of industry research.

You are an expert through those

you know.

Repurposed content from other

stories.


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Tip #5: Wrap them in strategic forms

Hero Content.

Developed twice a year, content is focused on the high awareness of brand, content.

Chipotle’s Scarecrow

Exploration Content

Regular scheduled content designed to gain attention.

Short form articles, infographics, quizzes, etc.

Cultivating Content.

Simplest in nature but most effective, content is designed to continuously engage.

Slideshows, links to external articles

“Gamification” Content

The power of game elements to tell stories

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUtnas5ScSE


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Tip 6: Shout It To The World.

Encourage sharing By employees

by friends

by advocates

Everyone you meet

Submitted to news aggregators, bloggers, industry sites

Be optimize for local searches in key market areas

Include reference in other marketing material.

Content Sharing with suppliers and other businesses.

Monitor your post, respond to all comments.

“Small businesses should be even more focused on content

marketing than larger brands,” says Brenner. “Small businesses

don’t have the luxury of massive budgets that are over-weighted

in ineffective advertising. But they also need to drive brand

awareness and leads with limited resources. Content marketing is

a great way for small businesses to do both.”

— Neil Patel, co-founder of KISSmetrics and Crazy Egg

Breaking Through the Social

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Take-A-Way:

People like to

share stories (it

makes them appear

smarter)

Native, not deceptive

Individual, ready to

evolve

Deliver on emotion

Reserve judgment

Act like the locals


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Take-A-Way: Help the customers (everyone needs it but doesn’t admit it) Solve a problem

Escape for the moment

Fuel their creativity and play

Spotlight pop culture

Discover new things

Succeed

THE ROLE OF

CONTENT MARKETING

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strategies for creating interesting, engaging, and effective social media content

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