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A secret of content marketing – getting back on the bike

A secret of content marketing – getting back on the bike

By Phil Kingsland

2014 was the year that the phrase “Content Marketing” took off (well, in marketing circles at least!). Of course, if you believe much of the hype it’s a new way of marketing, it’s never been done before, it’s the only way to get leads, etc. In fact, the reality is rather different: content marketing has been around for a long time.

Good marketing, ergo good content marketing, focuses on the audience and engaging them in a topic that is relevant, timely, has an impact on them and through their medium of choice. The reason that content marketing has been coined as a phrase is that the opportunity for content creation has been massively amplified over the last few years as the nature of the way people consume content has changed and the ability to easily publish content has changed.  Yet, even in the days before there was such a simple and direct way to engage your audience, the approach remained the same: provide a timely, compelling story built around the need of your audience and find the best way to get it in front of them. “Gobbing off”, as a colleague of mine once put it, didn’t work any better then than it does now.

One of the biggest challenges with content marketing today, is cutting through all the noise. With ease of publication, has come increase in volume – exponential increase in volume. So, how do you increase your cut through? Well, actually it all goes back to where good marketing started – step into your audience’s shoes, find out where they hang out, create content that is relevant to them, make it emotionally engaging, make it focused on their need. Then and only then, only once you have established connection and need, link it back to your offering.

And, while you’re at it, recognise that all of this takes time. There are no shortcuts. You need to take time and be consistent in getting your content out there, which is a hard thing to do. So, we often see people fall off the bike – they don’t get responses quickly enough, it’s not a core part of the business, they just can’t find the energy, they don’t have the commitment to the programme, so they stop producing content. And that’s ok – there’s no need to beat yourself up over it if you take a break from producing content. What’s important is to recognise when this has happened (no matter how long the time has been) and then get back on the bike and start producing again. No-one will judge you for starting again and who knows, the effort may pay off sooner than you think.

Enterprise Nation – find advisers for your growing business

By Phil Kingsland

As we enter this New Year, it’s a time when many are thinking about what to do next with their business:

  • How to grow?
  • What to invest in?
  • How to win more clients?
  • How to wow existing clients?

One question that’s well worth considering is

“How to get the most out of your money?”

…and one way of doing that is to take a look at the Enterprise Nation Marketplace. It’s a government funded scheme whereby businesses can seek support in different areas and receive match-funding up to £2,000 for specific projects in the following areas:

  • Marketing and customer service
  • Leadership and management
  • Expanding your workforce
  • IT and web
  • Finance and cashflow

It’s a straightforward application process, with a plethora of suppliers to choose from (we’re one of them), so it’s worth a look to see if you fit the criteria.

 

7 ways to get your new top level domain name noticed

By Phil Kingsland

The world of top level domains is changing. New domains are starting to appear and be used: www.meantime.london, www.50inda.club, www.annualreport.axa. The approaches to raising interest in the new top level domains varies, here’s a few of the basics:

  1. Be first. Now, I know the first domains have gone live (.bike, .clothing, .guru, .holdings, .plumbing, .singles, .ventures), but that doesn’t mean all firsts are shut out.  Some have targeted being first in their category: first dotBrand- AXA; some have focused on being first with a new approach to serving customers. How else could you be first?
  2. Be innovative. There’s lots of talk about innovation in the new domains space and as yet we’ve seen little, however, you can be sure that some of the brands will have some neat models for servicing their customers and I’d bet that certain businesses wouldn’t have ploughed as much money in as they have without a clear plan that is not just innovative, but potentially highly disruptive.
  3. Think big. Big can help get lots of attention: a big celebrity with a big following on board like dotClub with 50 Cent; or get big reach with the biggest registrars. There are many ways to do big.
  4. Think small. Focus on the people who’ll be the biggest users of your domain (small business anyone?) and make it relevant to them.
  5. Engage. Engage at all levels: with registrars, with potential users, with influencers and players in the market.
  6. Search. “What will switching to a new domain do to my search ranking?” – a question asked by anyone whose website already ranks well. We know that Google provides advice on what to do, as do many registrars. Nevertheless, there’s plenty of nervousness on display at the moment – ever wondered why we’re seeing so many microsites at the new domain addresses and not sites switching from well established names? It’ll be very important to find ways of convincing businesses that switching can be done simply.
  7. Microsite. So, we’re seeing microsites, just look at dotLondon: standard.london and techhub.london both take you to microsites. Helping your community to understand what they can do with microsites and how they can do it is important. That way, they make sure they’re engaging, serve a purpose and are something they’ll have the bandwidth and desire to maintain.

There’s plenty of other approaches coming through as each new domain attempts to grab its own share of the market at launch and the incumbent registries behind .com and .co.uk are responding with their own thing too.

The web or the Internet – does your audience care?

By Phil Kingsland

Last week you may have seen a raft of articles celebrating the fact that it’s 25 years since Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the web.  If you’re a reader of some of the more technical media, you may also have noticed a number of commentators bemoaning the fact that that several media outlets committed the heinous crime of calling the web the Internet.

The bottom line is that many people use the words web and Internet interchangeably.  They simply don’t care that one’s the pipes and the other’s the way you navigate.   To your average Joe it’s all the same thing.

And the media outlets that didn’t get it right know this.  They know their audience well enough to know that, despite the fact that Sir Tim was part of the marvelous opening ceremony for London 2012, most of those watching don’t make a distinction between the web and the Internet.  They know that it’s too technical.  In the same way that they know that people don’t care how their latest mobile phone works, or the technical reasons behind the different HD formats of their televisions.  What they do know is that a Briton invented a part of one of the most significant technological shifts of the last century and that’s what matters to their readers.

Which is of course the same reason that the media outlets who bemoaned the crime also wrote about the fact they got it wrong – they know their readership do care.

It’s all about writing for your audience.  Something it’s easy to forget about when we get caught up in the excitement of our products or services.  So remember, whether you care about calling it the web or the Internet, it’s what your readers care about that matters more.

When does little data become big data?

By Phil Kingsland

We’ve all heard lots about big data recently, but what relevance is it to you and your business?

 1.     Data for data’s sake

The first thing to know about data is that what ever its size, data is a tool. On it’s own not much use.  It’s the insights that can be derived from the data that matter.  Insights that tell us about the past, give indicators of the present situation, and ultimately enable prediction of the future.

Data for data’s sake is pointless.  Data that is used for insight is golddust.

 2.     Where’s my data?

Data can come in many forms from many sources.  Every business has data about its customers, suppliers, staff, products, and much more (even if it’s only stored in one person’s head).   The first challenge is to recognize where the data lies, then how to access it and draw it together and ultimately to derive knowledge and wisdom from the information held in the data, so you can make decisions and take action.

 2.     Analysis paralysis

Getting the balance right with data is important.  Insight provided by one set of questions, often leads to further questions, which leads to further questions… Once you begin to understand one aspect of your customers’ buying patterns, you very quickly want to understand more.  And here’ lies the temptation of big data – the desire to want ever more data, so you can make the best possible decisions ever with 100% certainty.  This can lead to analysis paralysis, the ever-increasing desire for data leading to indecision and inaction.  So, apply your resources appropriately.  Don’t get stuck in the rut of data collection.  Get enough, make the decision, move on.

3.     So, when does little data become BIG data?  – Does size really matter?

I expect you’ll realize by now that, in my opinion, this is not the important question.  Yes, it matters what computing power you need.  Yes, it matters, what data sources you are drawing together.  Yes, it makes a difference to the tools you need to process the data.  But no, it doesn’t matter how big your data is, as long as you are deriving knowledge and wisdom from it.

And that can be done with very small datasets as well as very big ones.

4.     First steps with BIG data

Often the first sensible steps with big data are to practice on little data sets. Understand what you can learn from the data you have.  Make decisions based on the knowledge you gain.  It’s the decisions you make that will drive your business forward, not the mountain of data.

Want to talk more about making choices based on data?  Get in touch.

Google’s acquisition of nest – a lesson in the power of the big numbers and other storytelling tactics

By Phil Kingsland

It’s fascinating to watch the rise of the Internet of Things.  The concept has been around for years – hook up all the electrical, and even some non-electrical goods you have at home to the Internet and control them from wherever you are.  It’s been a while coming but the products and applications are starting to hit the consumer market, as are the debates: privacy issues – who has access to the data about what time you get up or how often you shower?; obsolescence issues – will all our products that we’d have been happy using for 15 or 20 years need replacing much sooner (every two or three years) because the technology in them goes out of date?

So, what’s caused the issue to go mainstream, when the products still have a relatively small consumer base?  Well, Google’s acquisition of nest for $3.2bn has done more for the profile of this kind of technology than any other news event.  So, I think it’s worth considering why this story has garnered so much coverage and raised the profile of this kind of tech to a much wider audience than before.

The interest in this story comes about because a number of factors come together elegantly and make this an attractive issue to write about, offering some easy headlines that will grab the attention of readers worldwide.  What are those factors?

  • First, there’s a massive number – $3.2bn – the price Google have paid, but on it’s own that’s not the whole story
  • Next, it’s what they’ve bought with the money, a small number to juxtapose against the big number – a company with just 300 employees
  • Further, this is a company working in an area of technology that many people haven’t heard of and that experts are predicting will be a huge area of growth in the sector over the coming years – so the timing of this story is just right
  • And finally it’s an area that’s ripe for debate – privacy, obsolescence, rampant consumerism, etc.

Of course, we’re not all Google and we don’t all have $3.2bn to spend on a business, but we can consider how we apply the principles of how they’ve structured their story and make our own stories as engaging.  That way, we can make the world we want to talk to, sit up and take notice.

Stories at a time of sadness

By Phil Kingsland

This is a personal post, but I hope you’ll indulge me…

Over the last few months in our house we’ve been dealing with the loss of some loved ones. It’s been a challenging time for all, but one which we all face at times.  Stories have a strong role to play at times like these.

Stories help us make sense of what’s happening in the moment.  Do you remember when….  She always used to love this…  They’re the memories we’ll have and the stronger the story the more vivid the memory.  Happy ones, sad ones, uplifting ones.  Stories told through sound, vision, smell, and touch.  All our senses create stories for us all the time.  The stories often become the filters we view the world through.  In this circumstance they are part of the glue that binds a community or family.

At times like these we remember stories and we also create new ones.  Many of the stories created now, will not be spoken out loud for some time to come, They will be held close, our own personal stories but one day they will play their part in the healing.

To read a story of one of the people we have lost, one of our daughters’ teachers, see here and if you feel the urge, please donate.

Get found

By Phil Kingsland

I bought something online today.  It cost me 6 pence, it cost 99 pence to have it delivered and  it gave me value of about £20.  I was chuffed, because something else I’d previously purchased now worked properly.

The remarkable thing about this activity, for me, was the simplicity of it. Not only that, but it’s the way such transactions have become a part of everyday life and our expectations of service have risen so fast.

The part I was looking for didn’t, to my knowledge, have a name.  It was a small metal ring that would allow a lampshade I’d bought to fit onto the light mounting in our living room.

So, what to search for in Google?  I have to admit I wasn’t sure but I knew that I could refine my search if I wasn’t hitting the exact spot.  So I typed in my problem rather than trying to come up with a name for this strange object. “Lampshade hole too big”. Surely this can’t work I thought, but no, lo and behold at position 2 there was the answer to my problem and it was clear even from the short excerpt of text that appeared alongside the response – this was what I was searching for!

It was, of course, only a short hop, skip and a jump to review it more fully, decide to buy and within a few clicks it was being packaged and posted to me.

Now, I know there are many who feel that some of the online behemoth stores are not for them – they kill the high street, they work their employees too hard, etc. – and I know they’re not perfect, but the simplicity of what I had just done struck me as something many businesses can learn from.

What’s to learn then?

If you want to get found think about what people might search for. That includes the phrases people may use, because they don’t all use the corporate language you do, even consider descriptions of the problem the customer may want to solve.  Describe your product or service offering clearly and make sure you optimise how your page will appear in search.  Make the purchase and delivery process simple.

It’s not easy, and I know you might not sell widgets like this, but if there are others out there doing it, then it becomes the standard which we will all need to meet.