More Content Marketing

CRUNCHY NUGGETS:  Admittedly, today’s blog post is a bit of a “drive by,” as I quickly toss a URL at you and then scurry back to my work.  Regardless, this will still get your brain wheels turning…It’s a link to a great infographic (love me a good infographic, I do!) about CONTENT MARKETING.  “What is this content marketing, you speak of?” and “Why are we talking this like today?!’ To answer your first question, simply go back a post or two and read May 24th for the scoop.  To answer your second question…for fun, really, you know I like to crack myself up!  In any case…This infographic is from Mashable and gives good, crunchy stats and examples.  Enjoy and have a wonderful weekend!

http://mashable.com/2012/02/08/new-content-marketing-tactics/

TASTY TREND:  Content Counts

Content Marketing 101

CRUNCHY NUGGETS:  A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend a conference about Content Marketing.  My thought going in was “oh good…I’ll learn about how to make Facebook posts richer and more engaging.”  Um, no.  That wasn’t it at all.  It was bigger…much, much bigger.  Instead, I learned about a new, strategic approach to marketing.  One that is just being pioneered.  Like I said, it’s big.  And a number of major brands and agencies are heading in it’s direction.  To give you the short of it…

Tell me a story — Content Marketing based in really good brand strategy.  Knowing exactly what your brand’s mission is all about.  And then telling that story in the form of content.  Whether it’s content to entertain, or to inform, or to help out a potential customer (or influencer, for that matter).

Who, what & where — Content marketing is also about knowing exactly who your targets are…identifying them by specific persona…and then understanding what kinds of information and content they would like or need.  It also means knowing the purchase cycle very, very clearly — who is at what stage, what do they care about at each stage, where they connect with your brand.

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should — One of the most important lessons about content marketing is that sure, you can have a blog and a twitter feed and craft white papers and generate videos.  But if none of this “tells your brand story,” and none of this makes sense nor is wanted by your targets, no reason to have it.

Curated vs. original — Another ah-ha (for me, anyway) was defining curation.  I’ve heard the term curated content used in conjunction with Pinterest.  And now I understand why.  Curated content is taking your brand’s story or focus, and then pulling in whatever is the most relevant content (information, articles, images, etc.) to share with your audience.  So Pinterest takes themed boards and enables you to curate around the theme.  A smart approach, from what I learned is to make sure you have at least some of your own original content (15%) and then go ahead and curate (85%).

At the conference, we heard about really big brands and companies with whole departments dedicated to content marketing.  As well as services that help to publish and organize content.  People, this is big, it really is.  At the very least, best practices such as having a written, clearly defined brand mission, knowing your targets, knowing your purchase cycle, having a road map of what gets shared when, are all good things for any brand.  No matter how big, how small, even if the words “content marketing” are never spoken.  By the way, I should mention that my selected image is a snack buffet…so if “salty” if your brand focus, that’s your content!  TASTY TREND:  Content is King

DIY Crazy

CRUNCHY NUGGETS:  In the past, I’ve shared crunchy nuggets that I’ve read about or seen from a pedicure chair.  And last Friday certainly had my brain bubbling as my toes sat in a foamy bath.  It came as I read through my mail and browsed the latest Williams-Sonoma catalog.  They now offer an “agrarian” (i.e., think WWFD — what would a farmer do) section, dedicated to helping customers DIY foods and make things at-home.  Well beyond cooking and into areas such as: gardening, beekeeping, chicken coops, as well as kits to make your own cheese, vinegar, sprouts, mushrooms, and kombucha (a fermented tea that is supposed to be packed with healthy properties).

Now…I wasn’t surprised (nor should you be) because all of this feeds into the larger trends of: slow food – knowing where your ingredients come from – gardening and growing your own – keeping things local.  But I was taken by the extensive selection Williams-Sononma is offering, along with resources for DIY’ing it, my goodness!  It made me wonder if DIY, cottage-industry-type behaviors are a new sort of status among a Williams-Sonoma crowd, which I would imagine is more high-end – ?  Are there bragging rights in serving cheese and vinegar that you made yourself?  Again, I would think yes.  What are your thoughts?  Is this just another fad or will we see DIY kits like these for the masses?  TASTY TREND:  Food and Flavor Trends; Slow Foods;  Keep it Real, Keep it Local

WOM & Reviews Rule

CRUNCHY NUGGETS:  “Oh…so look who’s decided to get back to blogging…” Yes, yes, I know.  I’ve been busy, I’ve been on vacation, I’ve been, well…just not sharing, so my apologies.  I won’t belabor the excuses.  What inspired me to come back to the nuggets today was a refresh of stats.  Stats I’ve shared before, whether it’s on this blog or as part of insights.  And so I thought it best to capture their shiny newness, so as to have them on-hand and ready to go.  I’ll cut right to them…According to a global study just released by Nielsen:

• WOM continues to rule: 92% of consumers — globally, mind you — say that they trust word-of-mouth recommendations from their friends and family above all other forms of communication.
• And so do online reviews — even if they’re strangers:  Right behind WOM are online reviews, coming in as the second most trusted form of communication (70% of consumers surveyed).  Side note: Nielsen calls both out as acknowledgements to “trust in earned media.”
• Online is trusted and has grown:  According to Nielsen, 58% of online consumers trust digital “owned media,” such as messages on company websites; and 50% feel that opt-in emails are credible.  36% of consumers trust online video ads, 33% believe messages in banners — up since 2007.  When it comes to search and social, ads in search are trusted by 40% of consumers (also up since 2007); and 36% of consumers trust sponsored ads on social networks.
• What’s down = traditional:  messages delivered through TV, magazines, and newspapers have all experienced declines in trust levels since 2009.  Down 24%, 20%, and 25% respectively, wow!

Seriously, these stats are like bringing a snack on an airplane:  you think you don’t need it, but then you end up sitting on the runway for hours and boy oh boy would you just love to have that granola bar right now!  Seriously good brain food nuggets that are just smart to squirrel away.  Hope all is well with you.  It’s nice to be back!  TASTY TRENDS:  Digitally Focused; WOM Rules

Food for Thought

CRUNCHY NUGGETS:  I just read an article in today’s Wall Street Journal about food waste…what’s driving it, how much attention it’s drawing, how it makes people feel, and what marketers are doing around it.  I pulled the most nuggety bits from the article, fried them up with a few leftover veggies, and wish to share them with you now as a tasty brain-filling meal…

A whole lotta trash — Food waste is now the second largest component of waste among consumers.  Number one, surprisingly given recycling options, is paper.  Veggies are the most wasted food, making up 25% of food trash, followed by fruit and juices at 16%, grains at 14%, and milk products at 13%. And so I’ll bet you’re wondering…

Why so much waste — It’s been triggered by an increase in cooking-at-home among consumers over the past few years.  Some fears about sell-by dates and food-transported illnesses of late.  And a lot of over-estimating what’s needed to feed a family.  How are consumers feeling and marketers responding?

Guilty, looking for solutions — and filling these needs with product solutions — Consumers don’t feel good about all of this waste.  Research has shown that there is a lot of guilt associated with throwing out so much food.  Particularly as food costs have risen.  So marketers are appealing to this need to conserve and prolong and use-up with products such as:  portion size storage bags (Ziploc) to buy in bulk and then freeze/store; recipes for using leftovers and the “dregs” of products (Betty Crocker, e.g., bottom of the cereal box crumbs used in a cookie recipe); recipe books encouraging cooks to use the whole fruit or veggie in the making of a recipe.

Here’s the article’s URL if you wish to read.  It also shares tips for your own home food consumption: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304724404577293620871384492.html?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_LeadStoryNA

Interesting, right?  You gonna eat that?!  TASTY TREND:  Food Facts; Recession Obsession

Pin Points

CRUNCHY NUGGETS:  If Pinterest was a liquid, and I was a sponge, right now I’d be over saturated, my heavens!  There is just so, so much press about Pinterest right now.  But…in an effort to wring some of it out, I am going to share a few interesting things I spotted this week.  Starting off with two links:  1. Is a really good Pinterest 101 infographic that I’ve seen referenced a few times by other bloggers.  But it’s a good basics and shares really crunchy stats about the site and its usage:  http://techcrunch.com/2012/03/14/this-is-everything-you-need-to-know-about-pinterest-infographic/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29

2. The second is an update from SXSW from Pinterest on “what’s next” — basically, redesigned profile pages and apps: http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/13/tech/web/pinterest-sxsw/

The last Pinterest point I’m going to share is an email that I received from social flash sale site, sneak peeq.  It announces how they’re leveraging pinner Christine Martinez — who has over 1 million followers (and in the Pinterest world, that truly is a LOT right now).  She is going to share her hand-picks for the sneak peeq crowd.  So does that mean (in marketing terms) that pinners are the new bloggers?  Well, sort of…it’s a very creative, out of the box way of finding a non-celebrity spokesperson influencer to advocate a brand.  It was the first time I had seen a pinner being used to drive differentiation and equity.  Nice!

I feel a little lighter now, having shared.  Hope your weekend (hey, St. Pat’s day!) is over stuffed with goodness.  TASTY TREND: Social Curation; The New Influence

“Cyber-loafing”

CRUNCHY NUGGETS:  How are you feeling today?  The clocks were set ahead one hour yesterday, and most folks are chit chatting about how they’re feeling the time change (i.e., sleepy, tired, etc.).  Well, to perk you up…I just read interesting, related stats in the Huffington Post.  And among the stats, I learned (and am sharing) a new phrase: “cyber-loafing.”

According to a study in the Journal of Applied Psychology, tired employees spend dramatically more time “cyber-loafing.”  What is “cyber-loafing?”  It’s browsing the Internet in a way that’s not related to work.  So cyber-loafing increases on the Monday after the start of daylight saving time. Six years worth of Google data, likewise, confirms a spike in entertainment-related searches on the Monday after “springing ahead,” as compared to all other Mondays during the year.  Huh!

Feeling a little zippier now that you’ve got a new nugget in your brain?  No?  Just going to back to mindlessly surfing the wed?  Eh, that’s OK…you’ll be back on track in a day or so.  TASTY TREND:  Web Working

Reasons to Smile

CRUNCHY NUGGETS:  Holy moley…this is my 500th post on Crunchy Marketing Nuggets!  I feel like I need confetti and balloons and a band!  But alas, instead, I’m going to mark it by sharing inspiration.  Last year back in October, I shared a super fun, creative idea from a tech solutions company in Kentucky called Hitcents.  It was website called DrawAStickman.com, where you did just that: draw a stick man and then watch him fight a dragon.  Version two just came out and is equally as enjoyable.  It also includes share options, as well as the opportunity to turn your stickman into a tee shirt.  Love this!  What a fantastic means of demonstrating creativity and passion for what you do and the means of creating buzz and engagement.  Oh, and driving new business opportunities.  All with a doodle.  So smart, so nicely done.  You’ve gotta check it out: http://www.drawastickman.com/

Hey, thanks so much for reading and I’m so glad to have made it to gosh, 500 posts, wow.  Here’s to lots more crunchy marketing nuggets, cheers!  Have a good weekend!  TASTY TREND:  Socially Acceptable

Friday Nuggets

CRUNCHY NUGGETS:  It’s Friday, peeps, and I’m emptying my “bag of nuggets” that I’ve been collecting all week out on the table like my purse (without the stray paperclips and coupons I’ve clipped and tossed into my bag).  Today’s collection is a “so have heard” bunch.  OK then, so have you heard…

Mini wrap & Tees — Gap sent me a postcard this week, giving me a sneak preview of their newest kids’ line.  It’s by none other than fashion icon Diane Von Furstenberg.  Apparently, she’s pulled some of the prior prints and has designed cute lil’ wrap dresses and tops and other apparel for GapKids and BabyGap.  Nice, unique noteworthy partnership to draw attention and traffic for Gap.  The DVF deal  wasn’t the only partnership I saw this week from Gap:  Threadless now has a line of shirt designs they’re offering for sale through Gap.  Now, I love Threadless and do think it was wise of them to reach a bigger audience through a a big retailer like Gap.  But for the love of tees…Most Threadless tees are usually around twenty-bucks.  Not these designs, they’re more like thirty.  And now they don’t feel terribly unique as they’re being sold by Gap.  But that’s just my bias as a Threadless community fan.  Again, strategically, good move for both players (Gap = unique offer through partnership; Threadless = trial opportunity with a new customer set).  Alrighty…So, did you hear about…

I want it NOW — Sprinkles Bakery in Los Angeles is introducing a cupcake automat.  It looks like a pink ATM and it’s stocked with fresh-baked cupcakes, ready to dispense for purchase at all hours of the day.  Now, as trendwatchers (go with me here and agree), we all know that vending machines have had their share of interesting things to dispense over recent years:  gold, diamond bracelets, carrots, underwear, fresh fish, etc. etc.  They provide immediacy and convenience as today’s consumers have come to expect.  And so cupcakes seem to make a lot of sense for those who have a craving.  Yum.  OK, lastly, shifting gears…so unless you’re not in marketing or a marketer who lives in a cave did you hear about…

Facebook facelift — Facebook users are now very familiar with the new timeline format.  Brands now have until the end of March to also get comfy with this format as they’ll be switched over, too.  New features include: a cover shot (and specific rules stating what is not acceptable, e.g., no promotions, no offers), pinned and starred posts, milestones, limited featuring of tabs, no more default page, and a different view of analytics.  I’d highly recommend watching the video on Facebook’s About pages to walk you through the changes if you play in this space. Along with reading articles like this one from Mashable, that gives you the specific “this is what this change means, brand type person”: http://mashable.com/2012/02/29/facebook-brand-timelines-changes-marketing/

And so now, you’ve heard!  Hope your weekend is like a cupcake ATM stocked full of treats and delights!  TASTY TRENDS:  Socially Acceptable; Here and Now

Leap It

CRUNCHY NUGGETS:  Happy Leap Day to you!  I’ve got the balloons out in the blog post to make it look festive –nice, right?!  Leave it to marketing folks to turn a unique, once-every-four-years day into a reason to talk about your brand.  I love it!  Here are some of the ideas I’ve seen.  I have not included the numerous free shipping and 29% off deals, nor the creative headlines and subject lines.  Rather, I’ve chosen to focus in on some of the more brand-activating and buzz worthy.  Feel free to save these ideas for the next go ’round in four years…

Many happy returns: Zappos — But anything on Zappos.com on Leap Day and get four years to decide if your merchandise is a keeper.  Zappos typically offers a one-year-365-day return policy, and they are known for excellence in customer service. So nice little PR, service-slant idea/offer.

Pah-leassse…just one more day: Disney — Disney Land and the Magic Kingdom are making families’ dreams come true by keeping the parks open for 24 hours — 6am today until 6am on March 1st.  It’s a nice, feel-good offer that clearly takes a uniquely timed day and makes it more magical.

Happybirthleapyearday:  Outback — With over 1.7 million Facebook fans, Outback has chosen to celebrate one of their fans’ birthdays today — her name is Jenn, she was born on Leap Day, and her picture is now up in their profile shot.  Become a fan of Outback and post a birthday wish to Jenn on the Outback page, and get entered to win one of four, once-a-month Outback celebrations for the next four years with Outback (i.e., until the next Leap Day).  Four years worth of free food once a month!  Nice means of positioning Outback as a monthly-let’s-celebrate destination for consumers.

You can google leap day offers and you’ll see the numerous codes and percentage savings and freebies (including free cookies at Subway, yay free cookies!).  Hope your day is leapin’ good!  TASTY TREND:  Brand Activators, Socially Acceptable