This document provides 5 tips for storytelling and content marketing in 2014. 1. Change your mindset to focus on creating engaging content as your most important marketing tool rather than social media strategies. 2. Focus on Google by joining Google+ and establishing your authorship to increase credibility and search rankings for your content. 3. Share your content across multiple platforms like SlideShare to reach wider audiences. 4. Create short, visual content like videos for Vine and Instagram that is optimized for mobile and social sharing. 5. Inspire your storytelling by learning from others, knowing your audience well, and optimizing content with catchy headlines and calls to action.

1. 5 SIMPLE STORYTELLING TIPS FOR 2014
Easy ways to impact your content and social results – today.
#MarketersAnon
@emilycretella

2. #1: CHANGE YOUR SOCIAL MINDSET
Your story is your most important marketing tool.

3. Change Your Social Mindset
“You don’t need a Facebook strategy.
You need a CONTENT strategy.”
Image: Unsplash

4. What is
Content
Marketing?
#1: Creating original
content or sharing
existing content that
will benefit your
audience at all
stages of the buying
process
Image: Unsplash

5. What is
Content
Marketing?
#2: Developing an
appealing hub for
your content, in the
form of a blog, news
section on your web
site, etc., while
integrating all
available
communication
channels
Image: CharityWater.org

6. What is
Content
Marketing?
#3: Using smart
marketing strategies
to get your audience
to engage with your
content and take
specific action
Image: twitter.com/charitywater

7. Benefits of Strategic Content Marketing
• Content & audience
ownership
• Real-time metrics
• Search ranking
improvement
• Site traffic increase
• Conversion rates
• Public & key influencer trust
• Position as leader
• Audience satisfaction
• Organizational buy-in
• Brand loyalty
• Social engagement

8. And Because Marketers Love Stats…
• 61% of consumers feel better about and are more likely
to buy from a company that delivers custom content.1
• Interesting content is a top 3 reason people follow brands
on social media.1
• Social media sites & blogs reach 8 out of 10 of all U.S.
Internet users & account for 23% of all time spent online.1
• 90% of consumers find custom content useful and 78%
believe that organizations providing custom content are
interested in building good relationships with them.1

9. And Because Marketers Love Stats…
• Blogs give websites 434% more indexed pages and 97%
more indexed links.1
• The avg. cost to generate a lead through inbound marketing
($143) is about half the avg. for outbound marketing ($373).1
• Per dollar, content marketing produces roughly 3x as many
leads.2
• After 36 months, content marketing generates 31 leads per
$1,000 spent, more than 3x as many as paid search.2

10. Change Your Social Mindset Today
START NOW:
• Start blogging – or revive your current blog
• Set measurable goals (i.e., engagement, social, conversions)
• Revisit existing content
• Develop a manageable editorial calendar
• Use social to share

11. #2: FOCUS ON GOOGLE
Circle this! Build your Authorship.

12. Join Google+

13. Join Google+
Google+ = Google. Google = Search. Search = Buy.
• 2nd largest social network
• 318.4 million active users in 31 markets
• 50% of global Internet users have Google+ profiles
(Facebook = 70%)
• 1,200+ million monthly visits
(Facebook = 809 million; Twitter = 416 million)
Source: http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/09/20/12-awesome-social-media-facts-and-statistics-for-2013

14. Join Google+
“Social proof is the new marketing.”
Your quality of social interaction on Google+ creates a higher level of
social proof and trust in your content and your authority.

15. Join Google+
Not sold?
• Google+ rewards quality of content, ability to network,
connecting on a helpful/educational level
• Move from Search Engine Optimization to Customer
Optimization: Google‟s Hummingbird update
• The move away from “keyword SEO” to creating useful, customer-centric
content that answers their questions is actually good for SEO
• Facebook‟s “likes” are no longer free

16. So now that we’re in each other’s circles…
Psst! Connect with me!
www.google.com/+emilycretella
www.google.com/+cursivecontent

17. Establish Your Authorship

18. Establish Your Authorship
What is Google Authorship?
A way to connect your Google+ profile to the content you
create:

19. Establish Your Authorship
Benefits to You
• Content will be more credible
• Easier to find your content from
different sources across the web
Benefits for SEO
• Search-engine results with pictures
are more likely to be clicked
• More credible links get more clicks
• Establish yourself as an authority in
your area of expertise
• More appealing for people to read
your content and add you to their
Google+ circles
• Helps you discover and stop
plagiarism of your work
• More than 17% of search results
feature a verified writer in the top
100 results
• Your content will be indexed quicker
if it‟s linked to your Google+ profile
• Access analytics for your content in
search
Sources: http://www.forbes.com/sites/brentgleeson/2013/09/30/everything-you-need-to-know-about-google-authorship/ and http://www.google.com/insidesearch/features/authorship/

20. Establish Your Authorship
How Do I Set Up Google Authorship?
• Google+ profile photo with a recognizable headshot
• Byline and name (matching G+ profile) appears on each
page of your content (for example, “By Emily Cretella”)
• Verify email address on the same domain as your content
(or, using rel=“author” code)
• Sign up for Authorship on Google
(www.plus.google.com/authorship)
• Join the Google Authorship & Author Rank G+ community

21. Focus on Google Today
START NOW:
• Join Google+ or become more active
• Set up your Google Authorship
• Claim all your online content

22. #3: (SLIDE)SHARE IT
Present your content across platforms.

23. What is
SlideShare?
The world's
largest
community
for sharing
presentations.

24. What is SlideShare?
• Upload presentations publicly or privately
• Download presentations on any topic and reuse or remix
• Embed on blogs, websites, company intranets
• Share on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn
• Leadshare: generate business leads with your presentations,
documents, pdfs, videos
• Slidecast: sync mp3 audio with slides to create a webinar
• Embed YouTube videos inside SlideShare presentations
• SlideShare PRO: premium features like branded channels,
analytics, ad free pages, etc.
Source: http://www.slideshare.net/about

25. The Stats on SlideShare
http://www.columnfivemedia.com/work-items/infographic-the-quiet-giant-of-content-marketing

26. The Stats on SlideShare
http://www.columnfivemedia.com/work-items/infographic-the-quiet-giant-of-content-marketing

27. (Slide)Share It Today
START NOW:
• Take existing content and repurpose:
•
•
•
•
•
White space
Strong visuals
Bullet points
Clean look and consistent theme
Minimal words per page
• Offer promotions, coupons, clickable links, Twitter prompts and
more within your deck
• Integrate presentations across social platforms
• Set up Google Authorship for SlideShare
• Consider free vs. paid account

28. #4: TINY, VISUAL CONTENT WINS BIG
Chat apps … Vine …. Pinterest …. Oh my!

29. Trending Small
“There is a definite trend toward small.
If we can‟t get big chunks of content through a limited
„pipeline‟ of brain cells, maybe we can get grains of
sand through.
This would explain ideas like Vine (6-second videos),
infographics, and even Pinterest, which is simply easy
on the eyes without a lot of processing.”
–Mark W. Schaefer
Source: http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2013/12/content-marketing-predictions-2014/

30. Trending Small
• One day = 1.5 billion pieces of content, 140 million tweets and
2 million videos*
• Short-form, mobile-friendly “micro” content will be 2014 trend
• Vine; Instagram; Infographics; Pinterest
• Chat apps on the rise: messaging services that push content
through a mobile device‟s data connections
• Snapchat Stories; Instagram Direct – as well as many others (WhatsApp,
Kik, Tango, LINE)
*http://www.jeffbullas.com/2012/03/07/9-awesome-reasons-to-use-infographics-in-your-content-marketing/#LtjTU24APRKeE8zH.99

31. Chat Apps
400 million
photo or video
“snaps” received
daily
Most users
under 25
Enable intimate,
one-on-one
relationships

32. Chat Apps &
Brands
Taco Bell
product intro
Acura
prototype reveal
16 Handles
coupon for photo
New Orleans
Saints
behind-thescenes
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/99185699@N00/6485043861/lightbox/

33. Let’s Get Visual
• 2/3 of world‟s mobile data traffic will be video by 2017
• Five tweets per second contain a Vine link
• A branded Vine video is 4x more likely to be seen than a
regular branded video
• Instagram videos are creating 2x more engagement than
Instagram photos
• 21% of online adults use Pinterest, up from the 15% who did
so in December 2012
Statistics: http://digiday.com/brands/15-stats-vine-and-instagram-video/ & http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Social-Media-Update.aspx

34. Create Tiny Content Today
START NOW:
• Decide if chat apps or visual platforms make sense for your brand:
•
Audience demographics
•
Content strategy
•
Ability to produce strong visuals
• Optimize current content for visual sharing:
•
Make blog photos Pinterest-friendly
•
Create graphic images from key content points
•
Turn research into infographics

35. #5: INSPIRE YOUR STORY
Seek out motivation to create your best work.

36. Write.
Make your content
“sticky”:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Simplicity
Unexpectedness
Concreteness
Credibility
Emotions
Stories
Source: http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/11/06/the-10-commandments-of-content-marketing/. Image: Unsplash

37. Focus.
Know your
audience:
Create buyer
personas
Ask yourself:
What does my
audience need to
know?
Provide content
that will help move
them to the next
stage of the
buying journey
Image: Unsplash

38. Optimize.
Write better
headlines
Include subheads
Add eye-catching
visuals
Keep your ideas
short, simple and
bulleted
Create strong calls
to action
Image: Unsplash

39. Inspire Your Story Today
START NOW:
• Butt in chair, hands on keyboard.
• Read, read, read:
•
www.Copyblogger.com
•
www.ContentMarketingInstitute.com
•
www.MarketingProfs.com
•
www.Econsultancy.com
•
www.Brainpickings.com

40. What Inspires Your Story?
Let’s share ideas!
Add your thoughts on Twitter or Google+:
#MarketersAnon
Read more at:
www.cursivecontent.com/blog
Image: Unsplash

41. Presented by:
Emily Cretella, Owner, Strategist & Copywriter
www.cursivecontent.com
www.google.com/+EmilyCretella