1. throwing
shit against the wall
& analysing what sticks…
HANNAH SMITH
CONTENT STRATEGIST @DISTILLED

2. that has
negative
connotations
@hannah_bo_banna

3. @hannah_bo_banna

4. I beg to
differ
@hannah_bo_banna

5. present an idea &
test
the reaction
@hannah_bo_banna

6. is the only way to
succeed
@hannah_bo_banna

7. but I‟m jumping ahead…
@hannah_bo_banna

8. HANNAH SMITH
Caffeine Addict
Moz Associate
Writes on State of Digital, Medium & SEO Chicks
Content Strategist at Distilled
hannah.smith@distilled.net
@hannah_bo_banna

9. what I‟m
covering
@hannah_bo_banna

11. here are some
things
I‟ve made
@hannah_bo_banna

13. http://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/microsites/googleplusfor-small-businesses/
@hannah_bo_banna

14. http://www.twolittlefleas.co.uk/happiness-generator/
@hannah_bo_banna

15. http://www.twolittlefleas.co.uk/happiness-generator/
@hannah_bo_banna

16. http://www.thetrainline.com/tools/festival-finder/
@hannah_bo_banna

17. I endeavour to
create content
that…
@hannah_bo_banna

18. will blow
people‟s
minds

19. for a precious heartbeat or two…

20. create things that are
useful

21. things that will
blow
their
minds

22. things that will
blow
their
minds

23. create things people will
love

25. that sounds
hard
@hannah_bo_banna

26. do you really need to
do that?
@hannah_bo_banna

27. yes
I think you do
@hannah_bo_banna

29. content marketing is
not
new
@hannah_bo_banna

30. but
how
we consume
content online
@hannah_bo_banna

31. has &
will continue to
change
@hannah_bo_banna

32. we
surface content through
filters…
@hannah_bo_banna

35. do you actually
see updates
from the companies
you follow?
@hannah_bo_banna

36. “A squirrel dying in front
of your house may be
more relevant to your
interests right now than
people dying in Africa.”
~ Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook
@hannah_bo_banna

37. facebook protects us from
unwanted
content
@hannah_bo_banna

38. & so does our technology
@hannah_bo_banna

40. With four months of steady
decline, it‟s apparent that tabs
are affecting opens in Gmail.
After the introduction of the
tabbed inbox in May,
Gmail opens have dropped 20%
Justine Jordan, Litmus
https://litmus.com/blog/48-of-emails-are-opened-onmobile-gmail-opens-down-20-since-tabs
@hannah_bo_banna

42. permission
may no longer be enough…
@hannah_bo_banna

44. to bypass the filters
your content must be shared
by lots of people
- not just you
@hannah_bo_banna

45. people need to love
your marketing

47. today
I bring you
@hannah_bo_banna

48. the stumbling blocks,
pitfalls
@hannah_bo_banna

49. &
gut-wrenching
anguish
@hannah_bo_banna

50. that I‟ve encountered
when
creating content
@hannah_bo_banna

51. & tips for how to live to
fight
another day
@hannah_bo_banna

52. stumbling
blocks
@hannah_bo_banna

53. can‟t we just create
something that shows
why people should buy
our stuff?
~ The Client
@hannah_bo_banna

54. me:
the sort of content that
drives conversion?
@hannah_bo_banna

55. yeah, do that
& get people to share it
~ The Client
@hannah_bo_banna

56. me:
you want me to get you
free advertising?
@hannah_bo_banna

57. yeah!
~ The Client
@hannah_bo_banna

58. content should be
goal-driven
@hannah_bo_banna

59. what you create
depends on what you
want to achieve
@hannah_bo_banna

60. advertising
isn‟t shared
unless it also
entertains / educates
@hannah_bo_banna

61. content to „persuade‟
isn‟t shared
unless it also
entertains / educates
@hannah_bo_banna

62. @hannah_bo_banna

63. @hannah_bo_banna

64. sometimes it
works
@hannah_bo_banna

65. sometimes it
just „appears‟ to
@hannah_bo_banna

66. @hannah_bo_banna

67. yay!
@hannah_bo_banna

68. but people see through
this…
@hannah_bo_banna

69. Time to start
buying food
for Christmas!
(says supermarket chain)
@hannah_bo_banna

70. you‟re getting coverage…
@hannah_bo_banna

71. it‟s even hitting your
target audience
@hannah_bo_banna

72. but
@hannah_bo_banna

73. self-serving messaging can
alienate
the people you seek to
engage
@hannah_bo_banna

74. people need to love
your marketing

75. pitfalls
@hannah_bo_banna

76. limited
creative scope
@hannah_bo_banna

77. that‟s off-brand
~ The Client
@hannah_bo_banna

78. sometimes this is true…
@hannah_bo_banna

79. but
@hannah_bo_banna

80. your brand is not
what
you sell
@hannah_bo_banna

81. your brand is
how
you sell it

82. it‟s about your
values
@hannah_bo_banna

83. your content must not
contradict
your brand values
@hannah_bo_banna

84. but
@hannah_bo_banna

85. don‟t limit
your content
@hannah_bo_banna

86. don‟t limit
yourself
@hannah_bo_banna

87. your content
doesn‟t have to be
*just* about what you sell
@hannah_bo_banna

89. sell
soft drinks
@hannah_bo_banna

90. but their content is about
extreme sports
@hannah_bo_banna

91. @hannah_bo_banna

92. because that‟s what
their target audience
love & share
@hannah_bo_banna

93. it‟s our job to
persuade brands to
think beyond
their products
@hannah_bo_banna

94. & think about their
audience
instead
@hannah_bo_banna

95. http://www.concerthotels.com/ipod-visualized-as-vinyl
@hannah_bo_banna

96. http://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/microsites/googleplusfor-small-businesses/
@hannah_bo_banna

97. http://www.twolittlefleas.co.uk/happiness-generator/
@hannah_bo_banna

98. http://www.twolittlefleas.co.uk/happiness-generator/
@hannah_bo_banna

99. http://www.thetrainline.com/tools/festival-finder/
@hannah_bo_banna

100. so
@hannah_bo_banna

101. how
do you figure out what
your audience
love / need / want?
@hannah_bo_banna

102. what will blow
people‟s
minds?

103. to succeed you‟ll need to…
@hannah_bo_banna

104. research
your audience
@hannah_bo_banna

105. surveys
& focus groups
@hannah_bo_banna

106. •
•
•
•
•
•
•
What problems do they have?
What do they love?
What do they hate?
What do they share?
What sites do they read?
How do they spend time online?
What about offline?
@hannah_bo_banna

107. research
what sticks
@hannah_bo_banna

108. study what works
& try to deconstruct why
@hannah_bo_banna

109. but don‟t spend
too much time on this!
@hannah_bo_banna

110. what works for one company
may not work for you
@hannah_bo_banna

111. frame your content
appropriately
@hannah_bo_banna

112. http://www.cordless-phones.uk.com/blog/ligo/news/social-mediabad-phone.htm
@hannah_bo_banna

113. there‟s some stuff about
being bad for your phone…
@hannah_bo_banna

114. @hannah_bo_banna

115. but there‟s also some stuff
about your well-being…
@hannah_bo_banna

116. @hannah_bo_banna

117. @hannah_bo_banna

118. but remember there are
no
guarantees
@hannah_bo_banna

119. it‟s incredibly hard to predict
what will resonate
@hannah_bo_banna

120. at some point, you have to
@hannah_bo_banna

121. @hannah_bo_banna

122. if you don‟t
launch anything
you can‟t learn anything
@hannah_bo_banna

123. throw
shit against the wall,
& analyse what sticks
@hannah_bo_banna

124. sometimes…
@hannah_bo_banna

125. you‟ll
fail
@hannah_bo_banna

126. gut-wrenching
anguish
@hannah_bo_banna

127. it is the
worst
@hannah_bo_banna

128. but failure is a
necessary
part of the process
@hannah_bo_banna

129. how to
live
to fight another day
@hannah_bo_banna

130. @hannah_bo_banna

131. pick your
battles
@hannah_bo_banna

132. if there‟s no appetite for
content to
entertain / educate
@hannah_bo_banna

133. focus on content to
persuade or convert first
@hannah_bo_banna

134. @hannah_bo_banna

135. recognise
the pitfalls & stumbling
blocks
@hannah_bo_banna

136. don‟t just power on through
@hannah_bo_banna

137. you risk wasting
time & effort
on something which might
never be launched
@hannah_bo_banna

138. acknowledge
& address issues
@hannah_bo_banna

139. be prepared to start over
if you have to
@hannah_bo_banna

140. @hannah_bo_banna

141. make your content
go further
@hannah_bo_banna

142. make sure your content
works across all
browsers & devices
@hannah_bo_banna

143. make sure your
social share buttons
work
@hannah_bo_banna

144. make your headline &
social share copy
„clicky‟
http://www.upworthy.com/you-will-not-believe-how-easy-it-is-to-make-something-go-viral
@hannah_bo_banna

145. create images for
social sharing
http://www.upworthy.com/you-will-not-believe-how-easy-it-is-to-make-something-go-viral
@hannah_bo_banna

146. place retargeting pixels
on all of your content
@hannah_bo_banna

147. test paid promotion
@hannah_bo_banna

148. @hannah_bo_banna

149. plan to
fail
@hannah_bo_banna

150. be
honest
@hannah_bo_banna

151. talk openly about the risks &
why it‟s important to try
anyway
@hannah_bo_banna

152. manage expectations
@hannah_bo_banna

153. agree what
„success‟
looks like before you launch
@hannah_bo_banna

154. @hannah_bo_banna

155. learn from
failure
@hannah_bo_banna

156. deconstruct
what did and did not work
@hannah_bo_banna

157. share
your learning
with everyone
@hannah_bo_banna

158. and keep
going
@hannah_bo_banna

160. how
we consume
content online
@hannah_bo_banna

161. has &
will continue to
change
@hannah_bo_banna

162. permission
may no longer be enough…
@hannah_bo_banna

163. people need to love
your marketing

164. throw
more shit against the wall
and analyse what sticks
@hannah_bo_banna

165. HANNAH SMITH
Caffeine Addict
Moz Associate
Writes on State of Digital, Medium & SEO Chicks
Content Strategist
hannah.smith@distilled.net
@hannah_bo_banna

166. Image Credits
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
I don’t know what I’m doing - http://www.flickr.com/photos/melinesafaryan/7278677702/
Content Marketing Matrix - http://www.smartinsights.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/content-matrix.jpg
Blow their minds - http://imgur.com/r/wallpapers/rOMaqRf
Heartbeat - http://feelingfertile.wordpress.com/2012/01/27/maternal-low-heartbeat-link-to-miscarriage/
Useful - http://www.thatshouldbemine.com/cool-stuff/stone-age-swiss-army-knife/
And - http://www.kingston.ac.uk/news/article/681/12-oct-2012-and-now-for-a-graphic-design-students-creative-play-on-words/
Make everything better - http://coding.smashingmagazine.com/2009/08/23/50-useful-new-jquery-techniques/
Love - http://realtruelove.wordpress.com/2013/02/14/love/
Brave new world - http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/petermullen/100158080/aldous-huxleys-brave-new-world-is-upon-us/
Filter bubbles - http://whathaveweturnedinto.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/eli-pariser-beware-online-filter-bubbles/
Gmail tabs - http://blog.sendblaster.com/2013/07/29/email-marketing-the-potential-dangers-and-benefits-of-the-new-gmail-tabs/
Email - http://www.traceymeagheronline.com/is-the-gmail-promotions-tab-killing-internet-marketing/
Launch - http://www.palantir.net/blog/its-launch-time
1 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/204714598/sizes/l/in/set-72157594159394280/
2 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/5489483429/sizes/l/in/set-72157594159392957/
3 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/94877877/sizes/l/in/set-72157594159391763/
4 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/5122443605/sizes/l/in/set-72157594159390514/
5 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/4322212584/sizes/l/in/set-72157594159389491/
@hannah_bo_banna