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Right in the Feels (or how to create content that gets shared) - Turing Festival 2016
Why do some pieces of content garner coverage whilst others languish unseen and unloved? More often than not it comes down to the hook. But what the hell is a hook? Hannah explains what a hook is, and provides tips and insights on how to improve your creative work.
Why do some pieces of content garner coverage whilst others languish unseen and unloved? More often than not it comes down to the hook. But what the hell is a hook? Hannah explains what a hook is, and provides tips and insights on how to improve your creative work.
27.
@hannah_bo_banna
a brand is not a brand
unless it leave a lasting impression
28.
@hannah_bo_banna
& it needs to be a favourable impression
29.
@hannah_bo_banna
I believe that companies need to build brands
that mean something to people
30.
@hannah_bo_banna
content is a great place to play from that
perspective
31.
@hannah_bo_banna
if you create content people love,
then by extension,
you’re creating a brand people love
32.
@hannah_bo_banna
I am unapologetically passionate about this
33.
@hannah_bo_banna
I want to do f*cking great work
good isn’t good enough
& ok is never ok
34.
@hannah_bo_banna
but unhappily,
my work isn’t
always
f*cking great
35.
@hannah_bo_banna
it appears I’m not alone,
I get a lot of emails like this:
36.
@hannah_bo_banna
Hey Hannah!
We made this thinger, and we all think it’s great!
We’ve gone to 200 journalists, but no one’s picked it
up, and we’ve seen no social shares either.
Any idea where we’re going wrong?
37.
@hannah_bo_banna
this next slide may sound mean
(but it’s meant with love)
38.
@hannah_bo_banna
when people tell me their
piece isn’t working,
& I take a look,
I typically feel one (or more)
of these things
this is shallow
if I shared this it would say
nothing good about me
this is so ugly I think my eyes
might bleed
I don’t think this shows what
you’re claiming it shows
this is patronising
there’s nothing I can identify
with here
there’s nothing new or
different here
I’m confused – I don’t get it
this isn’t something I care about
this isn’t something I’ve ever
wondered
you’ve promised me something
but haven’t delivered
cool, but so what?
39.
@hannah_bo_banna
for the sake of clarity,
I feel the same things when I look back on
some of my own pieces
40.
@hannah_bo_banna
my work isn’t
always
f*cking great
41.
@hannah_bo_banna
but if we want to get better at this
(and I do, desperately)
42.
@hannah_bo_banna
then we really need to look at this stuff
43.
@hannah_bo_banna
who in here has failed like me?
107.
@hannah_bo_banna
when people tell me their
piece isn’t working,
& I take a look,
I typically feel one (or more)
of these things
this is shallow
if I shared this it would say
nothing good about me
this is so ugly I think my eyes
might bleed
I don’t think this shows what
you’re claiming it shows
this is patronising
there’s nothing I can identify
with here
there’s nothing new or
different here
I’m confused – I don’t get it
this isn’t something I care about
this isn’t something I’ve ever
wondered
you’ve promised me something
but haven’t delivered
cool, but so what?
108.
@hannah_bo_banna
these issues are tough to deconstruct
because we don’t see creative pieces as component parts,
we see the whole
109.
@hannah_bo_banna
however, I think that each issue can be tied back to problems with:
the content, the execution, the hook,
or a combination of the three
110.
@hannah_bo_banna
issues with content (?)
this is shallow
if I shared this it would say
nothing good about me
this is so ugly I think my eyes
might bleed
I don’t think this shows what
you’re claiming it shows
this is patronising
there’s nothing I can identify
with here
there’s nothing new or
different here
I’m confused – I don’t get it
this isn’t something I care about
this isn’t something I’ve ever
wondered
you’ve promised me something
but haven’t delivered
cool, but so what?
111.
@hannah_bo_banna
issues with execution (?)
this is shallow
if I shared this it would say
nothing good about me
this is so ugly I think my eyes
might bleed
I don’t think this shows what
you’re claiming it shows
this is patronising
there’s nothing I can identify
with here
there’s nothing new or
different here
I’m confused – I don’t get it
this isn’t something I care about
this isn’t something I’ve ever
wondered
you’ve promised me something
but haven’t delivered
cool, but so what?
112.
@hannah_bo_banna
issues with the hook (?)
this is shallow
if I shared this it would say
nothing good about me
this is so ugly I think my eyes
might bleed
I don’t think this shows what
you’re claiming it shows
this is patronising
there’s nothing I can identify
with here
there’s nothing new or
different here
I’m confused – I don’t get it
this isn’t something I care about
this isn’t something I’ve ever
wondered
you’ve promised me something
but haven’t delivered
cool, but so what?
113.
@hannah_bo_banna
you’ll notice I keep coming back to
issues with the hook
114.
@hannah_bo_banna
the hook = what the piece suggests or evokes
115.
@hannah_bo_banna
the hook = why a piece resonates
116.
@hannah_bo_banna
if you create something which doesn’t resonate,
people won’t feel anything
117.
@hannah_bo_banna
when we don’t feel anything,
we don’t share, comment, or do anything,
we simply move on
118.
@hannah_bo_banna
so I believe that finding a compelling hook
is paramount
138.
@hannah_bo_banna
it could mean…
I’m thinking about you
139.
@hannah_bo_banna
it could mean…
I’m thinking about sleeping with you
140.
@hannah_bo_banna
throwing a virtual snowball at your Dad
means something different to
throwing a virtual snowball at that person you
met in a bar
141.
@hannah_bo_banna
but no one can call you on it
142.
@hannah_bo_banna
the way we use facebook
feeds into this
143.
@hannah_bo_banna
in some contexts we favour transparency,
in others we favour ambiguity
144.
@hannah_bo_banna
most of the things we do on facebook are
(to some extent) public
145.
@hannah_bo_banna
but you don’t always want your intentions
to be that transparent
146.
@hannah_bo_banna
which makes virtual snowballs a
pretty useful way to communicate
147.
@hannah_bo_banna
it’s likely that people were throwing
virtual snowballs to:
flirt
or
reconnect (without actually reconnecting)
or
just say hi
(the list here could go on & on)
148.
@hannah_bo_banna
plus, as throwing a virtual snowball back
is low-effort,
the potential for virality is high
149.
@hannah_bo_banna
now all this might sound like
“people doing dumb sh*t on the internet”
150.
@hannah_bo_banna
but I suspect we’re getting closer to the truth
151.
@hannah_bo_banna
there’s an important lesson here
152.
@hannah_bo_banna
“people like doing dumb sh*t on the internet”
shows an alarmingly shallow & dismissive
understanding of people’s motivations
153.
@hannah_bo_banna
this sort of ‘thinking’ can cause you
big problems
154.
@hannah_bo_banna
if you fail to understand
your audience,
you are in danger of creating
something that leaves them
feeling one of these things
this is shallow
if I shared this it would say
nothing good about me
this is so ugly I think my eyes
might bleed
I don’t think this shows what
you’re claiming it shows
this is patronising
there’s nothing I can identify
with here
there’s nothing new or
different here
I’m confused – I don’t get it
this isn’t something I care about
this isn’t something I’ve ever
wondered
you’ve promised me something
but haven’t delivered
cool, but so what?
155.
@hannah_bo_banna
if you fail to understand
the people you’re trying to engage with
you’re likely to fail to elicit the emotional
response you desire from them
156.
@hannah_bo_banna
no emotional response = no action
157.
@hannah_bo_banna
ok, let’s move on to problem two
158.
@hannah_bo_banna
problem two:
we never quite got around to finding the hook
159.
@hannah_bo_banna
sometimes you think you have a hook,
but what you actually have is a red herring
160.
@hannah_bo_banna
red herring
something which is misleading or distracting
161.
@hannah_bo_banna
red herrings might sound vaguely plausible,
but don’t bear scrutiny
162.
@hannah_bo_banna
we’ve already encountered
a couple of red herrings today…
163.
@hannah_bo_banna
here are a couple more red herrings
for your viewing pleasure
164.
@hannah_bo_banna
“games get links,
people love games,
people love challenging their friends,
social proof,
blah-blah virality… something”
165.
@hannah_bo_banna
a game is a format, not a hook
166.
@hannah_bo_banna
if making a game = guaranteed success
then no game would ever fail
167.
@hannah_bo_banna
games fail all the time
(as do quizzes & other similar formats)
197.
@hannah_bo_banna
but it’s more likely that you’ll
end up back here again:
198.
@hannah_bo_banna
issues with the hook (?)
this is shallow
if I shared this it would say
nothing good about me
this is so ugly I think my eyes
might bleed
I don’t think this shows what
you’re claiming it shows
this is patronising
there’s nothing I can identify
with here
there’s nothing new or
different here
I’m confused – I don’t get it
this isn’t something I care about
this isn’t something I’ve ever
wondered
you’ve promised me something
but haven’t delivered
cool, but so what?
199.
@hannah_bo_banna
fortunately there is stuff we can do
to combat all these problems
200.
@hannah_bo_banna
one
take the time
to understand your audience
238.
@hannah_bo_banna
right in the feels
make people feel something
239.
@hannah_bo_banna
NOT one of these things!
this is shallow
if I shared this it would say
nothing good about me
this is so ugly I think my eyes
might be bleeding
I don’t think this shows what
you’re claiming it shows
this is patronising
there’s nothing I can identify
with here
there’s nothing new or
different here
I’m confused – I don’t get it
this isn’t something I care about
this isn’t something I’ve ever
wondered
you’ve promised me something
but haven’t delivered
cool, but so what?
240.
@hannah_bo_banna
revisit this throughout the process
241.
@hannah_bo_banna
does this content make
people feel any of these
things?
this is shallow
if I shared this it would say
nothing good about me
this is so ugly I think my eyes
might be bleeding
I don’t think this shows what
you’re claiming it shows
this is patronising
there’s nothing I can identify
with here
there’s nothing new or
different here
I’m confused – I don’t get it
this isn’t something I care about
this isn’t something I’ve ever
wondered
you’ve promised me something
but haven’t delivered
cool, but so what?
242.
@hannah_bo_banna
if the answer is yes,
try to find a way to fix it
243.
@hannah_bo_banna
you may not be able to solve all the issues
244.
@hannah_bo_banna
but do the best that you can
249.
@hannah_bo_banna
Hannah Smith
Head of Creative
Verve Search
send questions and/or pictures of cats to: hannah@vervesearch.com
tweet things @hannah_bo_banna
250.
@hannah_bo_banna
Big love to the team at Verve who helped me put this together.
Images:
feels: http://i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/531/319/99f.gif
nobody likes me: http://www.iheartthestreetart.com/street-2/#lightbox[group-26481]/39/
phone lovers: http://banksy.co.uk
no ball games: http://banksy.co.uk
disobedience: http://living-my-life-recklessly.tumblr.com/post/98684008648/it-is-through-disobedience-that-progress-has-been
beer map: http://vinepair.com/wine-blog/most-popular-beer-every-country-map/
don draper: http://www.bandt.com.au/media/here-are-some-of-don-drapers-best-put-downs
Credits