Audience drives your message. Brainstorming identifies your themes and channels. Creativity ensures your content is effective, engaging, memorable and fun to create. In this nuts-and-bolts session, Jeff Cutler will transform the lecture hall into a working content lab where the entire class will participate to create content for an imaginary (or real) organization. You’ll collaboratively come up with the strategy, ideas and execution necessary to reach content consumers. AND you’ll remember how to do it once you’re back at your office because it’s an interactive exercise. We’ll also touch on social sharing, short-form content, empathy as a way to understand your audiences, and some shortcuts the pros use to work faster and churn out more content. If you’re ready, sign up today for the bootcamp and start looking forward to enjoying this fun session.

1. The ABCs of
Great Content
jeff@jeffcutler.com
Twitter - @jeffcutler
www.JeffCutlerPhoto.com
Here’s how to get in touch with me and it’s your very first lesson. If you learn nothing else in the next hour, learn to share your info whenever possible. I just shared three
ways to reach me - and they’re pretty consistent.

2. Be Social
Tweet during the session
#learnsleek
Slides and notes after the class
Sample: Cool, @jeffcutler
demystifying the process of creating
great content. #learnsleek #socmed
Pens, tablets, phones, cameras - do whatever you want with them while I’m up here. Tag me everywhere, please. And realize you can also nap a little if needed…you’ll
get these slides and my notes after this session.

3. Not lying, that’s what the previous slide will look like when you get it. Sleek will also have all presentations up in a slideshare for you. Ask Christine for the address and
password. Let’s get going on ABCs…

4. A. B. C.
Always Be Charging
Always Be Closing
ABC stands for lots of stuff. Already been chewed, always be closing, etc. In this class, the ABCs are…

5. Audience
Audience. This is anyone who might pay you or buy your product or service…however far-fetched. Includes media, customers, investors, your mom. Seriously. It’s
EVERYONE. Next up B…your BRAND MESSAGE

6. Brand Message
You already learned about branding in the sessions before this. Alex talked about promotion and Robin talked about creating your brand. Whittle it down to ONE
message you can share. More on that shortly…and then C = CREATIVE..

7. Creative
Creative equals the process, the final deliverable and the method - as best you can. Be creative and create great content…and that’s coming up. How do we start? Flow
Chart Time!

8. Steps before ABC
1…
Do you have a well-defined
audience? Yes, go on to messaging.
No, then figure out who your
audience is.
It’s not rocket surgery, but until you know your audience as well as you know yourself, you can’t come up with a message that motivates them. By the way, your audience
is NOT internal…unless…

9. Internal Audiences
Seldom Result in Results
Unless the CEO matches the profile of your typical buyer/customer, your message shouldn’t be tailored to her. Talking only to yourself is the fastest way to fail at
marketing.

10. Steps before ABC
2…
Do you have a singular, well-defined
and clear message about your
product or brand? If yes, go to the
content-creation phase. If no, think
harder and empathize with your
audience.
Simple messages sell. They are easy to remember, they help your team actually stay focused on a goal, they motivate your audience. Put your brand’s USP into a short,
tagline. *I use brand message and tagline interchangeably in many cases. Sometimes they are NOT.

11. Here are a few of the most memorable taglines/brand messages ever. Some clearly say something about the product, some are focused on brand, all are effective.
Favorites?

12. What don’t these do?
Right, they don’t melt in your hands…but in your mouth. One more and then we’ll get on to creative materials - longer pieces that stay true to your brand message or
USP. I love it when brands have a double-meaning tagline….don’t you?

13. Kay Jewelers
http://www.forbes.com/sites/williamarruda/2016/04/19/the-top-
ten-taglines-of-all-time/#5bd25bd2aa70
K is for kiss, K is for Kay. Get it…oh, yeah! OK. Out of the fun stuff and into content creation - assuming we’re all clear on the process that got us to this point. Any
questions so far?

14. Let’s Be Creative
Think about your audience and
their preferred channel.
Think about channel along with
your capabilities.
Think about budgets and channels.
It’s not always simple. The reality of money and channel are important. In an age where everyone is a journalist or marketer, how are you going to get someone’s
attention? And what type of content are you good at?

15. Content Types
Written
Visual
Audio
Live
Any others? How do you currently get in touch with your customers to educate and motivate them? What is your most effective sales tool? What is your most effective
branding channel? Donut slide…here’s how social channels are used…style examples…

16. Used with credit - http://www.flickr.com/photos/sioenroux/6926060867/
Take a photo - or just wait until after the session. Remember, you’ll get this whole presentation at the end. Yes, it’s a little dated - Myspace. SO, let’s choose the channel
and then execute a piece of content….class participation time…

17. BUCKLE UP!
Hold on. We’ll go through this and definitely learn by doing…. Show of hands, who knows their audience. Keep hands up…who knows their message…keep hands up…
who wants this class to make you some content?

18. Exercise
Possible Channels (justify choices)
Budget (ballpark, $$$$ to $/free)
Timeframe (longterm vs. today)
Effectiveness (expectations/returns)
Now that we have our brand and know our audience and our message, break into groups of five or six and take FIVE minutes, no more, to answer these questions. FIVE
MINUTES!

19. You can have the fanciest tech on the planet, but if your content is junk, people won’t stick around to hear your message. Though knowing how gadgets and devices
work is important.

20. New Tech Does Not
Make Things Easy
The fanciest gadget will not make
your content better.
It’s not the shiny object, it’s the
method with which you use the
object to create your content.
Having an entire film crew isn’t going to allow you to make a Super Bowl worthy ad…UNLESS your ability to create an ad is already good. Know how to communicate.
Know the rules of the channel you choose. Know how to write.

21. Other Networks
Use the same methods as on the
previous page with Google Plus,
Pinterest, Instagram
Even search for your sources in
other areas like LinkedIn or on
YouTube
And realize that people have a lot of other things vying for their attention, so make sure your content is good. GOOD SOUND - if you’re doing video (and of course audio)
is key. You can have crap images and good audio and still retain viewers.

22. And speaking of sound, your audience is listening for the right message and they can be persuaded. So deliver it…let me tell you about a content excursion and then
about my CES epiphany and current content track…

23. Notebooks are Heavy
Content excursion. Summer of 2010, I was hired to create a bunch of content…alone. Audience of environmental professionals, topic was the oil spill in the Gulf of
Mexico. Brought all my tools and post to whatever channel worked best for each piece of content. Audio, Video, Written, Photos, etc.

24. In a couple weeks, I created 25 separate pieces of content for the audience and garnered national attention about the environmental aspects of the Deepwater Horizon
spill…so it can be done. http://commonground.edrnet.com/static/resources/35d0c29799/summary.html

25. Food Safety
While it wasn’t branding, the method was the same. I had a topic to share - here’s how the region has been affected - and that’s what I did.

26. Hotel Room Living
No glamor in living out of a suitcase for two weeks. But it taught me a few lessons about creating content on the fly…and helped me make decisions moving forward
when doing client work. These lessons…

27. Work Fast.
Learn to work fast. If you’re ready to capture content, you’ll get what you need AND perhaps have more content to use for future projects/campaigns.

28. Work Smart. Teamwork.
Set up a support network so you can fill your content pipeline with information that’s valuable and in demand. You don’t have to be a solo creator. (Blog post calendar
example…52 posts a year - do the math!)

29. Be Prepared.
If you know your equipment, the content you want to create and the environment where you’re capturing images, sound, video - you’ll end up with the best stuff. Oh,
CES? Sure…in 2013 I had been covering the Consumer Electronics Show for a decade or so…

30. CES Epiphany
Video was easy for me.
People would pay well for it.
I could do more in the same
amount of time.
47 Videos instead of 12 blog posts.
Every year I would bring notebook and laptop to Las Vegas and kill myself toting it all over. Typing until 2AM, getting up at 7AM. I’d be wiped out…until I decided to try
video. 2014 was my best year ever because I found a better way FOR ME. Your methods may vary depending on staffing and your skills.

31. YouTube is your friend and other SEO thoughts. Let’s talk after. My time is up. You can find me here… and the presentation…

32. Now what?
Get out your gear and practice.
Send me your questions -
jeff@jeffcutler.com
Download this presentation - http://
jeffcutler.com/learnsleek.pdf
…with my notes is available at this link. Thank you for listening. Catch me in the hall between sessions or later this afternoon…OR on Twitter to discuss your challenges.