This document provides guidance on creating effective content marketing. It emphasizes that quality, engaging content that meets customer needs is more important than traditional advertising. It highlights examples of brands like Blendtec that successfully grew audiences through entertaining, authentic content rather than paid promotions. In contrast, many traditional beauty brands focused too much on polished advertising over listening to customers, which limited their growth. The document encourages taking a balanced, experimental approach like a fox instead of rigidly following formulas like a hedgehog.

1. Your Magical Content Wand by Tara Hunt

2. “We need to be on Instagram!”
says random non-social media using executive
stolen stock
photo of random
executive with
watermark
still visible.

4. what are any of these properties without content?

5. no content content

6. A social platform without content is like a glass without
wine.
(And yes, the glass enhances the body of the wine, so you should use the right glass.)
(Not to mention, bad wine, like bad content, will leave the drinker with a bad aftertaste.)

7. “Content marketing is the only marketing that’s left.”
Seth Godin, 2008
i’m quoting this
guy seeking your
validation, but
you’ll understand
why this is ironic
later on...

8. why content marketing?
• It focuses on the customer’s needs
• it creates and sustains long term bonds
• it encourages sharing and word of mouth
• it cuts through the noise
• it’s more fun for both you and your customers
• you can see the impact instantly
• people aren’t listening to/believing/giving a darn about advertising anymore

9. good content informs, listens & responds, tells a
story, entertains and enhances your customers’
lives.

10. here are some examples (my
favorite little company who uses
content brilliantly + two of my
own works of content art) ...

11. just a blender

12. great audience!

13. Blendtec’s “Will it Blend?” iPad episode 15,666,175 views
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAl28d6tbko entertain

14. the ultimate goal
selling high end blenders

15. went from around 100 likes to
1,146 in 5 months. minimal ad starting from scratch
spend (80% earned)

16. inform

17. pinboards to inspire
and share research
foursquare lists to
guide users to
locations + leave tips blogging to provide deeper
information + inspiration
in home design

18. the ultimate goal
drive traffic + signups to
their website

19. more than doubled likes, signed
up 165,000 supporters, 11,000+ growing a personal/
volunteers and raised $1.2M (in 4
months). No ad buy.
political brand

20. telling a story

21. the ultimate goal
getting out the vote

22. flickr for on the road google+ hangouts for live/
coverage of the tour interactive broadcasting
instagram hashtags
encourage audience soapbox for great
participation policy ideas

23. the dryer, more
formulaic part of this
presentation...

24. types of content
PRODUCT BRAND
(that thing you are selling + the
(how it will change your life/how you
facts: who, what, when, where,
identify with the product)
how)
the balance of these content types
depends on your audiences preference
LIFESTYLE COMMUNITY
(associated common threads - ie. (highlighting your customers, your
holidays, current events, etc) vendors, your employees)
but if you are spending most of your time on
this, you are using cheap tricks and it won’t
sustain...even Oreo will get old soon. ;)

25. magical content needs to be:
• consistent (pick a schedule and stick to it as • quality (means more than a fancy camera and
close as possible) set...means you give your audience an
experience)
• frequent (some platforms require more
frequency than others - I’m not talking 5 • evolving (improving every single day)
posts/day...but don’t post every few months)
• authentic (not manufactured authentic.
• balanced (how much are you selling and how authentic authentic)
much are you listening?)
• /have personality (don’t be a machine or a
• interesting (goes without saying) PR bot)
• relevant (do you know your audience? do you • positive (positivity always wins. defensiveness
know your own brand?) loses)
• pro-active (understand the trends and needs • right for the platform (don’t cross-post
of your audience before they happen) unless it’s applicable. PLEASE)
• reactive (take feedback with a grain of salt. • awe inspiring (when you can, inspire and take
listen. improve) it to the next level.)
• interactive (get in there and have • GOAL ACHIEVING (at the end of the day,
conversations) doesn’t matter how awesome you do, if you
aren’t achieving your goals, you need to
rethink your strategy)

26. learn plan
too many people get hung up
here + even more people start
here scratching their heads.
truth is...you need to plan to fail.
plan a few weeks out with some
ideas from research...test them.
be consistent. see what works
and what doesn’t.
and remember...it takes time.
keep your eyes and ears open for
opportunity and listen more than
anything in the first few months.
listen post

27. here is a comparison of
magic and not magic

28. case study: luxy hair vs. traditional beauty brands
888,355 subscribers
126M+ video views
zero advertising $$

29. how did they grow this channel?
1. consistency - they committed to posting a video each week
2. relevancy - they started by watching trends - what their potential audience
liked/wanted (oscar hair?), then as feedback came in, they answered
requests
3. balanced - they do not make this about their extensions, but if you want
those quadruple braids, it helps to use them! ;)
4. interactive - they acknowledge their audience (thanking individuals for
suggestions)
5. quality - they take time to create great content. yes. it looks good. but it’s
warm and genuine, too.

30. and the traditional beauty brands?
a custom YouTube
template like this costs
$50,000 in advertising
(because it’s Canadian)
majority paid for
high views
low subscribers a custom YouTube
mostly paid for template like THIS costs
$200,000+ in advertising
(average 90% paid)

31. how did they f&*k it up?
1. (over) produced a bunch of adsvideos up front to throw up over a campaign
period.
2. didn’t do much to listen. hired an outside firm to do ‘community
management’ which consisted more of management than community.
3. threw a bunch of money at the adsvideos so they’d look like they were
super popular
4. focused solely on product, themselves and their own needs (screw the
customer, she is there to buy my product!)
5. thought quality meant high-paid fashion models and celebrities and HD
cameras...didn’t think about what the ‘new’ quality means. don’t care, really.

32. lots of people ask me, “but, Tara,
what brands do it well?” and instead
of giving you the same list of 5
companies you’ve already heard of
and are getting tired of hearing of, let
me offer this additional metaphor...

33. are you a are you a fox?
hedgehog?
https://www.etsy.com/listing/60007735/woodland-animal-pair-hedgehog-and-fox

34. best at getting best at
cushy, highly HEDGEHOGS FOXES content +
paid corporate social era
marketing!
brand job!
severely
reasons why
foxes leave
Focus in on one thing Look at lots of different things misunderstood
and undervalued
those jobs or
in corporate
drink heavily
america
Take a new approach to every
Like formulas
situation which
is why
very very
Learn from others, but say, “It few brands
Mimic what others are doing ‘get it’
depends” a lot when asked what
(“best practices”)
is the best way show me a
successful
Specialized, stalwart, stubborn, Multidisciplinary, adaptable, self- corporate social
campaign and I’ll
order-seeking, confident and critical, tolerant of complexity, show you a big,
ass ad budget
ideological. cautious and empirical. behind it.
May seem to people to be a little
Seek out information to support
scattered...not ever *quite*
beliefs.
satisfied.
Old school traditional marketing Emerging social era of
way of thinking. marketing way of thinking.

35. here is a great example of those
unemployable foxes that are doing
it right...outside of corporate
america...

36. In less two years:
945,392 subscribers
142M+ video views
$0 advertising
...make a living on YouTube ad revenues

37. how do they do it?
1. work their friggin tails off - they were either ‘on’ and filming or editing the
entire time I saw them.
2. filmed everything they did and made it interesting because they were
interested in it
3. were ruthlessly critical of their own work - always improving, listening to
feedback and growing
4. hardly planned anything - took advantage of the moment
5. pumped out content like a factory - but with a great deal of respect for their
audience (asking them what they wanted)

38. when asked about the secret sauce, Roman said something to
the tune of:
“if you start using rules, you stop using your
instincts.”
(actually, it was more like, “that’s a dumb question. we just do stuff and some stuff works and some
stuff doesn’t, but we learn from it and don’t follow any stupid formulas. Just our guts. Formulas are
for out of date marketers who have lost their common sense.” but my interpretation is snappier. ;)

39. how to hone your instincts + become foxier
• Put down the content calendar, the Seth Godin book and any blog post that
lists best practices.
• Stop thinking of your audience as consumers. They aren’t sitting with index
fingers hovering over the like button, eagerly awaiting your next witty post. It’s
your job to earn their attention.
• Get outside of your industry and your comfort area. Talk to strangers. Read
books about stuff that has nothing to do with your work or industry.
• Let go of fear. Don’t be afraid to fail. Embrace criticism. Lose control.
• When you fall on your face, celebrate it. You just learned something.
rinse and repeat until you are completely lost. then get drunk + write insane
babble (don’t publish it online). read it sober. you may start to see an inkling...

40. and the magical
content wand?

41. the truth is:
there is no magical content wand.
there is only authenticity, hard work, trial and error, consistency, humility, empathy,
passion, desire and love. go ahead and pay for it if you want, but what you are
buying isn’t real and comes at a higher cost than you think.
if you want real magic, put that money into making a better product and spend
more time and effort on becoming a fox. hone your instinct. love your customers.
don’t think of it as a content marketing strategy, think of it as the most delightful
thing in the world because you get to interact with the people who can help make
your product better. this is the world’s best, most interesting, most accurate focus
group. and it’s free.
now that’s magical.

42. tara hunt (@missrogue)
author. speaker. entrepreneur. karaoke
lover. pug owner. mom. digital &
social strategist. boat rocker. fox with
a hedgehog façade. dabbler. rambler.
tara@buyosphere.com
www.tarahunt.com
twitter.com/missrogue