On the Edge Digital - Throwing Shit Against the Wall - Redux

HANNAH SMITH
CONTENT STRATEGIST
throwing sh*t against the wall
& analysing what
sticks

that has
negative connotations
@hannah_bo_banna

present an idea &
testthe reaction
@hannah_bo_banna

is the only way to
succeed
@hannah_bo_banna

but I’m jumping ahead…
@hannah_bo_banna

what do I
actually
do?
@hannah_bo_banna

this is my
approach
@hannah_bo_banna

here are some
things
we’ve made
@hannah_bo_banna

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

http://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/microsites/googleplus-
for-small-businesses/
@hannah_bo_banna

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

we endeavour to
create content
that…
@hannah_bo_banna

for a precious heartbeat or two…

things that will
blow
their
minds

create things people will
love

that sounds
hard
@hannah_bo_banna

do you really need to
do that?
@hannah_bo_banna

yes
I think you do
@hannah_bo_banna

content marketing is
notnew
@hannah_bo_banna

but
howwe consume
content online
@hannah_bo_banna

has &
will continue to
change
@hannah_bo_banna

we
surface content through
filters…
@hannah_bo_banna

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

facebook protects us from
unwantedcontent
@hannah_bo_banna

& they’re protecting us
from content
we do
want
@hannah_bo_banna

Mark says you have to
pay to play

but it’s not just
facebook
@hannah_bo_banna

our technology
protects us
from unwanted content too
@hannah_bo_banna

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
@hannah_bo_bannahttps://litmus.com/blog/48-of-emails-are-opened-on-
mobile-gmail-opens-down-20-since-tabs

permissionmay no longer be enough…
@hannah_bo_banna

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

people need to love
your marketing

today
I bring you
@hannah_bo_banna

the stumbling blocks &
pitfalls
@hannah_bo_banna

that I’ve encountered
when
creating content
@hannah_bo_banna

& what
I’ve learned
along the way
@hannah_bo_banna

stumbling
blocks
@hannah_bo_banna

can’t we just create
something that shows
why people should buy
our stuff?
~ The Client
@hannah_bo_banna

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

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

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

yeah!
~ The Client
@hannah_bo_banna

content should be
goal-driven
@hannah_bo_banna

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

advertising
isn’t sharedunless it also
entertains / educates
@hannah_bo_banna

content to ‘persuade’
isn’t sharedunless it also
entertains / educates
@hannah_bo_banna

sometimes it
works
@hannah_bo_banna

sometimes it
just ‘appears’ to
@hannah_bo_banna

but people see through
this…
@hannah_bo_banna

time to start
buying food
for Christmas!
(says supermarket chain)
@hannah_bo_banna

you’re getting coverage…
@hannah_bo_banna

it’s even hitting your
target audience
@hannah_bo_banna

self-serving messaging can
alienatethe people you seek to
engage
@hannah_bo_banna

limitedcreative scope
@hannah_bo_banna

that’s off-brand
~ The Client
@hannah_bo_banna

sometimes this is true…
@hannah_bo_banna

your brand is not
whatyou sell
@hannah_bo_banna

it’s about your
values
@hannah_bo_banna

your content must not
contradict
your brand values
@hannah_bo_banna

don’t limityour content
@hannah_bo_banna

don’t limityourself
@hannah_bo_banna

your content
doesn’t have to be
*just* about what you sell
@hannah_bo_banna

sell
soft drinks
@hannah_bo_banna

but their content is about
extreme sports
@hannah_bo_banna

because that’s what
their target audience
love & share
@hannah_bo_banna

it’s our job to
persuade brands to
think beyond
their products
@hannah_bo_banna

& think about their
audienceinstead
@hannah_bo_banna

howdo you figure out what
your audience
love / need / want?
@hannah_bo_banna

what will blow
people’s
minds?

to succeed you’ll need to…
@hannah_bo_banna

research
your audience
@hannah_bo_banna

surveys
& focus groups
@hannah_bo_banna

• 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

research
what sticks
@hannah_bo_banna

study what works
& try to deconstruct why
@hannah_bo_banna

but don’t spend
too much time on this!
@hannah_bo_banna

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

frame your content
appropriately
@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_bannahttp://www.cordless-phones.uk.com/blog/ligo/news/social-media-
bad-phone.htm

there’s some stuff about
being bad for your phone…
@hannah_bo_banna

but there’s also some stuff
about your well-being…
@hannah_bo_banna

find your
story
@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_bannahttp://www.multivu.com/mnr/70425518-tripadvisor-tripindex-reveals-
las-vegas-most-expensive-for-room-service

not even
slightly surprising
@hannah_bo_banna

but it got coverage
@hannah_bo_banna

@hannah_bo_bannahttp://qz.com/194339/the-inexplicable-prices-in-
hotel-minibars-around-the-world/

there’s gold buried
in this release
@hannah_bo_banna

where vodka
is cheaper than water…
@hannah_bo_banna

but remember there are
no
guarantees
@hannah_bo_banna

it’s incredibly hard to predict
what will resonate
@hannah_bo_banna

at some point, you have to
@hannah_bo_banna

if you don’t
launch anything
you can’t learn anything
@hannah_bo_banna

throwshit against the wall,
& analyse what sticks
@hannah_bo_banna

5 tips
to help you succeed
@hannah_bo_banna

pick your
battles
@hannah_bo_banna

if there’s no appetite for
content to
entertain / educate
@hannah_bo_banna

focus on content to
persuade or convert first
@hannah_bo_banna

recognise
the pitfalls & stumbling
blocks
@hannah_bo_banna

don’t just power on through
@hannah_bo_banna

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

acknowledge
& address issues
@hannah_bo_banna

be prepared to start over
if you have to
@hannah_bo_banna

make your content
go further
@hannah_bo_banna

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

make sure your
social share buttons
work
@hannah_bo_banna

make your headline &
social share copy
‘clicky’
@hannah_bo_bannahttp://www.upworthy.com/you-will-not-believe-how-easy-it-is-to-make-something-go-viral

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

place retargeting pixels
on all of your content
@hannah_bo_banna

retarget these audiences
with more content
@hannah_bo_banna

test paid promotion
@hannah_bo_banna

talk openly about the risks &
why it’s important to try
anyway
@hannah_bo_banna

manage expectations
@hannah_bo_banna

agree what
‘success’looks like before you launch
@hannah_bo_banna

learn from
failure
@hannah_bo_banna

deconstruct
what did and did not work
@hannah_bo_banna

shareyour learning
with everyone
@hannah_bo_banna

and keep
going
@hannah_bo_banna

howwe consume
content online
@hannah_bo_banna

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

Image Credits
• I don’t know what I’m doing - http://www.flickr.com/photos/melinesafaryan/7278677702/
• 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/
• 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/
@hannah_bo_banna

On the Edge Digital - Throwing Shit Against the Wall - Redux

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