These Three Words Will Save Your Content Marketing

June 1, 2018

It doesn't matter what industry your business is in, for your content marketing to grab attention, your business has to operate as if it's an entertainment brand. After all, your brand isn't just up against local competitors in your area: it's up against Netflix, HBO, the latest meme -- everything is in our pocket, one click away.

It's 2018 and your brand has to be binge-worthy. Any time your audience sees your content they should want more. Whether you're selling meatless burgers or you're the Uber of lawn service, you have to create compelling, attention-grabbing content that puts your message above the mess.

It sounds easy, right. One part "Stranger Things," two parts "This Is Us," a dash of "Game of Thrones." People will flock in droves!

But before you embark on your shot for shot remake of Season 16 of "The Bachelorette," to reach your desired audience, think about all the content out there that you notice in your day to day.

Most likely the content that stands out to you can be boiled down to three simple words: Wait, wait, first we'll live up to the headline and let you guess.

Give up?

The three words are: Heart. Humor. Helpfulness.

Those words should form the backbone of your content marketing strategy. They'll get you out of the sell, sell, sell mindset and help you find your overarching brand story. So let's take a look at why these three words are so important.

Heart

The dog snuggling with the child, the Coke can with your name on it, the military mom surprising her family. These are the things that get shared like crazy. Emotional storytelling is the best way for your business to stay in the mindset of your consumer.

"Brands that wear their heart on their sleeves get noticed," Blake Allen, the Vice President of Creative at Paramore, an advertising agency in Nashville, says. "If your brand can tell stories that tap into emotional vulnerability, you're going to get remembered."

Allen cites Hawaii's "Let Hawaii Happen" campaign as one of his favorite recent examples of heartfelt storytelling. "These stories don't need dialogue. It's all about creating a tone that's simple… And it helps having Hawaii as your setting."

Helpful Hints on Heart

1) Tap into the real stories of your customers. How does your product or business positively affect their life? Simple stories such as well-written testimonials and short video interviews can add legitimacy and spread word of mouth.

2) Don't weigh in on tragedies. It's not a good look for any brand so stay out of the conversation. Going dark during dark times is usually the best strategy.

3) Be vulnerable. If you mess up, admit it. It helps humanize your brand.

Humor

Humor is the hardest to do but the most shareable. Humor is universal. Everyone loves to laugh. And they love to share what made them laugh. The trick is making your humor feel effortless and accessible, an inside joke that everyone's a part of. If a brand can make you laugh, you invite them into your circle.

Lawson Clarke, a freelance copywriter based in Boston, sums it up simply, "People want to laugh. It's as true today as at it was when we were living in caves. There's stress in getting through the day. Laughter is the relief. It's a comfort blanket."

Clarke looks at humor as a foundational element for brands.

"I worked on a project years ago for Carnival Cruise Line and we did a big study on fun and laughter and we found that when you laugh it releases pain-killing endorphins into your body. People in chronic pain, the more they laugh, the better they sleep at night."

"It's very serious," Clarke deadpans.

Clarke has seen firsthand the impact of humor. He's used his personal website MaleCopywriter.com with its absurdist feature well video greeting site visitors to become one of the most in demand freelance copywriters in the business.

Clarke notes that the bar for brands using humor has been raised to an exceedingly difficult level.

"With humor you're competing with everything that's funny. You have to be provocative and outrageous. You just can't wring your hands over whether you're going to offend someone.

Clarke's lived it, after all.

"I got naked and rode a horse in cut off jeans… Take a big swing."

Helpfulness

Everyone loves a good how-to. This form of content is SEO-friendly and, in theory, the easiest to deliver on. Capitalize on how your consumers are naturally searching Google. What does your brand deliver that others don't?

Brands like Buzzfeed's Tasty have made hay by focusing on how-to videos and content that empowers an audience to action. The raison d'etre for this very blog is to be helpful and we try to deliver on that promise in every article. Regular blogging, sharing thoughtful content on your social networks, and research studies and whitepapers are all tactics that can be helpful to your audience.

Setting the Foundation

But don't just start creating content willy nilly. First, you need to set the foundation for Heart, Humor and Helpfulness. Here's how:

1) Find Your Voice. It starts here. Write down five or so specific attributes that speak to your brand. You'll throw out words like, "irreverent," "sophisticated," "approachable" and "et cetera." Use these to guide your messaging.

2) Set Goals. What do you want your content to do? Get website traffic. Create brand awareness. Add new fans. You won't reach your goals if you don't put them on paper, tuck that piece of paper under your pillow, and pray to the ROI fairy every night. He's listening and he'll tell you to invest in analytics so you can track success.

3) Know Your Audience. And don't use generic phrases like, "It's Millennials." That's too broad. An 18-year-old student named Cristo who majors in Postmodern History at UCLA has little in common with Khaki Cody, a 34-year-old dad in Biloxi, yet both are considered Millennials. Go deeper, and connect with your target audience on their turf whether that's on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest or Astro.

4) Create an Editorial Calendar. Knowing your audience means you know where to play, but do you know what to say? An editorial calendar gives you security. A thematic structure. You begin the story knowing the next chapter. The weekly blog post, daily social chatter, the short campaigns, the long-term goals – the editorial calendar is the place where it all lives and breathes like only inanimate content can.

5) Execute. This is the actual posting and publishing. Talking to your audience. Responding to your fans. Asset organization, creation and management. It's a full-time job and it can be stressful so drink lots of Monster Energy Brand, take up vaping and go buy that red Miata your life coach said you couldn't afford.

Essentially, every piece of content you publish should jig-saw together to create one compelling story. It's a story that makes you think, that makes you laugh and helps you like that life coach never could.

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