Brand Series & Shows Are the Future of Multimedia Content

The average Netflix subscriber spends three hours per day on the streaming service. When marketers publish content, they're usually hoping someone will spare three minutes to look at it.

That's such a stark difference when you say it out loud. At their core, though, a Netflix executive and a B2B marketing executive are after the same thing. Both are building audiences and vying for user attention to increase revenue. So how can we get people as vested in our B2B content as they are in Stranger Things?

The first step is to think in terms of series rather than one-off pieces of content. The biggest mistake people make when setting up a content calendar is treating it as just a daily tracker. The calendar is more than just a to-do list. For your content strategy to work, you need a long-term lens.

The calendar is more than just a to-do list. For your content strategy to work, you need a long-term lens.

You rarely hear someone ask, “What's your favorite episode of TV?” You say, “What's your favorite show?” You want to know what series got them hooked, coming back for more.

“To hold attention, the only plan must be to provide your audience with a worthwhile experience,” Jay Acunzo, founder of Marketing Showrunners, wrote on The Content Strategist. “Shows are the world's best vehicle for doing that. They help marketers create compounding returns on our content investment, since shows are binge-worthy when done right.”

A number of innovative companies are starting to take this track through podcasts, video series, and even feature-length documentaries. Acunzo keeps a running list of over 200 branded shows broken down by B2C, B2B, and non-profit. It might surprise you to see the B2B space represented so strongly with Adobe's Wireframe podcast, Moz's Whiteboard Friday, and Lessonly's Do Better Work, to name a few.

With in-person events still uncertain for the foreseeable future, shows could fill part of the void in the marketing line-up. Like educational courses, video series are good for driving and nurturing leads. They've proven to be effective—a study from Animoto found that four times as many customers would rather watch a video than read an article to learn about a product.

One new show that Acunzo recommended is Onboarding Joei, created by 360Learning. The docu-series, which debuted in April, follows Joei Chan as she gets acclimated as the tech company's new director of content.

As writer Molly Donovan detailed on the Marketing Showrunners blog, the show drove immediate results. In the past, 360Learning had to spend €900 to acquire a marketing qualified lead. For Onboarding Joei, the MQL cost dropped to €25.

“I was able to show that I could bring in a lot of qualified subscribers,” Nicolas Merlaud, the show's creator, told Donovan. “Moreover, I could prove the show's ROI.

This approach could even translate to virtual events. (There's a reason they call it event “programming.”) Standard marketing events tend to struggle with meandering panels, awkward lulls, and dry speakers. Pre-recorded presentations benefit from higher production value, and polished editing grants audiences a smoother experience.

Recently, we adjusted our lead generation efforts to include both live and pre-recorded webinars. The slides and voiceover were edited and uploaded before the event time. After the presentation, we moved to a live Q&A with attendees to address their thoughts.

The move makes a ton of sense because we're showing the best possible version of our work. At the end of the day, whether you work for Netflix, Google, or a company just starting to invest in B2B content, that's what we should all be aiming for.

How to take advantage of this trend:

• Brainstorm series instead of ad-hoc stories when planning your content calendar
• Invest in video content, budget permitting, to give customers a binge-worthy experience
• Explore turning in-person events into a virtual series with a mixture of pre-recorded and live elements