The first New Media Breakfast of 2020 took place last week, hosted by Tigerlily Edinburgh on the 23rd of January and 29 Glasgow on the 24th of January.
With the topic being Content Marketing – as decided by the community poll taken at the end of last year – Managing Director of fatBuzz, Gordon White, delivered an engaging presentation on the importance of content, how to implement an effective content plan and trends to look out for in 2020.
This was such a hotly requested topic, that the Edinburgh Breakfast had to have a second session running in the early afternoon to accommodate for the high numbers of attendees!
Here are just some of the talking points from this month’s New Media Breakfast presentation:
Opening Statement
Gordon began by showing the following definition provided by the Content Marketing Institute:
“Content marketing is a strategic marketing approach, focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience – and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.”
“Valuable” and “relevant” were highlighted, as these would be the key messages to take away from the presentation regarding how companies should think about the content they produce in order to drive business.
Predictions for 2020
Some of the trending and significant areas relating to content in 2020 included:
- Personalisation
- Research Data
- Storytelling
- Database building
- Content Syndication
- Content Shows
- Brand Transparency
Content Shows were given particular attention, with Gordon citing the recent success of Scottish Enterprise’s employee ownership podcast as proof that the format remains a popular and effective way for brands to engage with the public.
More of these trends and predictions were then expanded upon in further detail, beginning with Brand Transparency.
Transparency as a Selling Point
In the era of fake news, public distrust and social awareness, an increasing number of brands are making their ethics and transparent policies part of their marketing strategy. For the consumer products market, using content to promote a brand’s fairness, openness and environmental sustainability is essential in fostering trust and creating meaningful customer relationships.
The Rise of Voice Search
Voice-activated devices, like Amazon’s Echo products, are changing how users interact with search engines. For instance, 20% of Google searches are now done via voice commands. This means that the guidelines for SEO content are becoming blurred and marketers should be preparing to adapt to the changes in how content is written for search optimisation.
Challenges Faced by Marketers
Gordon made sure to address some of the concerns that businesses have when looking to create and distribute content, such as:
- Not having time or resources – the right time and resources should always be set aside for content, as there is immense value to be gained from a good content marketing strategy.
- Not knowing what to say – every business has something to say. A good content calendar can show how much businesses are able to talk about on social media, email, blogs and beyond.
Content Strategies and Calendars
Never underappreciate the value of a thorough strategy. In addition to detailing how marketers should consider the Who, What, Why and To Whom of their content, Gordon also gave a sample content calendar that showed just how much one company could talk about in a month; from national holidays and awareness days to testimonials, company newsletters and more.
Content Syndication
What’s the use in creating a beautiful piece of content if no-one reads it? Organic exposure alone isn’t enough for content to get in front of the right people. While paid distribution is an effective solution, businesses should utilise the syndication of content across multiple channels.
Whether it’s having employees share their company’s latest blog, posting an article to a LinkedIn group or working with an industry publication, there are many ways to maximise the exposure of your marketing content.
Email Marketing
One of the final points of the presentation was on the continued value of email marketing, which hasn’t been crippled by GDPR as many suspected, but in fact become more useful than ever. With the new regulations, a brand’s mailing list is more likely to contain people who are actually interested in hearing from it and have opted to keep receiving communications.
Marketers should capitalise on this by building up their database and prioritising email as a method of distributing valuable, relevant content that engages customers and effectively drives sales.
This brings us nicely to the next New Media Breakfast, which will be taking place on the 27th and 28th of February in Edinburgh and Glasgow respectively. The topic for next month will be Email Marketing, so expect to learn more about the value of email and how to effectively implement a strategy that will deliver results for your business.
Visit the official New Media Breakfast site to find out more, see upcoming events and sign up.
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