So You Wanna Be a Rock Star? Simple Ways to Create Content that Rocks!
Jan 16, 2016
So You Wanna Be a Rock
Star?
Simple Ways to Create Content
that Rocks!
What is content marketing?What is content marketing?
What is content marketing?What is content marketing?
Stuff that goes on your website…er, album.
What is content marketing?What is content marketing?
Why do businesses do it?Why do businesses do it?
Lead generation 71.3%Thought leadership/market education 49.9%
Customer acquisition 45.0%Brand awareness 41.0%
Lead nurturing 35.4%Website traffic 27.8%
*Source: B2B Content Marketing Trends Report by Spiceworks
How does it work?How does it work?
Who can be a rock star?Who can be a rock star?
Anyone!
Be an expert.
Be a thought leader.
Elevate your company brand or your personal brand.
What do you do?What do you do?
Who has a blog? Social media presence?Who struggles to find topics to write about?
Do you end up not posting because of this?
Moreover, how many things do you not read because they are BORING?
So you want to be a Rock Star?So you want to be a Rock Star?
…at least, a content Rock
Star?
Key Characteristics of Rock Stars:
• Defined personality
• Write about what they know
• Connect with their audience
• Use different channels to distribute their music
PersonalityPersonality
Find your voice. What
is the tone of your
blog or social media
profiles?
GOAL:
Be authentic
Be a resource
PersonalityPersonality
• If your brand was a person, what kind of personality would it have?
• If your brand was a person, what’s their relationship to the consumer? (a coach, friend, teacher, dad, etc.)
• Describe in adjectives what your company’s personality is not.
• Are there any companies that have a similar personality to yours? Why are they similar?
• How do you want your customers to think about your company?
*Kevan Lee writing in Fast Company
Mailchimp: http://mailchimp.com/about/style-guide/#voice-and-
tone
Cool voice, man.Cool voice, man.
MailChimp is:
• Fun but not childish• Clever but not silly• Cool but not alienating• Informal but not sloppy• Helpful but not overbearing• Expert but not bossy• Weird but not inappropriate
Cool voice, man.Cool voice, man.
The cool, trendy hipster with a social conscious.
Cool voice, man.Cool voice, man.
The interesting industry expert.
“The key to songwriting is just to be able to observe, and put yourself in situations to be around people, and let those ideas come to you.”
– Eric Church
What will you write?What will you write?
Finding InspirationFinding Inspiration
What to write about?
Things you know.
• How-to’s and tutorials
• Actual clean up jobs
• Advice for selecting service providers
• Top mistakes you see people making
Callaway Golf's YouTube Is a Hole in OneCallaway promotes itself on YouTube, with excellent
content that isn't overly salesy or promotional. Videos include how to hit a bump and run and
vertical centers of gravity in golf drivers.
Finding InspirationFinding Inspiration
Finding InspirationFinding Inspiration
bossplow.com
Good stuff!
Finding InspirationFinding Inspiration
What to write about?
Things happening around you.
• Current events (e.g. “Red Carpet” awards, elections)
• Related interests and activities (e.g. pro-bono work,
community events)
• Upcoming classes or educational resources for
consumers
Finding InspirationFinding Inspiration
What to write about?
Calendar Events
• Weird and Wacky
Holidays
Finding InspirationFinding Inspiration
What to write about?
Engage directly with your
audience.
• Answer questions
• Conduct interviews with local
personalities or experts
Finding InspirationFinding Inspiration
Remember, it doesn’t have to always be specifically about your product or service.
Still Stuck? Still Stuck?
Connecting with the AudienceConnecting with the Audience
Present information in fun, engaging ways.
”At a cocktail party, you wouldn’t walk up to someone and say, ‘Hey, I’m
Dave. My stuff is 20% off.’
What you do is ask questions, tell stories, listen, and relate to people.”
Dave Kerpen, CEO of Likeable Media
Writing the lyricsWriting the lyrics
Pretend you’re writing to your favorite
customer.
Hey, Al. What’s been going on? I swear, every
holiday season I see the same issues as
people try to keep their floors clean for
holiday parties. It seems like if homeowners
just did X, Y and Z, we could prevent half of
these issues!”
Writing the LyricsWriting the Lyrics
Okay, a few rules.
Embrace brevity: Short paragraphs (3
sentences, 6 lines) with no more than 25
words in a sentence.
Fancy doesn’t work: Lose the jargon. Why
“utilize” when “use” works just fine?
Emphasize text: Use BOLD and ITALICS to
highlight key points.
Writing the LyricsWriting the Lyrics
White Space is Good: Too
much text is exhausting.
Use Subheads: Help people
skip to parts they find most
interesting or relevant.
Picture This: Illustrate your
points or posts with images.
Writing the LyricsWriting the Lyrics
•Video
•Infographics
•Audio
•Memes
•Links to other
resources
Schedule Your TourSchedule Your Tour
Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb.
Newsletter/FOCUS
THANK YOU!Prepping for Thanksgiving Dinners – Stop the Stain
HOLIDAYSHoliday Parties: Protecting Your Floors from Traffic and Stains
WINTER FLOORCAREKeeping Floors and Indoors Healthy during winter
SHOW YOUR FLOORS SOME LOVE!
Blog Tips, Top Nov. Stains, What We’re Thankful for
Top December Stains, Floor Protection in the North Pole
Indoor Air Quality and Floorcare, New Studies, Asthma and Floors, 15 Resolutions
Floor care products we love!
Social Contest: Guess this Stain
Top Gifts Resolutions, protecting floors
Contest: What Floor Surface Do you Love the Best?
Schedule Your TourSchedule Your Tour
Make a Set ListMake a Set List
Mon. Tues. Weds. Thurs. Friday
Weekly Blog Post
5 Things You Can Do Now to Make Your Floors Say Thank You after Thanksgiving
Social (FB and Twitter)
Prepared for the holidays? Link to Blog
Guess this holiday stain
Reminder: Time to schedule your carpet cleaning!
Holiday stains: Which have you had?
Get 10% off your next cleaning with your best #holidayfails
November 17-21 2014
Define Your Distribution PlanDefine Your Distribution Plan
1. Post the content to your website.
Define Your Distribution PlanDefine Your Distribution Plan
2. Distribute the link through your communication channels.
BenefitsBenefits
• Improve SEO• Build awareness
• Build better relationships and improve customer
retention• Generate leads
• Your 15 minutes of fame!
3. Win awards!
Rockstar ResourcesRockstar Resources
Grammarly: Your personal grammar coach (a plug-in for Word and Outlook)
ProWritingAid.com: An online writing coach that flags errors in your writing
Wordcounter: Helps make sure you’re not using the same word over and over and over
Portent.com: An idea generator! Input a topic and let portent go to work.
Ubersuggest.org: Another idea generator!
Rockstar ResourcesRockstar Resources
For Photos:
Creative Commons (http://search.creativecommons.org)Comfight (www.compfight.com)
Free Images (www.freeimages.com)Unsplash (www.unsplash.com)
Are you
ready?