When our clients commission us to create content for them, our first goal is to create something that provides value to the viewer. Last year, IBM demonstrated this idea by creating adverts that doubled as benches in urban areas.
The best approach in content marketing is one that keeps in mind not only the objectives of the brand who wants potential customers to know about them, but also one that takes the viewer into consideration. Sometimes companies are so concerned with ‘viral’ content that they forget what makes content go viral in the first place.
A marketing study by Chadwick Martin Bailey found that 72% of the people they polled shared content because they found it interesting or entertaining. But does it really take a genius to sort out that thought-provoking or entertaining (and sometimes both) content motivates people to share? The key then is combining the two.
What’s so successful about IBM’s approach is that they are not only changing the typical interaction that happens between an advert and its viewer, but they’re also providing something of value to the viewer. Sure, it’s just a bench. But it’s enough that it gets individuals interacting with it.
That’s the approach that DVO consistently takes with content. We seek to combine entertaining with thought-provoking or usefulness to create content with value. During our campaign with PropertyWide, we used their expertise to create an engaging infographic that compared the average rent prices in cities across the UK:
Both The Independent and Economic Voice, among many other publishers, found the content useful for their audiences, and the information appealed to multiple audiences from finance blogs like Savvy Scott to student publications like TopUniverse.com.
Experience has taught us that the best rule for creating content that effectively spreads your brand message is to understand what makes people share. Highly effective content marketing involves making either thought-provoking or entertaining content. And if you can combine both, you have the best both worlds.
We’re a London based content marketing agency that can help you optimise your webspace. If you’re interested, get in touch!
