By Grégory Pouy, {grow} Community Member
“How do I stand out from the crowd in this content snacking era?”
I work with many global and international brands both in France and in New York, and this is probably the question I’ve been asked the most in the past few years. I’ve created this Slideshare (above) to help them (and you!) connect to an answer.
At first, it we were preoccupied with “viral,” followed by “buzz,” then came “social networks,” and within the social networks, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Vine, Snapchat. But how does this content and activity lead to a breakout?
How can you “break into” the Internet?
C-executives now understand that the web is a very powerful, but challenging, medium. They might blame adblockers and Facebook for their falling Edgerank. They don’t consider that bad advertising and brands that are lying to consumers are often the most likely culprits (if you can’t trust a German car manufacturer, who can you trust? Hmm, good question…).
As Mark has relevantly pointed out with Content Shock and of course The Content Code
book, in this time of overwhelming information density, it is becoming more and more complicated for brands to stand out from the crowd.
When they study data and competition, the vast majority of marketing directors conclude that simply posting more often is the best strategy. In fact, this has become a norm.
Many brands are entering this content-driven environment, frantically posting to their social channels in an attempt to be noticed.
Unfortunately, that just does not work any more.
Every business need to focus on this idea of igniting their content and they need help to do so. Mark got it right, once again. And there are But first, there are a few rules to respect.
1.THE equation to solve
It’s hard to get one’s voice out there, so many marketers are resorting to shortcuts and gimmicks.
The reality is that there are no shortcuts or marketing hacks. Marketing is hard work and you better roll up your sleeves, because the content shock is just starting.
There is no SEO, promotion, advertising shortcut to success. You need to roll up your sleeves and build that emotional connection with customers.
2. A “simple” equation to solve:
Relevancy = Relevant X (brand + people + platforms).
You can’t pick and choose– you’ll have to master all three of them at the same time. This means knowing what your brand stands for and sticking to it.
In a time where people are searching for values and don’t trust brands, marketers really have to reassure consumers. They must give a broader perspective on the brand, going beyond just the product or the services. Also, you can’t really create content for “everyone.” You have to find a specific angle, a spot where your brand is relevant, but one that’s not overcrowded.
Respect the code, customs, and lingo of the vertical community you are targeting. Marketers also need to master the platforms, and these platforms are evolving quickly. Most brands post the same content across the different platforms, ignoring the fact that each has different consumers with different expectations. Clearly, you clearly don’t surf Pinterest the same way you surf Instagram.
Marketers also need to see the bigger picture and understand the battle between the GAFA, especially the first 3 (Google, Apple and Facebook), to have a better vision of where they are going.
3. Mobile is at the center
I can already hear you … Yes, mobile is a given. Yet no content platform (YouTube, Dailymotion, Slideshare…) is optimized for vertical content. It has been proven that people spend the majority of their time using their mobile devices in a vertical orientation.
The square format seems to do the trick, but Instagram happens to have abandoned it, just weeks ago. You’d better be prepared to create vertical videos, because it looks like consumers will be more likely to watch those than horizontal ones (according to Snapchat statistics).
This also means that Creative has to work with few pixels and a small, yet close and personal screen. Storytelling, advertising and content can’t be the same on a mobile device.
4. Visual, visual, visual
In an content-overloaded world, the brain can’t focus unless it finds something very useful, and even then it can still be difficult!
Visuals are quickly analyzed by the brain.Therefore, you need to create entertaining, yet interesting content, if you want your idea to stick. Actually, this is exactly why, instead of writing a very long article, I preferred to create a Slideshare presentation that I’m happy to share with you.
I hope you found my Slideshare presentation entertaining, interesting and relevant!
Gregory Pouy is based in Paris and is one of France’s leading marketing bloggers. You can learn more about his work on Slideshare and by following him on Twitter @gregfromparis . He founded @LaMercatique, helping brands to better understand and integrate digital in their marketing strategy
