What REALLY Differentiates The Best Content Marketers From The Rest

WHAT REALLY §a‘: .‘. :.. ... .s DIFFERENTIATES r°sss'mm°"ds'°°m THE BEST CONTENT MARKETERS FROM THE REST . :-. .;_l__-I

So you want to become a great content marketer?

You want to stand “ 5. out from the crowd, creating valuable . A. and relevant content that will attract, engage and amaze your audience?

FEAR NOT! The key to such success is within reach. V9

What dynamics lead ‘L to some marketers ': quickly becoming household names while others stand gawking in awe, dreaming for a fraction of the followers?

Through much research and study, I've been able to A. uncover a few traits that differentiate the best content marketers from the rest. ..

Embrace a f I. I‘ 'I'oundatIon OT storytelling Deep understanding of the role of technology Ff? UR l(E‘It' lFI’-‘_l. I'lt'C RS FE? R Glﬂliz’-‘. 't‘ ill? lVt'EI'tT itrri-‘IRKETERS Willingness to challenge "best practice" Commitment to unlocking distribution channels

FOUNDATION OF STORYTELLING The ability to tell an effective and compelling story is something that comes from a combination of practice and study. As great as your features may be, consumers want to know what your brand can do for them.

FOUNDATION OF STORYTELLING Your ability to communicate the appropriate benefits comes from an understanding of the audiences interests and motivations. From there, we must combine them with a story so compelling that they 4 have no choice but to read and share. A. -3"

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A Q TAKE AWAY: ‘ Don't tell your audience ' why your product is great, Show them how it can help them become better. ' - . . . . . . . . . .x it

CHALLENGE "BEST PRACTICE" ON THE REGULAR Tackling topics that no one would otherwise touch can be risky, but if you do it right, be prepared to reap the rewards. By creating valuable and honest content that helps solve a problem for your target audience, they will associate your brand as being one that cares about their problems and has worked hard to help solve them. Doing it right: OKCupid

Challenge "Best Practice" on the regular It wasn't "Best Practice" for OkCupid to release data about their users and publish shocking facts and stats on their OkTrends b| og: Sexual Partners by Smart Phone, by Age H ends Dating Research from OkCupid The Mathematics Of Beauty lfl"Ual'V mm. 20:1 av Christian I1III1I1eI WWW yrweea 2 ans Oiii iiii lll l y 181920 21 22 23 24 25 25 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 3? 38 3950 today's dataset:21.S4m votes, 596k messages, 64k profiles I 1 I jfiindroid users jfllackfilerrv users 1 iPhone users But the reward was millions of dollars worth of earned media and a significant increase in web traffic.

A51 c! n ow Ponﬁdub iseven tahng n otice. .. F Pomhub Traffic During the Z01lI FIFA World Cup JuLI'14, 2C1-1 0 Cow-iEN*S : "rwaoI 59 I'M i I"-I-irnigl J 'I‘lt iii. iittit-‘TI’ @ As the world followed the 2014 FIFA Finals, the Pornhub Statisticians followed the world by seeing how the semifinal and championship matches affected trafﬁc to the world's best and biggest adult site.

A _ TAKE AWAY: Rules need to be bent I every now and then. Shake the stigma surrounding taboo subjects to drive more conversation . . . . . . . . . .3‘ it

Use technology for marketing tactics Leverage your use of technology to influence perceptions and behaviours. Instead of simply looking at technology as a shiny feature, use it as an asset to drive results by adding value to your users life. Doing it right: Hubspot and SEMrush F H out the form below 10 qe1r‘7orE[op(§ HUBSPOT'S V BLOG TOPIC GENERATOR DON'T KNOW WHAT TO BLOG ABOUT? LET US THINK OF IDEAS FOR YOU. A WEEK OF BLOG TOPICS, JUST FOR YOU _ rip . D.1ﬂ‘o, r o 5 Trmla Evrvyonc In Tm‘ Pokvr mrluslvv Sl1ﬁll(l BC U-zmq "°""""*“"*"°'°""°“”‘°"'V"""""°"“"' —Pleasa Select 6 Why Wu Low Pom mind You snmm T00’) mm cm . . now you’ 0 10 Om: l( Tm» Alum! := ..k. ~ mm 4; In Ivusga -mm . zuglamu gpnnng an ynnrprnausu O 10 Sigm You Should mvml in Palm- Please suect ° 10 Things Vow Cumpctnovs Can Teach You Almul Pow: nmmwmuyo-u. .u. cyuo -mum?

USE TECHNOLOGY FOR MARKETING TACTICS Look at technology in a similar lens as a blog post, infographic or Slideshare presentation. It's an opportunity to turn heads, generate leads and establish brand leadership.

L Q TAKE AWAY: ‘ Use technology as a part of your content marketing mix and drive real results. ' - . . . . . . . . . .x it

D. R.E. A.M. (Distribution Rules Everything Around Me) Content is important but distribution is what will drive real results. Your distribution channels will .3 , , , , , , . O help your content reach the : audience that is most likely to 6 buy and share your story.

I7 l7 ls V V 7 %. t'1"l. —‘. .<' . I ll" (Distribution Rules Everything Around Me) You need to know as a marketer that you're going to have to hustle and work to land your content in front of the right people. Once it's there, your content exists and it can be validated as being something people want or ignore.

L TAKE AWAY: Content isn't king. Distribution is. Spend double the amount of time you take writing your content to promote it. - . . . . . . . . . .x it

A. THE BEST MARKETERS ARE THOSE WHO STAY UP WITH TRENDS AND LEVERAGE THEM WHEN APPROPRIATE. TTTTTCJTTTTT

THE BEST MARKETERS DON'T SIT BACK on their past successes } with the hope that they'll continue to be successful in the future without taking action. V

qr. ’ THE BEST MARKETERS ; EMBRACE THE HUSTLE

qr. ) THE BEST MARKETERS ; EMBRACE THE HUSTLE Q; UNDERSTAND THE ROLE ; OF TECHNOLOGY

qr. ’ THE BEST MARKETERS ; EMBRACE THE HUSTLE 0:, ’ UNDERSTAND THE ROLE ; OF TECHNOLOGY S) CHALLENGE THE ; STATUS ouo

GI. ’ THE BEST MARKETERS ; EMBRACE THE HUSTLE 0:, ’ UNDERSTAND THE ROLE ; OF TECHNOLOGY 3) CHALLENGE THE ; STATUS ouo 03.} AND EMBRACE ; STORYTELLING.

Get out there and take your content marketing efforts to the next level!

Want More Content Marketing Insights? Download my latest ebook for case studies, strategies and tactics that can help you create content that stands out. .. THE ENTRE NEURSGUIDE TO CONTE MARKETING www. standoutguide. com

Ross Simmonds wvvw. rosssimmonds. com @TheCoo| estCool R‘, f f/