Belated Update on Content Marketing Show.

On the 20^th of October a free conference dedicated to the newest trends in the world of SEO and PR took place in London.

It was my first conference since I have only been working in SEO for a short while and therefore did not have any expectations. However I was pleasantly surprised at the professionalism and good presentations skills of the speakers.

Tom Ewing from “BrainJuicer” said that a Brand can play different roles in relation to a customer similar to Carl Jung’s archetypes. Those roles can be that of a

• Friend,
• Entertainer
• Ring Master

So what makes people share your information?

Tom’s formula = give them a big surprise + a little happiness. If you surprise them with repulsive things they are a lot less likely to share.

He also revealed we are not thinking machines that feel but we are feeling machines that think sometimes   (when we absolutely have to). The internet metaphor or the way information was measured in the past has changed from being a “page” to a “stream”. This stream (or the flow of information) is chaotic however it can be studied by a brand in order to determine  how the customer is affected by the information flow in the modern world.

It all made a lot of sense as everything he said was based on the experience of their company. It was engaging and informative – theory confirmed by practice.

Desire Athow, ITProPortal

Gave some tips on how to pitch to a journalist like provide exclusive content, pitch by email (do not call !)

This presentation was a bit subjective and biased as the day before during the content marketing workshop the presenter (who is also a journalist) advised us to pitch to a journalist via the phone call as opposed to just pitching by email.

If anyone has got some experience with pitching to journalists you are welcome to leave a comment below!

Stephen Pavlovich, Wish.co.uk Experiences

Said that good PR does not have to be expensive. Just make sure that your content is Topical/Sexual/Controversial/involving a Celebrity or all of those things at the same time if possible! By mentioning Woody Allen’s quote he reminded that “80% of success is showing off”.

Again everything in this presentation Stephen had proved by his own brand’s example. By creating controversy and getting some celebrity support on twitter he was able to get free publicity, draw a lot of attention to his brand, and increase the sales.

Andy Keetch, Brandwatch

Emphasized the importance of social media monitoring. Monitor social media mentions by time of day, week day, time of year to help you to create your content calendar.

It makes sense to get your message across when your audience is ready to receive it. When you are a big brand monitoring your social media manually can be rather difficult and here Brandwatch tool comes handy, or you can try Datadial’s Netscout  https://www.datadial.net/reputation-manager/

Jochen Mebus from Text Broker was explaining how to give briefings to writers to get the content to serve your specific needs. What style of writing? Who is it for? Mention things that you do want or mention things that you do NOT want. Your briefing should be concise and friendly (authors are also human).

Simon Penson, Zazzle media

Advised to “steal” content types from a printed press to create a balanced flow of various content types.

Magazines have verified through experience what types of content are the most sought after by the readers. That is why it is appropriate to consult relevant publications to understand what topics need to be covered when creating content in your specific industry sector.

Matt Roberts, Linkdex

Said that taking part in today’s conversations is as important as starting your own. “Resonate and influence” were the key points of his presentation.

Matt’s point is logical because one has to be on the same wave length with their customers to understand how they think and feel before one can actually try to influence their minds. Even in physics you can not reach your audience by broadcasting on a radio wave different to the one they are tuned in to.

Chelsea Blacker, Evergreen marketing

Invited us to “spruce up” boring content. Make videos out of PDFs and HTMLs, create events calendars. Connect with enthusiasts in niche markets and use them as influencers for your brand.

Chelsea insisted that you can still be creative working in a seemingly boring industry. Even a common accountant can give interesting insights about his work when asked the right questions!

Ian Humphreys from Caliber suggested that customers should be invited to share their stories as people prefer speaking their minds to listening to your Brand’s story.

People do indeed prefer to speak rather than to listen and they like good listeners. So this trait of human nature should be leveraged by brands if they want to be successful.

Overall it was refreshing to be surrounded by forward-thinking marketing professionals who strive for the best results. A lot of facts mentioned in the presentations were common truths but it was useful to be reminded of those truths and see the real examples of the ideas that worked.