Creating content may seem simple, and sure enough it is, but keeping your audience engaged is a totally different game. When we talk about content, you might automatically think of a blog post or article that you post onto your website, and while this may be partly true, content can come in many different forms, such as videos, graphics and e-books. Often these can be a lot more interesting and creative – and is exactly what is needed to keep your readers interested and engaged.
Here are three tips you can use to keep your content alive, and your audience coming back for more:
1 Repurpose and re-use
No doubt you have already written a lot of content, much of it is probably timeless. Great – don’t waste it. Just because you’ve written a blog and posted it on your website one year ago, doesn’t mean it needs to stop there. You can re-use your evergreen content and repurpose it for a different platform. For example, if you’ve shared some amazing healthy tips about the different ways to use chia seeds, why not create bite-sized video content and deliver this across your social media channels. You can even do a recipe album on Facebook. Remember, there are endless ways to revitalize older content and re-fresh it to keep your readers excited and engaged with your brand.
2 Hook with a headline
You can spend all the time in the world creating something fancy, and sure, that’s very important. But what’s equally important is the hook of your headline. Your headline is what will draw readers in and get them to click your material. Get creative and tip the readers off with just enough information to maintain the mystery. But make sure you’re genuine with your headlines and avoid creating clickbait headlines as that will just annoy people. Here’s a great example from Buzzfeed on Facebook for all you Friends lovers out there. I don’t know about you, but I certainly clicked on this link.
3 Get personal
Gone are the days where direct selling was the main way to secure business. We’re now living in a world where customers want to see the ‘real’ you – and the Internet and social media have opened the doors to this type of discovery. Your customers want to know your story, the people behind the brand, and they want to talk to you. Share real stories about real people – be it case studies or behind-the-scenes footage. Open the lines of communication with your customers through social media by posting exciting and fun content, and write as you would speak – you know, like a conversation.
It’s time to let your customers in and get personal. Tell your brand story and develop content with a human element. Show people who you are and what you can do without making an obvious sales pitch. Your content strategy should be filled with cool ideas that have your customers craving for more. The key is to have fun, be consistent and creative.
Let us help you bring your content back to life – drop us a message at hello@mutant.com.sg
One Academy Award, 14 Oscar nominations, and once considered the most powerful man in Hollywood – Warren Beatty is now going to be remembered as the guy who read out the wrong name.
Things went downhill soon after the cast of LaLa Land went on stage to receive the coveted Best Picture award. Even as one of the producers was speaking, viewers at home saw someone run across the stage holding an envelope. It was quickly announced that it’d been a mistake, and that Moonlight was the actual winner of the prestigious award. The live audience collectively held its breath the entire time. But no matter how many times you watch the blunder, it doesn’t get any easier watching poor Beatty trying to explain it away.
But, mistakes happen. And marketers operating in real-time know this better than anyone else. We’re breaking down the mistakes and lessons to be learnt from this train-wreck.
Mistake #1: Driving yourself crazy with self-editing
Of course, checking what you have written is a good habit to get into, but do you really need to spend hours self-editing content that already took you hours to write? When it comes to content marketing, practice makes perfect. Yes, editing is crucial, but it should only take you a few minutes. Constantly reviewing something is a recipe for disaster, at least in the same day. When the writing is still fresh, your mind will automatically make up the gaps in your copy and your editing will be subpar. Instead, put it away and come back to it another day — or at least several hours later.
Mistake #2: It isn’t relevant
You take the time to write a content piece, possibly spend longer than you should editing and build a landing page, then there’s one thing that kills it- it’s irrelevant. And we all know that irrelevant content doesn’t drive engagement. The answer to this is simple – sit down and do your homework. Make your content is easy to read and digest. The goal is to leave your readers hungry for more.
Mistake #3: You’re too jumbled up in SEO
If you are clogging your content with back links and unnecessary keywords, your just making life harder for yourself, and your readers. Remember to write for people first, and search engines second. This way, it makes your content more readable and sharable.
Mistake #4: Your focus is quantity over quality
The biggest secret to content marketing is just that, the content. Producing blogs posts to fill that promised KPI isn’t going to bring much value. One of the biggest mistakes made is wasting precious time and resources creating content that is not attracting your target audience. Delve into the mind of your audience. Who are they? What do they need help with? And craft content to solve their problems. This is a lot more valuable than the rat race of getting a blog out before your neighbour just for the sake of it. Put more focus on creating and promoting quality content that’s fit for purpose.
Mistake #5: You’re selling too hard
Golden rule#1: content marketing is not created for hard selling. You create to educate, inspire, engage and build your brand. Not to receive immediate acquisition. Of course, gaining business is an important goal, but it shouldn’t be obvious to customers. These days everyone does their homework online before purchasing. That’s why it’s important to provide relevant information, answer consumer questions, solve problems and offer alternative perspectives. Because if you don’t, someone else will.
Mistakes happen to the best of us – it what makes us human. Here’s hoping that LaLa Land Producer, Jordan Horowitz, and Moonlight’s Director Barry Jenkins can see it in the same light.
If you need help crafting a killer content marketing strategy, drop us a note at hello@mutant.com.sg
If you’ve heard it once, you’ve probably heard it a thousand times: content is king. And unless you’ve been living under a rock, you would also understand the important role content marketing plays in driving leads and delivering results.
Traditional marketing is falling out of favour with many consumers, and content marketing fills the gaps with regular creations and distribution of quality information relevant to your target audience – drawing them in and ultimately turning prospects into customers.
Sounds great doesn’t it?
But the only problem is that content marketing requires a full strategy, time and dedicated resources. This means that at least one or two team members should be dedicated to executing your content strategy, which can be tough, particularly if you don’t have the knowledge or manpower. If you don’t have the time, your next bet is to hire an agency to assist you. Agencies are generally made up of skilled professionals, meaning you can utilise many different talents and levels of expertise to help you drive your marketing strategy forward.
But with so many agencies out there, how do you pick the right one?
Here are some tips to consider when choosing a content marketing agency:
1. Define your purpose
This may seem like a no-brainer question, but so many brands out there get caught up in creating content just for the sake of it. When planning your strategy, really think about your key goals, and what you want to achieve. Do you want traffic? Increased conversions and leads? Or perhaps building brand reputation and awareness?
Your goals will determine your agency evaluation criteria. For example, if you’d like to to develop a strong content strategy, you might focus more on the team’s knowledge of your industry and knack for strategic and analytical thinking. But if you just want to outsource the content creating process, you would more likely look at hard skills such as subject matter expertise and video or photo editing skills. Most brands might not require the full breadth of an agency’s content marketing skills, so tailor your search accordingly.
2. Measure success
Ultimately, what you want out of your chosen agency is measurable results – to determine your ROI. So find out how they measure success and what content management tools and data sets they use. Getting to know and understand their processes should give you more confidence to select the right agency for you.
3. Do the groundwork
Being a content marketing agency without a blog and social media accounts is akin to a pilot without a license: unqualified for the job. Don’t take what they say at face value, do the necessary legwork to validate their claims. Check out the quality of articles on their blog, who writes it, and how they’ve been growing over time. Their abilities should shine through at this point, and if you remain unimpressed, move on to the next agency.
4. Get to know the team
Ensure the people working on your account are knowledgeable and skilled. It’s not uncommon for top-level executives to pitch for your account, and then pass it over to other members in the agency – but it’s also your job to get to know who will eventually be on your team. Clarify these details, find out their track record, and if possible, meet and get to know them. They are the ones who will pluck out everything amazing in your company, and turn it into fantastic content that’s worth sharing.
5. Test the relationships
A good relationship is crucial, so make sure to pick a team that you’re completely comfortable and confident in. Besides having faith in the agency’s abilities, you should also feel assured that they will not hesitate to tell you if your ideas might not work, and recommend other strategies that are in line with your goals. Having a good working relationship also helps when you have to coordinate between your in-house team and the agency. The agency should be working as an extension of your company, and should help make this process seamless.
6. Don’t forget culture and values
While it’s important to assess an agency’s skill set and competency, cultural fit is also an important factor to take into account. Besides allowing for a smoother partnership, a good culture also determines the type of team you get. People are an agency’s number one asset, which means success comes from the right people with the right skills, doing the best for their client. It’s essential for the agency to have clear values in place, because those values shape the culture that attracts and retains top talent. Without an amazing culture, an agency will be subject to high turnover, which may affect your account.
And there you have it, 6 things to help you choose a content marketing agency. It’s not an exhaustive list, but it should help you get started and point you in the right direction.
Drop us a note if you’re in the market for a creative content marketing agency. Reach us at hello@mutant.com.sg.
The first thing that often comes to mind when someone mentions content, is creativity. That’s almost true – great content is indeed dependent on creativity, but it’s also reliant on data. Data helps guide content towards the next best direction. After all, brands aren’t just shelling out money for nothing – they want to see value and ROI.
Data should never be an afterthought. It should be looked upon as an integral part that can help a business angle its content to accurately reach their audience and drive results.
So if you’re having trouble filling up your content calendar, look to your data set first. It’ll give you access to the latest trends and insights – and as well a whole new mindset on how to approach your content marketing strategy.
Here’s where to start:
Step 1: Do your research
Kick off with extensive research on the external data that’s available to you out there. Start with these: 1. BuzzSumo
BuzzSumo is great if you’re looking to see which specific keywords/topics are trending. You’ll also be able to see the number of social shares and engagements a particular topic has received. You’ll be in luck if the topic you’re writing about is already trending.
Always wondered what people are searching for on Google? Here you’ll find market-specific trending searches and search interest in various topics/keywords.
Twitter makes it really easy for you to look at what is currently trending – just look to the left on your homepage and you’ll see the number of tweets each trending hash-tag has received. You’ll also be able to view market specific stats relevant to your preferred location.
Instagram doesn’t quite have the same function as Twitter, but if you tap on the ‘Explore’ tab in your account, you can see what’s popular. Keep in mind that this is tailored according to your behaviour on Instagram, so the results won’t be an accurate reflection of what is truly trending.
Another feature of Instagram is hash-tags. Hash-tags with the most number of posts attributed to them signify popularity. Movements or trends that start on Instagram will usually use a unique hash-tag to group all related posts together as well. For example, take a look at Jamie Oliver’s #MeatlessMondays. Since this began, hordes of other food bloggers and enthusiasts have jumped on the bandwagon to produce related content.
If you’re unsure what hash-tags to use? Check out this link. However, it’s always important to keep your hashtags relevant to your content. For example, don’t hash-tag #dog if your photo is about baking.
5. Facebook If you’re on Facebook’s mobile application, you’ll be able to see what’s currently trending through a quick tap on the search bar. This mostly changes everyday so if you see recurring topics that have remained on this page, you’ll definitely want to try and angle your content around that.
Now that you know what topics people are talking about, you should now take a look at the other side of the coin. An internal content audit will give a deeper insight into how well your current content is performing. This is where you’ll find out what your audience likes, and what they aren’t really receptive to.
For starters you can take a look at your website analytics and social traffic. Website analytics Google analytics is a nifty tool for any content marketer out there. Simply set up your account and copy the unique code on your site (if you aren’t sure how to do this ask your web developer). This tool will offer insights on your web traffic and referrals – you’ll also be able to identify your most popular content pieces in terms of views, time spent and bounce rate.
Social traffic (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter)
1. Twitter Analytics – this can be found on the top right portion of your account. Here you’ll find tons of useful data, including Tweet impressions, profile visits, mentions and follower growth. You’ll also be able to export these analytics into a useful Excel sheet so you can match these numbers together with other data that you’re analysing.
2. Instagram
If you’ve linked up your Facebook page with your Instagram account to get a business profile, you’ll get access to useful data including number of impressions, reach and engagement for each Instagram post. Simply go to each photo and tap on ‘View Insights’.
3. Facebook
Facebook has a really intuitive way of presenting data. Simply go to your Facebook business page and click on ‘Insights’. This tab will tell you everything you need to know from the thousands of people you’ve reached to the number of people that have liked/un-liked your page in the past month.
For starters, click on ‘Export Data’ and exporting ‘Post Data’. This will show you key information on individual post, such as reach and engagement. But of course, feel free to play around with your Page insights – there is a lot there to explore.
Step 3: Set your KPIs
Now that you’ve extracted your internal and external data, the next step is to set your KPIs. With all of your previous research in mind, you should now have a clearer idea of what a good result looks like, and what doesn’t. This would then set you up to decide on achievable and realistic KPIs. Here’s some ideas for realistic goals you can set:
Web traffic
In Google Analytics, you’ll want to set your goals based on your past sessions, new users and page views. If you’re slightly more advanced, you can break the data down to the different channels where your traffic comes from. For example, finding out where the majority of your web traffic comes from, i.e.Google, Facebook, Twitter, Newsletter etc.
Engagement
One of the biggest issues that content marketers face is driving engagement from their audience. Because you’ve already done your content audit, you’ll now know what numbers signify a good engagement rate.
On social, you could set goals based on reach, impressions, engagement, link clicks, comments and shares. On your website, you may want to work on improving lead generation from newsletter sign-ups or free source downloads through your content.
Getting started on a content marketing strategy can seem daunting because there are so many factors to consider. But take it one step at a time and it’ll no doubt pay off.
And finally, in the wise words of David Welch, Former Adobe VP of Marketing Insights & Operations, ‘Creative thrills, but data pays bills’.
If you need help in shaping and executing your content marketing strategy, drop us a note at hello@mutant.com.sg.
With so many agencies to choose from, it can definitely be an overwhelming process to find the perfect partner to help communicate the right brand message to the right audience.
Whether you have gone through the selection process in the past or you’re looking for the first time, here are the 7 crucial factors to consider when screening potential agencies:
1. Plan and prepare
First and foremost, you’ll need to decide what your business goals and objectives are. Do you want to achieve brand awareness, or make your new product launch the talk of the town? Or perhaps you want to establish yourself as an important thought leader in your field? Having a clearly defined goal helps to narrow your search down to find agencies with the right capabilities and expertises.
2. Size does matter
Bigger doesn’t necessarily mean better. Large firms may have greater manpower and resources, but smaller agencies make up for it with a nimble and flexible team that’s quick to catch changing trends. By default, smaller agencies have a flatter hierarchy with less bureaucracy and red tape. This can translate into saved time and resources, and greater visibility into operations. What’s important is to identify an agency with the right size and fit for your brand – one that has the relevant experience and staff to meet your needs.
3. Avoid a bait-and-switch
When hearing pitches, pay attention to the team. Make sure what you see is what you get. Are you dealing with a large agency where smaller accounts are handed down to junior staff? Will the team pitching to you be working on your account? Some agencies send a pitching team made up of senior partners and the top creative honchos to woo you, but once business is secured, the account will be handed off to other members of the team. Clarify who will be developing and executing the campaign to avoid unpleasant surprises.
4. Making connections
When you hire an agency, you gain their valuable contacts and connections. Make sure the agency has trusted and positive relationships with the right people and media. Besides making it faster for you to see results, your business would also be able to leverage upon those relationships beyond PR purposes.
5. Area of expertise
It goes without saying that the agency you hire should understand your industry and the basics of your field. Having to constantly explain programmatic buying to the account manager can get frustrating, so pick an agency that has experience in your industry and region. They should be able to work their magic and simplify the technical jargon, making even the most unsexy topics sound fun.
6. Practice what they preach
PR is one of the fastest moving industries, and it’s important to ensure the agency you choose is dynamic and always one step ahead.
Here are a few things to keep in mind when making a decision:
Are they experienced with social media?
Do they provide digital strategies in addition to traditional PR?
Are they able to provide media training?
Can they build great thought leaders?
If, for example, an agency says they specialise in executing social media strategies, check to see if they have an updated blog and social media pages. You can tell a lot about an agency through its online presence. Are they practicing what they preach?
7. Counsellor versus yes-man
While it’s important for an agency to execute campaigns well, they should also be providing strategic counsel and speak up when they feel your ideas won’t achieve much. Instead of a yes approach, an agency that challenges your ideas and offers alternative solutions works better than one agreeing to every single idea. Having an objective view and strong news judgement is one of the biggest benefits to hiring a PR agency. You want an agency that takes initiative and thinks outside of the box to find the best solution to help achieve your goals.
Keeping these tips in mind will help you choose the right PR agency with the appropriate capabilities, experience, and right fit for your company.
Keen to learn more about what Mutant can offer? Drop us a note at hello@mutant.com.sg.
It’s a question many business leaders and entrepreneurs ask when allocating their marketing budgets. And even though it’s possible to drive a business with minimal or no PR spend, it’s unlikely that the brand will ever gain traction in its industry or key markets.
Many businesses regard public relations as an afterthought and the PR machine is only activated when they are hit by a scam or crisis. On the other hand, brands with consistent PR efforts are able to create long-term sustainable accomplishments, and are far more successful in dealing with negative publicity.
What’s more?
PR helps generate leads
A targeted media outreach backed by high-value content assets (data studies, whitepapers, opinion pieces) will gradually convert into a lead generation machine, catching eyeballs of the right investors, talent and prospects. With the right messaging and strategy, PR can increase your credibility as a stable and potentially lucrative investment target while cultivating relationships with key opinion leaders.
It helps to boost your SEO
For any brand, the key to driving visibility and positive impressions relies on being top of mind. And, the importance of SEO becomes even more critical as brands must be present and found online, easily. The more media coverage a brand receives, the more links it receives back to its website. Links from reliable, trustworthy media sources rank high in Google’s algorithm, leading to better search results.
Trust for editorial content is more valuable than ads
PR’s approach to positioning your business in the public light differs greatly from that of advertisements. Media reports suggest that consumers trust third-party editorial content (which is shareable and can be re-purposed), more than any type of advertising or endorsement.
PR builds successful thought leadership
Thought leadership is one of the more strategic approaches to building up the credibility of CEO’s and business leaders. It provides a great opportunity to accomplish critical business objectives, evangelise company culture, support recruiting efforts and gain partnerships and endorsements. A well planned out thought leadership campaign is not just limited to publishing opinion articles but also creates a pipeline of events, conferences, speaking opportunities, and of course social media.
PR enables cross-channel messaging
Creating a digital editorial calendar is critical to keeping your company’s messaging consistent across your key distribution channels. By combining information for your blogs, email marketing and PR efforts, you ensure consistency and one unified message directed to all your content channels.
With the rise of digital and social media, the fight for attention has never been greater. Trust can be difficult to build and reputation has become even harder to protect. PR helps build brand honesty and credibility, and it’s one of the best investments a business can make.
“If I was down to the last dollar of my marketing budget I’d spend it on PR!”
– Bill Gates
If you need any help with your 2017 PR efforts, drop us a note at hello@mutant.com.sg.
“Hello. I just sent you a press release about my client—a semiconductor company launching a new design for its latest power adaptors. Could you publish it on your website?”…Except I write for a marketing and advertising magazine.
I can’t recall the number of times I’ve had to politely and curtly tell eager PR executives that I wasn’t interested in what they were pitching. But I can tell you how many times I have received a good, well-rounded and articulate pitch– 15 maybe 20 times in nine years. That’s shockingly disproportionate for two professions that have so much in common.
When engaging with the media,please consider these tips from an ex journalist who has recently made the jump to PR.
Know the publication and journalist’s beat
Please spend time researching the publication and journalist. I’ve been called “Mr. Iyer” more times than I’m willing to admit. It is off-putting and offensive to call someone, not know their correct name, and not have a clue about what they cover. Referencing some of the journalist’s previous work and demonstrating how your client’s content fits in is a huge plus.
Presentation
In today’s fast-paced, competitive content hungry environment, journalists are far more willing to write something when you give them a good, relevant story. Think of a fresh angle and build it into a wider narrative. Please do not cc the entire world in your emails—certainly not reporters and editors at rival publications.
Expectations matter
Just because all publications have digital versions doesn’t mean they are going to change words and sentences to suit clients whims and fancies. There are house-styles to adhere to and it’s a reporter’s job to bring in different perspectives. So unless something is factually incorrect, please try to manage expectations as best as you can.
The race for exclusives
Journalists will lap up anything with the word exclusive. If you can’t offer an exclusive on some big news, arranging an interview with a top executive from the firm in question could be useful. Pitching a sensible follow-up could also earn you brownie points.
The follow up
This is a big pain point. A journalist will typically show interest in a story idea immediately. If he/she is somewhat interested I would recommend following up once presenting new information or context. Find out what additional information or angle would work better. But please do not spam or call someone everyday. Move on to the next publication.
Whether you work in PR or are simply looking to get your brand noticed by the media, it’s critical to do your research and creatively frame every single pitch.
If you need help developing a compelling story and delivering the right messages to the media, get in touch with us at hello@mutant.com.sg.
Content Marketing is still marketing. We’ve covered the ‘content’ portion, and now we’re going to apply this to the ‘marketing’ side for the perfect content mix. The basic formula is the same, there’s a funnel, so have something for every stage of the funnel.
Awareness
The most important thing to keep in mind here is who you want to generate awareness from. It is easy to boost a post to an entire market for a week, and bask in the vanity metrics. However, raw impressions or even ‘Likes’ do not mean much. Learn who your audience is, and find out how and where to engage them in a targeted way. It could be an event, in which case roll out live content supported by social. It could be a publication, so try a solid PR pitch or even sponsored content.
The thing about awareness is, it is the widest part of the funnel, and a good awareness campaign requires a metric tonne of effort. You have to create something entertaining, on-brand and shareable, and distribute it well. That said, wide does not always mean tall. Awareness content should not dominate the content calendar. Put that effort into distribution and quality, not quantity. 10% of the calendar can go here, and space it out across the year.
Interest
This is where we start getting into the bulk of your content. When people ‘Like’, ‘Follow’, ‘Subscribe’, search for you and so on, it means they are interested in your content. To translate that to interest in your product, align both content and product closely. From a potential customer’s point of view, think of the questions they would ask that will lead them further towards you.
Typically, it is a pain point of “How do I do X?”, where X can be any problem, such as:
Choosing the right facial cleanser for Asian skin in a Western-dominated cosmetics market that tends to either over-dry or cause breakouts
Integrating big data into marketing analytics without the need for IT intervention
Getting lunch in Singapore’s CBD for under $10
Furthermore, the context of ‘Problem X’ varies based on prevailing trends. Weather changes cause breakouts, and technology changes cause breakdowns.
News sites and social media are a great way to surface these questions. Apart from that is also Google Analytics and Trends. That means ‘Problem X’ is going to form the backbone of your SEO. If people find you through viral content, they’re looking for a laugh. If people find you to solve their problems, that’s where there’s a clear path to conversion.
40% of your content should make up the interest stage, and if it performs well, feel free to boost on social, or go more in-depth with a white paper.
Desire
Here, people want your product, but they are curious. The solution is to show it to them. Webinars, trailers, teasers, demos, testimonials. Make compelling case studies, create infographics showing the amount of improvement possible… and then put a call to action at the end. Here, conversion should be the main goal; sharing and engagement is just a bonus. After all the effort attracting an audience and building up credibility, this is what needs to happen:
So make this 18% of your content.
Action
As far as content marketing goes, action is pretty straightforward. Want, give, have. However, APAC is a market where a single discount day generates e-commerce sales that dwarf the rest of the world.
So maybe your audience wants your product, but they expect a bit of special treatment. Space out contextualised specials very sporadically to cater for this. Perhaps it is your company’s anniversary, or Christmas. In any case, emphasise the context to make it clear this doesn’t happen every day. After that, dress the copy up to sound fun and drop a subtle call to action at the end. Do this about 2% of the time.
Retention
What do Seth Godin, Bain & Co and Salesforce’s US$2bn annual revenue have in common? True, they’re all rich enough to fill a pool with money, but the point is, they all support the notion that it is easier to retain an existing customer than it is to acquire. In all likelihood, existing customers will be interested in finding out solutions to related problems, and feel reaffirmed by your case studies and infographics. In other words, most of your existing content should already be relevant.
That said, there should still be some space dedicated to the post-funnel- to cover the human side of the relationship. From a content perspective, that means personalising the brand. Make your own in-jokes to get people to laugh with you. Share milestones to let people know you’re here to stay. Tease your latest updates so there’s something to look forward to.
Naturally, this is not the kind of content you would expect people to search for. However it is more ‘Likeable’ than how-tos, so an interesting graphic can get great traction on social. Aim for people to engage with this content organically. If people ‘Like’ your content, then they’re more likely to see your other posts in future, and cost less to boost towards. This stage should form the last 30% of your content.
The recommended split should add up to an 80:20 fluff:sell ratio. For brands new to content marketing, it is a balanced, middle-of-the-road guideline to start off by testing everything. However, each brand is unique in their own way, and ongoing data will lead to each option being weighted differently as time passes. Your CRM, Google Analytics and social platform’s insights will be your friends here.
If you need help planning the best content mix for your 2017 communications strategy, drop us a note at hello@mutant.com.sg.
2017 has arrived, and that means another year of content that needs to be planned. For tech B2B companies, it should go without saying that your company blog is important for generating leads, engaging and retaining your community, or simply letting people know the lights are on. On a broad level, not much changes, but every year brings its own quirks. So how do you plan blog content for 2017? Here’s some key trends to keep in mind:
More people are looking at you on mobile
This varies from company to company, so check your Google Analytics to see how many people are reading your blog from mobile. If it’s more than 30%, start cutting content down to size. No point being verbose if it makes people swipe away.
Mobile-friendly also means thinking about how to handle content other than text. Widescreen formats still work, but important details or text should be viewable even when shrunk down to 4 inches wide.
Your site should also be mobile friendly – it’s easy bonus points for ranking better on Google. Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test to make sure your content works well on mobile. But please, draft your content on a keyboard. Being typo-free goes a long way towards looking professional.
Hedge your traffic sources
It’s 2017, so write for humans first. Robots should always come second, but don’t forget about them.
Facebook will never stop tweaking their ranking algorithms, so don’t expect what works today on Facebook to work forever. Because of Facebook’s endless changes, 2016 saw the prolific collapse of a number of clickbait-like sites, and plenty of collateral damage at respectable news outlets. Fake news looks likely to follow, but I’d like to hope we’re all honest people here ☺. Of course, Facebook is still a valuable source of traffic, but a sustainable strategy means looking beyond the gold rush.
On the Google front, the search engine continues to update its ranking algorithm, aiming to prioritise original content that makes people stay, read and share. Focus on interesting content, and don’t forget to support it with meta tags, and just a smattering of keywords in the right places.
Ideally, traffic should come from a combination of social, search, back links and dark social. If a single source accounts for more than half your referral traffic, think of how to diversify and buffer against algorithm changes.
Go live
Consider live content to make your posts more visible. Videos streamed ‘in the now’ do not just rank higher on Facebook and Twitter, they also give you a reason to repeatedly post related Tweets and photos to stay visible and hit different hashtags for the duration.
This tactic works best when you actively go out and network. Attend (or organise) events with a huge following, meet reputable people and tag them in a photo. Leverage their following to reach a new audience. Bonus points if you can feature them in your content and they share it. Offline activities boost your online presence – who’d have thought?
Plan it out
When you’re ready to start making your content calendar, click below for a free content template. This is based on the very same template we use to plan client content throughout the year. On the “content calendar” tab, you can plan your posts to make sure a regular stream of content goes out every week. On the “report” tab, a pivot table has already been created, where you can filter by month or content type to make sure you have the right balance.
If you need any help with your 2017 content marketing efforts, drop us a note at hello@mutant.com.sg.
Companies develop new products with the intention to make the world a better place. They see a gap in the market, develop a solution, people use it, the company earns money, and everyone’s happy.
However, not everything is always that straightforward. Ethical issues can come into play when consumer usage deviates from the intended use of the product. Which begs the question of just how much responsibility companies should bear when their product (inadvertently or not) has caused harm.
Here are a couple examples to consider:
Pokémon Go
Pokémon Go, the wildly popular augmented reality game turned the entire world into its playground. Along with it came side effects of players flocking to places they’re not always welcome to “catch ‘em all”. From the backyard of private residences to places of worship and memorial grounds, there’s no stopping players from trespassing beyond opening hours in search of Pokémon and the Pokéstops. Even more dangerous is the behaviour of distracted drivers playing Pokémon Go, which has resulted in fatal accidents. Does this land Niantic, the game’s developer, in murky waters? Are they obligated to come up with updates to completely block users from playing when in moving vehicles? Or respond to Pokéstop removal requests at private residences and memorial grounds?
With such controversies, the risk for potential lawsuits resulting from injuries or privacy violations increases, which is why it’s crucial for companies to have a crisis response strategy in place to answer potential public backlash that could arise.
Tinder
Dating apps have revolutionised the way people find love. Figures show that there are 50 million global users on Tinder, the most popular dating app. For the uninitiated, Tinder matches users with people near you with just a simple swipe. As the stigma around such apps fades and online dating becomes acceptable, there are still negatives associated with dating apps – such as the concerns of under-age users or married folks. Should dating apps take stronger steps in enforcing stricter policies to stop those behaviours? Just how much are they supposed to be responsible for the behaviours of users?
Having a messaging strategy in place is key in establishing who and what your product is meant for. A solid communication strategy can ensure your brand pushes the product out to the right people for the right reasons, and set an off-track narrative right again.
If anything, digital technology has made it harder to decide who is responsible. At the end of the day it’s up to the end user to apply common sense. The brand is simply providing a solution for a gap in the market. But that’s not to say brands bear zero responsibility. It’s equally important for companies to have strong messaging in place to establish their intended audience and product use. With a strong PR team working alongside you, issues that could potentially turn sour can be nipped in the bud early on, and the backlash from crisis situations can be better managed with a well-planned response strategy.
If you need help to sharpen your communications strategy, get in touch with us at hello@mutant.com.sg
So, you’ve made it to December. You’re probably wondering where the last 11 months have gone, but hey ho, it’s now time to start looking ahead.
December is a month that is notoriously filled with back-to-back celebrations. From year-end parties to Christmas and New Year gatherings, it’s full on – but it’s also a time where some people (and businesses) slow down as they mentally prepare for the next year.
However, the media doesn’t stop. Newspapers and magazines are still being published, and TV news doesn’t take a holiday either. Journalists are always on the lookout for new stories and ideas – in fact, this slower time of year often means journos are keener than ever to be approached with thoughtful content. It’s basically a prime time to pitch!
Here are some PR tips to help arm you throughout the festive season and keep your business on track well into the New Year:
Pitch, pitch, pitch!
The worst thing you can do is go silent during this month. Instead, keep pitching and stay in touch with key journalists. Research what’s trending and create content pieces or use past ideas and share them with the media. Keep things fun, and where possible make it relevant to the festive season. Even if your story isn’t immediately picked up, the journalists have you on their radar for any future stories, and you can follow up come January with a fresh pitch.
Become a social butterfly
It is the party season after all! So get out there and spread those wings. Meet new people, attend industry events, parties and talks. Chances are you’ll bump into members of the media or like-minded people that may have an interest in your business. Have fun, but keep your PR radar on for any opportunities to spread the good word about your brand!
Keep connected
Yes, your usual media contacts may be away enjoying their holidays but there will be other writers and editors you can connect with. This will also help expand your PR network and database in general. Stay on top of your target publications and check out who’s writing stories that are relevant. If you’re not sure who’s holding the fort while your closest journalist contacts are away on holiday, pick up the phone and find out.
Stay socially active
Whatever your do, don’t forget to remain active on social media. Today’s consumers live and breathe social all year round, and this includes Christmastime. Whether you are manually posting on your company’s chosen platforms or using management and scheduling tools such as Hootsuite, make sure you have a strategy in place – even if you are on holiday. Staying active helps keep your brand top of mind and maintain the traction you’ve built up throughout the year. Download our social media content calendar template to help you map out your social plans across the next month and into the New Year.
Plan ahead
Given December is a quieter month, use this time to plan your PR calendar for the New Year. Map out your communications goals and get prepped for new announcements or launches which you know are happening in 2017. Create plans, make calendars and add in tentative timelines to stay on track with execution, ensuring you start the New Year off with a bang!
So what are you waiting for? If you need advice on how to use the festive period to your advantage, get in touch with us at hello@mutant.com.sg.
Let’s face it, we’ve moved into the digital age. APAC is now home to more than half of the world’s internet users, where there arecurrently 1.83 billion Internet users and 1.43 billion social media users. Comparing this with 2014’sfigures of 1.2 billion internet users and 9.6 million social media users, that’s a whopping 52.5% and 47.5% growth in each category.
With the shift to digital, comes a lot of change in the way we communicate and absorb information. Consumers are expecting different forms of interactions, which means the way we communicate with our audience should evolve too. Here’s a few things to consider:
1. Establish your online presence
A key component of PR is working with the media. But in today’s context, the media is not restricted to solely print media – it extends to bloggers, social media influencers, e-magazines and more. Firing off press releases to engage only traditional media is simply not enough anymore. These days, people are almost always online. Failing to be where your audience is could harm your business and you’ll get left behind. A digital strategy establishes your online presence, builds brand reputation, and engages your audience with relevant and useful content. This results in increased visibility on search engines and following count on social media platforms.
2. Apply personalised communication
A digital strategy creates two-way communication and brings the audience into the conversation with options to share their opinions and thoughts. It also offers a personal look into your organisation – afterall you are reaching out to real people.
3. Grab their attention
Attention spans are dropping, and long-form content from print does not work in the digital landscape. Instead, a good digital strategy delivers bite-sized attention-grabbing information to readers, with links to longer content such as formal press releases, blogs, or media coverage.
Traditional PR no doubt still has a place, but a digital strategy can complement those efforts and elevate it further. A smart mixture of both extends the reach of a purely traditional PR approach, and ensures your business stays on top of its game.
If you need help seamlessly executing a comprehensive PR campaign, drop us a note a hello@mutant.com.sg
