How are content marketing leaders getting success?

Examples of rich, long-form, long-haul, brand-led content that don’t add to the noise

Let’s face it, success in marketing generally is difficult. In digital channels we can only see this getting harder and harder. In fact research this week by EMC showed evidence that there’ll be 32 Billion connected devices on the Internet by 2020. How brands get cut-through in the volume of traffic and data on that scale is therefore huge. Of course, with all the potential, it also reveals vast opportunity for those that can get it right.

What works in this emerging reality? There’s no "one size fits all answer", and yet rich, visual and long-form content marketing - complimenting real-time, social media and micro content - uses much higher levels of consideration and quality, it’s already demonstrating where brands can steal a march on their noisier, less considered competitors. We’ve seen long form content work wonders for brands such as Patagonia, more on that in a minute.

In a world where consumer attention and time are scarce it’s tempting to think that all content has to be created for the ADD culture. But it’s simply answered by strategy, what’s right for your brand vs your objectives. Your channels and market, and the unmet needs of your consumer base. We’d suggest a mix of micro and long form content is more likely the right obvious.

Long form content marketing?

There’s no trick to understanding the term - It’s marketing, delivered through content such as writing, audio, or video, and it’s long – meaning longer than a 30 second TV spot, a one-page magazine ad, or a billboard. Longer than a casual 200-300 written blog post. Think 1500+ words, or a 1 min+ video explainer.

It’s harder to create, more expensive, and so much more likely done poorly - therein the opportunity. Typically longer text articles with visual content embedded - for the sake of this blog post I include other in-depth content that takes time and effort. We’ve seen ebooks come and (for now) go from many brand agendas, even quality infographics have fallen out of favour amongst the deluge. Richer long form pieces such as video are now staples of a quality marketing agenda, as are next generation apps and interactives. What do all these have in common? They enable the much mooted ‘storytelling’ that marketers love at the minute. There’s a narrative - time for a start, a middle and an end - you can’t do that in micro-content.

What makes for successful rich and long form content, is there a formula? Probably, yes:

• It’s always about the intended audience, your consumer, first and foremost
• The brand has a purpose and a permission to talk about the subject, it’s credible because it is or because it’s designed a way to be
• There’s narrative, this is why we see journalists now so popular in effective content marketing teams - they know how to source and structure the story
• You, the brand, by virtue of the piece add a tangible value amongst the wider of-the-moment and Oreo-esque noise, somehow, otherwise save it ’til you do
• Quality - it’s not easy or quick - quality this is what matters most in long or short form. It sets apart brands on the content landscape in terms of structure, language, design and engagement
• Don’t sell

A B2B example in our very own industry is Moz’s original beginner guide to SEO is a great example, visited more than a million times, which according to Majestic SEO has garnered over 36,000 inbound links. Success, you might say?

“Content marketing is a marathon and not a sprint. The only way that brands will mature is if they stop with the tactical approach and actually take a long-term strategic approach backed by sound marketing objectives. The best indicator of content marketing effectiveness is if you have a strategy at all. It’s that simple.”

Joe Pulizzi, Content Marketing Institute

“Marathon not a sprint” - a cliche?

It may sound a cliche - but in an industry accustomed to 1–3 month campaign sprints, it’s easy to understand why quick-burst solutions, lacking in strategy and integration, also appeal to early adopters of content marketing. Brands budget this way, agencies have been designed to serve those quick bursts, the peaks of activity.

It’s about designing for the long-haul. To get traction, content campaigns need a fair amount of time, and once that starts to happen, you need the appropriate resources to continue to publish consistently and build momentum. Create a valuable channel for your brand to communicate with your consumer, increasing the likelihood of people returning to that later and of course referring that content to their networks.

Three great ideas for long haul content

It takes many shapes and sizes from blog post to infographic and whole multi-year campaigns. Here are a few examples to whet your appetite - please share more in the comments.

Immersive web pages and micro-sites. We love Machines for Life as a means to bring video into long form web pages but Snow fall - A Pullitzer prize nominated essay by the NY Times - does an industry class leading example. A blog based micro-site with awesome images and video embedded, essentially. Beautifully done examples that attract and keep viewers include (again by the NY Times!) The Jockey - what’s also interesting is how the NY Times weaves in advertising in order they can monetize Snowfall projects.

Content hubs. All the rage with digital agencies with a penchant for web development, from our perspective, there’s no question that a centre-piece for a brand platform is critical as a means to drive a conversion. It’s not that there’s a specific rule as to what constitutes a hub. Our current favourite of a brand that’s truly defined itself and promotes content (albeit infrequently on low levels) it Patagonia. Their campaign, The Footprint Chronicles tracks the company’s textile chain and planetary impact - the focus on lessening the impact on the planet holds no bars. It ties beautifully to another recent campaign Worn Wear that seeks to drive an anti-consumerist approach to Black Friday - driving the message of clothing repair of long loved Patagonia items. Practically begging people to not buy more - a first and a great idea that’s on-brand and speaks to a specific audience? You’d have to think so.

Interactive content. Our feeling is that, like long form blogs and video, this represents a real and easy win. Two good examples here would be Make Your Money Matter and Tennis Tuesday. Both take different topics, and rich design, scrolls, clicks, animation and parallax scrolling, both brands can grow a narrative that draws viewers in - and greats a useful vehicle that users want to share. To communicate the emotion behind the story, personalise with multiple layers of experience, our feeling is that interactive content provides cost-effective, new ways to earn and keep viewer’s attention.

Rich video content. We've long been in love with Chipotle's approach to video based campaigns, as the brand pursues its quest to destroy fast food and target younger, earth conscious demographics. Check out Back to the Start and the Scarecrow hub, film and accompanying game - is there better long-form, long haul content marketing out there right now - probably not? Then there's this beautiful piece by Qatar Airways, sponsor of for Barcelona FC. Video, once part of a wider campaign is still likely the most powerful tool to demonstrate brand narrative - it's not cheap and yet there's a longevity to it.

Time to get your long-form on

So what’s there to learn here? Despite our natural, human ADD deficiencies - audiences are still eager to engage with long-form storytelling when it’s worth their while, and even more so when it does something new and exciting - and relevant!

What’s more exciting to us, is that these pieces are all far from perfect. There’s so much scope to improve the output. The visuals can be as distracting as they can be inspiring. For brands, interactive long-form content provides the opportunity to be associated with powerful brand values and characteristics: innovation, design, the cool factor, quality, and – most importantly – the potential to connect with hundreds of thousands of consumers.