“Content Marketing” appears to be the buzz word for 2013. While the word, or phrase, may be showing up everywhere, the concept and practice has been around for years. Business bloggers have been practicing content marketing since the early the part of the twenty-first century.
Content marketing goes way beyond blogs now. As I’ve been working on the marketing for the inaugural Digital Publishing Online Intensive, it struck me how many ways Ellen Britt and I are using content to get the word out about the event.
If you’ve got an online event or a live in-person event that you’re promoting, here are 11 content marketing tactics you can model to build the buzz. NOTE: this may seem self-serving because I’m using my own event as an example. I want you to see how we are repurposing content in multiple formats, posting on many platforms, and using various tools to reach people.
1. If you’re hosting a multi-speaker event, have each person create an audio tip about their topic. Post the audio tips on the sales page so prospects can get a sense of each speaker. To make it easy for the speakers, we created a special number on AudioAcrobat that the speakers could dial in to and record their tip.
2. Transcribe the audio tips. Pull out one or two sentences and create a quote image you can post on Facebook, Pinterest and Google+.
3. Create a video from each speakers’ tips. Upload the video to your Facebook page or group. Then upload it to YouTube. Remember that transcript? You can also upload the text file with the video so you have captions with your video.
4. Use excerpts from the transcripts in blog posts, tweets, articles and press releases.
5. You’ll probably have head shots of your speakers, right? Create a video with the images to introduce them to the public. [Video created by Lou Bortone]
6. Create a photo album on Facebook with images of the speakers.
7. Post speaker photos on Pinterest and Google+. Remember to include a description, title of their session and the URL to register for the event.
8. Want to use more video? How about hosting Google+ hangouts with each speaker? Or use an app like Qwiki (iphone only) to make a video, like Ellen Britt did when she attended a conference along with six of our featured speakers.
9. Need a digital brochure? I recently discovered Glossi, a platform for creating digital magazines. It is so cool and you do not have to be a designer to use it. Check out the brochure I created with speaker bios and the online workshop schedule:
10. Want to go mobile? Using the the photos and text from other content, I used a free app called Yapp to create a smartphone app for registered participants. When they install the app, they’ll have the schedule at their finger tips, along with links for all the speakers. We’ll also be able to send reminders about session start times when the event starts.
11. Last, but hardly least, use your blog! Invite each speaker to submit a guest post relating to their speaking topic. It’s a great way to introduce your existing audience to your experts and their topics. Your speakers get a lot of exposure, you get juicy content, and your audience gets informed and inspired about what they’ll learn when they attend your event.
What You Need
If you study this list, you’ll see most of the content is used multiple times. The audio files are repurposed into transcripts that are used as tips, tweets, status updates, quote images and blog content.
Most of the tools are free. Use this list of free image sites for creating quotes. Yapp is free. Glossi is free. Qwiki is free. AudioAcrobat requires a fee. Your biggest expense though, is going to be time – the time it takes to create the foundational content and collect your image assets.
I know some people will look at this list and say, “This is a lot of work! I don’t have time to do all this.”
Well, if you want your event to be successful, you have to calculate how much you’re willing to do to make it happen. Personally, if I’m going to all the effort to put together an event and invite my colleagues to speak, then I’m going to do everything I can think of to make it successful. Yes, it takes time. Yes, it takes energy and yes, it will take a bit of a financial investment. What are you willing to do? Create a plan that accommodates your time and then find the resources you need (a VA), and execute.
This list of tactics is not complete. What do you do, that you’ve found to be really effective, to get the word out about your events? How do you use content to create buzz for your programs? Post your tips in the comments below!
These are great suggestions for multi speaker events. However, most events and webinars focus on just 1 person. Creating content for your own blog is great, but you can also create content for other people’s blogs and create buzz for your event.
Thanks for stopping by Daphne! You’re right, guest posting on other blogs is a great way to create buzz. I’d say also, that the suggestions above can be used for solo events as well.
But what if you’re not doing an online or live in-person event? Any thoughts on how one can you use any of the 11 tips outlined above to promote their business?
Love your ideas here Denise! You really had shown here some great tactics on building visibility. I really find it very interesting and useful information. Thanks for putting them their!!
Thanks for the info! I have been wondering how I can promote my business and this can be a way I can start. This was really helpful!
Thanks for stopping by, Lynne. Which tactics appeal to you the most?
We know that people have their various preferences when it comes to getting information. Good content marketing is another way of saying that you’re convincing your viewers/customers to purchase your products.
Yes, a video adds variety to your blog, but it also caters to auditory learners.
Denise, this is great info…thanks for sharing my use of QWiki…a lot of fun to do and so, so easy! I just got back from the conference and used these QWiki and Vine (the iPhone app you introduced me to) to make a compilation of fun moments from the conference. A great way to keep the post-conference buzz going and build desire and anticipation for the next one.
Excellent article with lots of great ideas for visibility. There are so many choices today to achieve market reach and you listed 11 great ways to do so. Thanks for posting my information in the article. Love the visibility!
I loved this article! There are some very helpful ideas that I will use whenever I host an event or want to market it. Great information! Thank you.
Deb 🙂
Hi Deb, thanks for stopping by. Glad you got value from the tips. Which one stands out for you?
I loved the information about the digital brochure. I never knew that and found it very interesting. The possibilities are endless with that. Thanks, again!
Deb 🙂