- and a Simple Dashboard to Track Facebook Engagement by Nate Riggs.
My favorite example of effective content marketing comes from a UK company that sells worms… and other organic items called Wiggly Wigglers. Have you heard of them? I met Heather Gorringe, company founder in 2008 and wrote about her in BlogHer Business 2008: Hats Off To Wiggly Wigglers.
I particularly admire that Heather uses a variety of content forms to create community around her products and the lifestyle that she and everyone at Wiggly Wigglers enables. In addition to the weekly Wiggly Podcast which recreates a fully sensory experience reminiscent of old-time radio broadcasts, the Wiggly Blog, a robust content-rich website, and a vibrant Facebook group, you can now watch The Wiggly Cinema.
Success? Wiggly Wigglers is listed as one of the top five best international brand campaigns with Zappos. Better yet, Wiggly Wigglers has successfully reinvented organic farming.Which examples do you like most? What others have you come across that use content marketing in a way that effectively connects with potential customers and engages them?
I believe that all areas of the organization – and particularly customer facing roles – can help build loyalty and buy-in to content marketing programs. Here’s what’s so wonderful about involving those other departments: they have perspectives on the customer experience with your product or service that often go ignored. But, if you pay attention to what they’ve observed, you may come across invaluable insights. At the same time, you develop internal advocates who see direct benefit from the content they help create to address customer issues.What is your take on the question? How do you go about finding internal content marketing allies? I'd love to hear!
In my previous life as a corporate marketer, I brought our warranty claims manager into my content creation process. I created an ongoing blog series for her on The Carpetology Blog called Annette’s Carpet Corner to address common consumer concerns with carpet care. Together we developed new consumer reference sheets to help facilitate and guide the carpet purchase process as well as the warranty process. We even created a video on the proper technique for removing carpet stains that I recommend to everyone!
Content marketing programs work quite effectively with traditional marketing programs and you can easily get started building success stories. Don’t forget, though, to measure the before state of your website, lead generation efforts and any other elements critical to your business and management team. Consider screen grabs of digital assets, too. Those come in very handy during presentations!What is your take on the question? How would you go about measuring and presenting the effectiveness of content marketing? I'd love to hear.
Many content marketing programs build gradually over time. Monitor and measure regularly. Build mini-case studies at regular intervals, repurpose your small successes, and generate conversation with your management team to build engagement on their part. Keep track of unexpected efficiencies that develop and of the anecdotal stories about how the impossible has started to happen!
Don’t forget to tell your content marketing program story at every opportunity – in formal settings as well as less formal ones, with associates and customers. The effectiveness of your content marketing programs will be undeniable!
By the way, we had a lively discussion about measuring engagement during the previous content marketing series. Definitely check out How To Measure Engagement.
I like what Joe Pulizzi described in last week’s post about getting people and content together in a room to discuss how customers and content relate. Getting started with content marketing requires understanding what assets and processes already exist and how and why they are used to build relationships with customers.
That then triggers discussion about the marketplace and how the company creates value for customers.
From there, you can start to piece together a bigger picture perspective, a content strategy, a rough content calendar and a strong sense for where gaps and opportunities exist for content marketing.
Have you noticed how many of the traditional advertising methods you’ve relied on for connecting with customers aren’t as effective as they used to be? I have and that’s why I consider content marketing critical.
Content marketing works beautifully with established traditional marketing tools. Even better, though, is that it adds relevance, meaning and dimension to traditional approaches so you engage with potential customers. Content marketing helps your overall marketing work harder for you.
More specifically, content marketing allows you to tell potential customers what you are about; it pre-qualifies customers. Imagine sharing in customer-relevant terms the story behind how you help customers. Imagine building trust and meaningful relationships with them before asking for the sale, before they realize they need you. The result is a richer, deeper and more satisfying business relationship.
Isn’t that worth bringing into your organization?
This post– Digital Visibility: The Reason Behind Content Marketing — adds perspective to this question.
The example I’d like to share with you is taking place this very week, from October 25 through 29. It’s called the Bathroom Blogfest and it has been going on since 2006. I consider it an example of engaging content because it creates conversation both online and offline regardless of industry or area of expertise. This year’s event brings together 33 bloggers writing 41 blogs from the US, Canada, the UK and India to address the Mad Men-inspired theme ‘Stuck in the 60s?’ that calls attention to improving the experience of spaces like bathrooms that tend to be overlooked, ignored or otherwise not accorded the attention they should receive.The range of examples is fascinating and inspiring so do be sure to read the original post. Once you've done that, I'd love to hear about examples you've come across that you consider engaging content marketing.
The fascinating aspect of the Bathroom Blogfest is that the bloggers participating come from a wide range of industries and interests. They are experts in marketing, customer experience and service, public relations, library sciences, museums, home and interior design, life, retail, flooring, user experience and healthcare IT/RTLS and each blogger addresses the same subject from a radically different perspective. They are all experts in creating content relevant to their audiences.
The learnings are real as they all focus on improving the user experience. The content engages because it addresses a universal reality: that we all need bathrooms. Furthermore, we have all experienced situations ‘stuck in the 60s’ that need re-evaluation.
I bet you’re intrigued and considering exploring situations you’ve encountered that are ‘stuck in the 60s’ during the yearly Bathroom Blogfest. It’s worth creating conversation to figure out ways to improve upon them.
Be part of Bathroom Blogfest 2010; use it as a means to connect with your audience to improve their experience. Read the press release; immerse yourself in UX, Bathrooms, and Mad Men. Follow the Bathroom Blogfest on Twitter @BathroomBlogfes where you can look for #BathroomEXP. Become a fan on Facebook and visit the Bathroom Blogfest Blog where you can read through the content from past Bathroom Blogfests.
Disclaimer: I am the Chief Organization & Inspiration Officer for the Bathroom Blogfest.
is due out in November 2010 and he has started to build conversation on the subject. [You can download the prologue and Chapter 1 of Real-Time Marketing here.] 
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