In an increasingly savvy and increasingly jaded world, it’s become harder and harder for marketers to “buy” the attention of their customers through traditional mass media methods. That’s why many brands are turning to Inbound Marketing tactics to earn the attention of their customers- drawing them in to their websites with relevant and compelling, even entertaining content.

This is an opening for creatives. An opportunity. Inbound Marketing provides us a vast new playground of content marketing. With Inbound, we can expand our narratives. We can go beyond :30 seconds, beyond a single page, beyond single platforms or monologues. We can inspire and build relationships through shared passions. We can take the time to develop characters and play stories out and build audience participation because we are playing with people who like us already. That’s why they came to the playground too. And seriously- how much fun is a playground without friends?

The post Inbound as the New Playground appeared first on Budding Culture.

Don’t buy into this thinking. In a time where digital tactics leave a rich trail of data and social platforms invite marketers to dynamically engage with customers and prospects, the age where creativity and results driven marketing can work together as partners has arrived.

So how can you get creative ideas to work hand-in-hand to deliver empirical results? Here are 5 things you can start doing today to empower and unite both results-driven managers and creative rock stars:

(1) Clearly Articulate How Your Marketing ‘Adds Value’ for Customers and Prospects.  This accomplishes two things– First, it forces you to acknowledge that you must provide something meaningful to customers. This filters out the bland ‘me too’ tactics that rarely resonate with customers. Second, it creates a high (and hopefully motivating) benchmark for your creative partners to work towards with concepting.

(2) Create Target Personas That Bring Your Prospects To Life. A well thought out target persona goes beyond demographics and bland definitions of job titles or life stages to really dimensionalize and bring your prospects to life as compelling characters. This sort of intimacy can inspire your creative team to pursue ideas that resonate on a deeper, more compelling level. Interviews, online research and simply tagging along with your sales team can provide opportunities to further embellish just who your customers are.

(3) Determine Shared Passions That Exist With Your Target Personas. As you bring your target personas to life, consider the passions they have that your company also shares. These can be solutions to problems that your customers care about and your company can help solve. But they can also be support for a charity, a sports team, or even a POV on how business should be done. Shared passions are the building blocks of powerful content marketing programs that will get your prospects learning, sharing and doing.

(4) Create Contact Marketing Programs, Not Tactics. Great content needs context, repetition and credibility to find its audience. And that requires time. One-off videos or single ebooks seldom generate the kind of returns needed to justify their investment. Invest in programs that will give you the breadth and depth of content to find its way to your audience– again and again.

(5) Embrace Inbound Marketing. Inbound Marketing will not only align your marketing and sales activities, but will provide an opportunity for your creative team to better understand how their abilities can drive results. This will get your designers and copywriters putting their creativity to use on how to best solve your business problems. And you’ll all be fired up to succeed!

photo credit: غzǻҰёll ♥ RAINBOW ! via photopin cc

The post 5 Ways Creative and Results Driven Marketing Can Work Together appeared first on Budding Culture.

Hmm… so a service that is expensive, inefficient and (literally) pushed out to you is replaced by one where people can go select what they want at their convenience… what does that sound like?…

…A lot like what we see happening in marketing in 2013. On the one hand we have Outbound Marketing– TV commercials, display ads, billboards and the like. Marketing that is literally served up to a captive audience. Kind of like waiting around for room service.

On the other hand, there is Inbound Marketing that lives on websites, blogs, on-demand videos, ebooks and mobile apps. This is marketing that caters to people who seek out information at their convenience. Self service, take it, get on your way and consume it when you are ready.

Inbound Marketing tactics are playing a more prominent role in driving business success. Outbound Marketing still serves a purpose. But it needs to work in synergy with Inbound tactics.  The undeniable truth is that in an era when time is at a premium, your prospects’ ability to control how they access products and services information is the more appealing ‘luxury’.

photo credit: prettydaisies via photopin cc

The post The Rise of Self Service Marketing appeared first on Budding Culture.

Memes are ideas, behaviors or styles that spread from person to person within a culture. Memes are a model for sharing ideas that has taken off in the digital age. Memes proliferate and are largely shared through digital channels. Co-creation and opacity of ownership are a key tenets of meming.

Brands aim to be built to last. Memes are often fleeting.

Brands strive to be unique. Memes strive to be ubiquitous.

Two distinct models for sharing ideas. One aims to build a business. The other to spread and proliferate. But how can brands best best take advantage of memes to enhance their communications? Here are 5 tips for brands looking to take advantage of memes in their marketing communications.

(1) Acknowledge Your Community. You know your target market. You may even have very clear personas describing your customers. But do you know how this translates into communities? Think of communities as groups of people who share a common bond. This common bond may evolve around your brand. But it could also evolve around a geography, a trade group, or even support of a sports team. Acknowledging your key communities will set your brand up to share and participate in memes with them.

(2) Share Unconditionally. As a brand, your community is made up of your prospects, customers and other stakeholders. Giving them something without any strings attached is a sure sign you appreciate them. It could be tips. Advice. Buying guides. Repair advice. Giving without expecting to receive will go a long way in making your brand ‘meme friendly’.

(3) Add Value to Your Community. As a brand, your communications should strive to add value. Educate. Charm. Make people laugh. Surprise and delight them beyond their expectations. All these things will make your brand come across as an entity that makes the community a better place.

(4) Give Credit to Others. Memes aim to proliferate. Often it doesn’t matter who originated the idea. The main point is to participate in enhancing and sharing of the idea. As a brand, do not hesitate to acknowledge the role of your fans, followers, customers or even the general public in anything your share. It’s not just good karma, it’s good social marketing to give credit to others.

(5) Create Together. Participating in a meme fuels its proliferation. As a brand, show that you value the community by participating and creating together with your community. Come on in, the water’s great!

photo credit: bunchofpants via photopin cc

The post 5 Ways Brands Can Take Advantage of Memes appeared first on Budding Culture.

As the the acquisition wars heat up among the entertainment streaming services, we can expect more and more backing put behind original programming. Shows like House of Cards and the re-launch of cult favorite Arrested Development are great examples of an incredibly smart strategy by Netflix that has been inspired- yes- Big Data.

Sure- Arrested Development is a lay-up- I don’t have the numbers, but my own portal to Netflix content tells me that it’s one of the most popular shows in their catalogue. This, combined with all the social chatter about the tragic death of the show- and Netflix knew it had a built in audience, feverish with anticipation. Great job Netflix- listening to your customers and providing.

But taking that sensibility to a whole new level- is the American interpretation of House of Cards. Behind the “creative” is mountains of data, including what type of show viewers would most likely be interested in. Political Drama. Who is a favorite actor? Kevin Spacey. And how about that Director fellah, David Fincher, can we get him? According to Netflix data- he seems like a nice boy… with his Fight Club and Se7en, and all that.

In the end, Netflix listened, learned, invested, and ended up with a fantastic piece of content marketing that drew in an estimated 2 million new customers in the US alone. And- perhaps more importantly- according to one poll, retained a staggering 86% of their subscribers who said they were less likely to cancel due to the new show.

Congratulations Netflix- you’re aligning your passions with your customers and marketing from your strengths. And all along, we thought you were just creating a really great show.

The post Programming or Content Marketing? appeared first on Budding Culture.

Can a brand survive both the literal loss of face that came with Lance Armstrong, and the loss of cachet that comes with being supported by a leading sports brand?

A tough question. But thousands of people battling cancer look to organizations like Livestrong for support. Their mission is far from over. As a brand that is all about fighting to survive and thrive, I wouldn’t bet against Livestrong.

The post Livestrong Faces a Brand Challenge appeared first on Budding Culture.

Cause Marketing has long been part of the American business landscape. Tax breaks provide incentive for companies to support various charities. But there are others reasons for companies to do good things. In our digitally connected, social media empowered society, supporting a good cause can help companies engage prospects who otherwise might not have any reason to interact with said company. Cause Marketing provides a basis for conversation, sharing and compelling narratives. As such, there is a certainly a role for Cause Marketing as part of a comprehensive Inbound Marketing program.

5 ways Cause Marketing can enhance your Inbound Marketing:

(1) Humanizes Your Business

In a data driven, transaction-centric world, charitable initiatives, giving back or supporting a good cause gives people permission to let their guard down and be human. It puts an empathetic, approachable face to your business and gives people reason to engage with your brand outside of an immediate transaction.

(2) Celebrates Community

Community is a common ground for your company and prospects. It shows that you have a shared passion for the place where you both live and do business. And community can be defined in many ways– town, city, state, country, profession etc. The key is to celebrate that common bond.

(3) Establishes Relationships

Establishing relationships is critical for any marketing or sales process, and this is particularly true for Inbound Marketing. Charity support or cause related marketing initiative will put your brand in front of people who otherwise may not have a chance to know who your company is or how you could help them.

(4) Enhances Your Brand Story

Some of the best Cause Marketing initiatives embellish a company’s brand story.  Tom’s Shoes has built a thriving business on the notion of buy one, give one. And despite it’s recent challenges, Nike’s Livestrong still embodies the company’s brand ethos in the face of the ultimate adversity. These causes dovetail with the essence of what each of these brand’s can offer consumers.

(5) Drives Social Engagement

We already know a key part of social media success is about talking to people on their terms– their passions, interests, hot buttons. And adapting a cause that your prospects are passionate about will give them extra motivation to share this information– with your brand being the lucky beneficiary of the passion you and your prospects share for a good cause.

Finding a cause your brand can get behind and incorporating this into your Inbound tactics is a great way to make the world a better place while helping your business thrive.

photo credit: RobertFrancis via photopin cc

The post 5 Ways a Good Cause Can Enhance Your Inbound Marketing appeared first on Budding Culture.

Fast forward about 20 years. Edutainment is word we should be paying attention to again, this time in the context of Content Marketing. Wikipedia defines edutainment as content that is designed to educated as well as to entertain. Something the best Content Marketing should accomplish.

That’s Edutainment! Eating in Japan on $100 a Day for JNTO:

Edutainment can be funny. Dramatic. Thought provoking. Incendiary. It can be served up as a video, podcast, blog post or even an ebook. Edutainment content is ideal for getting your brand on people’s radars. They may not be ready to buy. But they can learn about your brand, product, service or category via content that they find amusing, unique and sharable. That drives page views, followers, fans and shares. And those things fill your purchase funnel with prospects.

Edutainment content is something your team should be fired up to create. It is a chance to truly exercise creative license, be interesting and get people engaging with your brand. But remember, Edutainment is not necessarily about the hard-sell. That comes through other facets of a comprehensive Inbound Marketing program.

photo credit: williamcho via photopin cc

The post That’s Edutainment! Useful Content Comes in Amusing Packages appeared first on Budding Culture.

But what about brands as purveyors of information? Knowledge? Insight? Useful tips? That seems a little more reasonable. And in an age when Google, Facebook, Twitter and Reddit etc. are breaking down barriers between who gets to provide information and who gets to consume it, spin it and publicize it, the idea of brand journalism doesn’t seem too far fetched.

So what does it take for your brand to go beyond ‘cub reporter’ status? Here are three things to keep in mind as your brand gets ready to embark into a world where sharing information, tips and even great stories can help drive website traffic, leads and customer acquisition.

(1) Brand Journalism is Not Your Father’s Marketing

Don’t confuse embracing brand journalism with traditional marketing and messaging. You’ll need to engage people based on their interests and find other opportunities to incorporate harder selling messages. The good news is that a strong Inbound Marketing program will allow you to embrace being a provider of information with other, complementary tactics that allow for stronger sales-oriented messaging.

(2) Brand Journalism Lives Where Stories are Shared

On blogs, social media, in videos– essentially any place where information can be consumed and shared. Setting up the platforms, tools and processes to practice brand journalism is part of a larger digital marketing effort. Check out our guide to Essential Internet Marketing for more background and best practices for setting up your optimal digital footprint to embrace brand journalism.

(3) Be Interesting

Find your voice. determine how you can best add value as a provider of information for your customers and prospects. Don’t be shy about having a point of view. You just may want to be judicious about where you carry that point of view. Some brands are perfectly comfortable sharing content around social or political issues. Others, not so much…

Embracing brand journalism, will allow your brand to find an appropriate voice and the the focus to begin engaging prospects with the inside scoop!

photo credit: The PIX-JOCKEY (visual artist) via photopin cc

The post Are you ready for brand journalism? appeared first on Budding Culture.

Experienced blog publishers, editors, and art directors know something you don’t: There will always come a day when you feel tapped out for ideas, a good story goes bad, or you need something to ‘punch up’ the piece you’re working on to make it more appealing to readers.

That’s why these professionals keep a content bank of completed stories they can plug in at a moment’s notice and a style bank of design templates and ideas they can use to keep things fresh.

Fill up your content bank with:

• Bulleted lists
• Product, book, and movie reviews
• Photos and captions
• Videos
• How-to guides
• Interviews

Share this resource with your content co-creators whenever they need a spark to light the fire in their blogging and content creation efforts.

photo credit: p!o via photopin cc

The post Create a Content Bank and Always Have a Story to Take to Market appeared first on Budding Culture.