SOCIAL BY DEFINTION PRESENTS:
HOW TO BUILD A CONTENT EMPIRE FEATURING AN INTERVIEW WITH VICE MEDIA
Social by Definition photo courtesy of
HBO
VOL 1: THE CONTENT ISSUE
CONTENTS THREE Resurrecting the Content King FOUR In This Industry, News SpredsFast SIX A History or Content Marketing EIGHT VICE Media is Building a Content Empire TWELVE UGC is the New WOM FOURTEEN Your Guide to Developing a Content Strategy
TWO
RESURRECTING THE CONTENT KING A LETTER FROM THE EDITOR The king of content is back. For those of you old enough to remember the content boom of 2008, there was once a time you could walk into a board room and say “Content is King” without any context and get cut a check. Well, it looks like those days are back. The advertising world is going absolutely crazy for content. And so to the request of the people, the content king has returned and he’s on the move, making way to new conferences, integrated partnerships, publishing platforms, and even business models. No doubt, there is a content revolution taking place in the world of marketing and in this issue we’re going to explore it. A pivotal turning point for content was this year at Cannes, while agencies from all over the globe were touting
their campaign wins on their blogs, the conversation and press picked up something entirely different, a set of new content partnerships. Take for example, Vice Media, who we speak with in this issue, partnered with Pinterest and announced a new partnership with Unilever. Also making the news, SnapChat partnered with WPP and the Daily Mail UK got involved, which will be exciting to see. And as content partnerships continue to make headlines, managing those headlines and the distribution of this content are platforms like Contently and SpredFast. SpredFast, who is especially interesting, takes on the task of becoming a social platform leader in a content emerging world, solving the need for content distribution while
RYAN AYNZ
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keeping social media both relevant and a priority, something we agree firmly with here at Social by Definition. Finally, that leads back to us, you may be asking, “Who they hell is Social by Definition and why am I even reading this?” Since this is our first issue, we’ll go ahead and answer that here. First, thank you for reading. Second, we’re a social media agency that’s trying to solve the dilemma that marketers have in accessing news customized to their industry. Through this platform and our content we hope to deliver news worthy content that gives marketers (both agency and brand) what they need to be successful in their business while helping to drive our industry to the next level.
In This Industry, News SpredsFast written by RYAN AYNZ
FOUR
Strangely I remember it like it was yesterday; Ogilvy Executive Vice President, Virginia Miracle, was leaving to join a growing startup in Austin called SpredFast. For those who don’t know Virginia yet, you’re missing out. At Ogilvy she was more than just a leader, she was an inspiration to all of us. She knows exactly how social media actions can drive business results, is so insightful that clients always demand her on their accounts, and whenever I had to go to war against another agency she was always there to give me a pep talk; and for whatever reason she was leaving all this to join what seemed like another HooteSuite, really? Fast forward 5 years later and SpredFast is now fighting to become one of the leading social media publishing platforms in advertising, and after securing their most recent $32.5 million dollar round of funding, they don’t seem to be going anywhere for a while. But in a world where there is an overload of social media publishing tools and competitors, how can a company like SpredFast stay relevant and find a way to win?
Stay social
While the world seems to be shifting toward content, SpredFast needs avoid the temptation and innovate in social. Be aware of the content hype, why reposition itself when it can just own a position entirely. I’ve seen too many agencies as of late changing the copy on their website, removing social all together, just to ride the wave of something that everyone is still trying to understand. SpredFast should utilize this opportunity to expand its R&D and pioneer where social can go or what it could be, take their recent Intelligence product as an example. SpredFast Intelligence allows brands to make smart content decisions based on social data. Moves like this are safe and advantageous, allowing them to play in new arenas while maintaining brand ownership in social.
Forge Partnerships
In April of 2014, SpredFast made the first move toward building larger alliances when it merged with agency Mass Relevance. While the company won’t disclose the new valuation, clearly it helped expand their company capabilities and network. SpredFast might also benefit by taking a cue from competitors and companies like Sprinklr who sold stake to Hearst Media and Vice Media who partnered with Fox. Though both companies had to give a large portion of equity away, they’re now both nearing billion dollar valuations. Recently SpredFast became a preferred data partner to Tumblr, which is a good breakthrough for the company and I’d expect to see more databased partnerships come to light in the near future.
Make acquisitions
If you’re an entrepreneur and haven’t read “Behind the Cloud” yet, get it now. Marc Benioff takes everyone through the journey of what it was like to build and grow Salesforce, a playbook that SpredFast seems to be using as a guide thus far. By forging strategic alliances, building a strong leadership team, and establishing and strengthening their positioning, SpredFast could also benefit through acquisitions. A strategy that has since expanded Sprinklr’s dominance, SpredFast could use some of that investment money to buyout competitors or to expand their service offerings. Take Sprinklr for example, who not long after the acquisition of Get Satisfaction, was able to build new alliances and partnerships to expand globally into Japan. FIVE
SpredFurther
There is no argument that SpedFast is indeed spreading fast, but their geographic dominance needs strengthened. The company’s headquarters is located in Austin and while they’ve done a magnificent job of winning over Texas, the core of the marketing and advertising industry isn’t in Austin; it’s in New York. They do have a team here, led by a stellar senior executive crew, but they’d benefit to allocate more support, resources, and overall energy to that team trying to upsell in a competitive industry. Of course, these are all general assumptions, we don’t know what SpredFast’s overall goals are or even if global expansion is an idea yet. What we do know is that they have a great business in a competitive industry backed by a powerful and intelligent team consisting of the best strategist in social media. Teams like this don’t think small, they think huge and when challenged by competition they don’t back down, they make big moves and even bigger plays to win. The industry should know, SpredFast is here and they’re on the verge of building something great. Of course when they do, my guess is we’ll all be sure to hear about it, because after all, in this industry, news spreads fast.
1987 LEGO LAUNCHES BRICK KICKS MAGAZINE Lego releases a magazine and guide offering special offers, comics, games, contest, modeling tips, and more. (Official magazine of the Lego Club)
1904 JELL-O RECIPE BOOK
JellO releases a JellO recipe book. Though this seems like a nobrainer now, it was pretty big at the time.
2007 REDBULL MAGAZINE LAUNCHES
The lords of millennial content marketing, Red Bull, launch The Red Bulletin — an online magazine reporting on the latest in culture and trends.
A HISTORY OF
2005
1895
MICROSOFT LAUNCHES FIRST CORPORATE BLOG, CHANNEL 9
JOHN DEERE: THE FURROW Known as a defining moment for Content Marketing, John Deere publishes its own magazine on brand related subjects to stay in tune with consumers.
1900
1913 BURNS & MCDONNELL ENGINEERING LAUNCH BENCHMARK BenchMark releases a quarterly, general interest in engineering magazine that covers a broad range of trends, topics related to, of course, engineering.
MICHELIN: THE MICHELIN GUIDES
Published annual issue of guides to European hotel and restaurants, according to Wikipedia, Michelin also publishes a series of general guides to countries.
SIX
Microsoft paves the way for corporate blogs with Channel 9, an online community for Microsoft customers filled with video channels, discussions, eventually podcasts, screencasts and interviews with Microsoft.
2010 2012
CONTENT MARKETING INSTITUTE CONFERENCE
CMI launches, I believe their first conference had about 200 in attendance, this last year there was 2,000, pretty amazing. Anything you want to know about Content Marketing, you can find it here or...
2008 P&G LAUNCHES BEINGGIRL.COM Straight up puberty and period advice from P&G for women, a site launched in an effort to provide better content and information based on customers needs.
2009 AMERICAN EXPRESS LAUNCHES OPEN FORUM
One of my favorites, Open Forum is an online destination for Small Business owners to get the tools, tips, and resources they need to manage, scale, and financially sustain their small business, shop small people.
VICE MAGAZINE LAUNCHES HBO PARTNERSHIP
Vice news goes from being a digital channel to nationally televised program via HBO, taking their content and name to a new level.
2010
2012
CONTENT PUBLISHING PLATFORM CONTENTLY LAUNCHES
GOOGLE RELEASES THE PENGUIN ALGORITHM
Or you can visit Contently, an online content publishing platform, Contently has completely dominated the Content Marketing knowhow space and has helped pave the way for agencies looking to dabble in content.
2011
This algorithm marked a huge turning point in content marketing as businesses started to really focus their efforts on creating content that people would want to look at and share.
MARKETING written by AIMEE HUANG
CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER MAGAZINE
CMI launches Chief Content Officer Magazine, an all in one resource for Content Marketers to get what they need when it comes to content.
2015 WPP, SNAPCHAT, & DAILY MAIL
No, all three don’t walk into a bar together, they walk into Cannes and steal the show with a new partnership to develop a Content Marketing Agency called Truffle Pig.
2009 ADOBE LAUNCHES CMO BLOG CMO.COM I’m not sure if this is the actual year or not they launched, but Adobe launched CMO.com in an effort to, you guessed it, connect with CMO’s. It’s stood the test of time, built a large community and is helping Adobe pull in business.
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VICE MEDIA IS BUILDING A CONTENT EMPIRE AND MARKETERS SHOULD BE PAYING ATTENTION written by RYAN AYNZ
The year was 2005, we were at a bar in Williamsburg, dancing and drinking the cheapest can beer they had, back in those days this wasn’t a trend, it was just reality for what we could afford. I had a white mohawk at the time, which I thought was cooler than it actually was. We eventually ran out of money and went back to our building at 150 N 5th, the minimall and epicenter of Williamsburg, but something
was different about this after hours, something stood out. As we passed around an old bottle of Stoli, I couldn’t stop staring at our coffee table, and not because of the coffee and cigarette stains, but because of an image. The cover of the magazine said, “Vice” and the image was a man flipping me off, but I wasn’t offended, I was impressed. How could something look so offensive yet so impressive at the same time?
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And this was Vice Magazine, at one time just an artistic escape for hipsters, they’re now a company who has used the power of edgy content to soon approach a billion dollar valuation. In the process, they’re leveraging the millennial generation to become the next CNN, ushering in a new era of content marketing that is redefining our approach to both advertising and business as a whole, here’s how.
SHANE SMITH CEO and co-founder of VICE
photo courtesy of BJARNE JONASSON
Where everything started Vice was founded in 1994 and quickly established itself as a lens into a new way of thinking about social subjects and pop culture amongst millennials. Led by journalist and entrepreneur Shane Smith, their ability to develop multiple channels, tell stories across several different mediums, has since pulled millennials in, turning them into advocates and growing their brand beyond the expectations of even their own fans, and it’s all being done through the power of content. But how did they do it? We had the chance to speak with Stefanos Constantinou, Vice’s Regional Director of Brand Partnerships, who first emphasized how they focus on their audience, millennials, “Vice’s expertise lies in understanding millennials and the way they perceive and interact with certain situations, so successful content should be based on real storytelling.” To point out exactly what Constantinou is referring to, look no further than the content they’re publishing, which is most likely stories that have been censored everywhere else. But the stories alone are not
what draws millennials in, it’s the way in which they’re told. According to Constantinou, “Companies and brands need to stop wrapping their videos with glitter and pink ribbons. Millennials know very well when something is authentic or fake. Be aware of their bullshit detector.” This idea of appealing to, exposing, and sometimes glorifying both our and the public’s “vices” developed a positioning for the media company that stood it apart from the rest and a place where millennials knew that if they wanted the “reallyreal,” they go to Vice. According to the Vice Media website, they currently accumulate more than 200 million unique monthly visitors, that’s a big party. But what makes the party at Vice so dynamic isn’t the 200 million people crowded into a house, it’s the music the house is playing, the beer on tap, the type of food they’re serving and everything else that’s being done to make this the party of the century. To put this into context, we’re talking about content. Vice has developed a unique content strategy that serves those 200 million visitors in a way that keeps
them on the site or at least coming back. According to Constantinou, the average engagement time on their content is 20 minutes, you can’t buy that kind of attention, it’s earned and valuable. They’ve been able to do this through a unique content strategy that involves customized branded content to their audience, investigative reporting on subjects that are recognized by the media as taboo, and an entire category of both editorial, video, and photo reporting on subject matter that they’ve learned appeals to their audience. Better yet, they’re optimizing all of it for ad revenue purposes, Constantinou refers to their in house ad team as the experts behind this, “Our content solution helps brands reach our audience through tailored strategies. Also, our VICE Digital network, which includes more than 500 publishers globally, offers scalability which is hard to find in other media companies.” It’s hard to disagree with Constantinou; Vice has used the power of story to usher in a new era of content marketing, but what does this mean for advertisers?
photo courtesy of BJARNE JONASSON
SHANE SMITH DURING AN EPISODE OF VICE NEWS TEN
Where everything changed In 2012 Vice took another step toward achieving its goal of becoming the next CNN by being broadcast on national cable television. Vice partnered with HBO to develop original programming based on its Vice News platform. While the partnership is mutually beneficial for both companies, this helped Vice build on its expansion and channel strategy. Vice has perfected this strategy by expanding their lens of the world into various categories such as Fashion, Sports, Entertainment and even more branded partnerships. While Cannes was packed this year with agencies, the company making the most news was Vice, no pun intended. During the event they secured partnerships with Bank Of America, Pinterest, and Unilever
to develop branded content. Why this matters to marketers? Because none of these relationships were secured with an agency. For the first time, brands are realizing they don’t need a media agency to tell them they need outlets like Vice because publishers like Vice already have an inhouse media agency and full service capabilities to go along with all their content, therefor brands can now go directly to Vice, Mashable, Buzzfeed and more for their content needs, not an agency. This fundamental shift has brand marketers excited for their margins, but has agencies reorganizing their capability decks to include content marketing caps and alliances with
top media properties such as Vice. And while some companies are embracing the idea of stronger media relationships, other agencies see it as direct competition. Take Gary Vaynerchuck for example, who in an interview with DigiDay, was quoted as saying, “I view media companies more my competitors than I do agencies, sure it could be Saatchi & Saatchi or Droga or 72andSunny, but it could also be Buzzfeed and Mashable.” This is a first for advertisers; agencies in the past would never of seen themselves competing against CNN or NBC, but rather acting as a bridge between brands looking to advertising through such outlets. So, where do marketers go from here?
This fundamental shift has brand marketers excited for their margins, but has agencies reorganizing their capability decks to include content marketing caps and alliances with top media properties such as Vice. Where everything is going? Vice wasn’t the only company to get press at Cannes, agencies of course made news as well. WPP announced a new agency would be developed as a partnership between SnapChat and the Daily News, called Truffle Pig. The purpose is for the agency to be a one stop shop for all things production and content. Partnerships with media com panies like this are just the beginning of more to come in this content revo lution. This is a good thing of course, media companies have no intention of reshaping the advertising industry, they’re simply looking for profitable ways to monetize the rapidly growing audience they’ve spent years of hard work building, so as an agency, why not get involved and make it a mutual effort? Partnership Directors like Constantinou have endless amounts of opportunities for agencies of all sizes, so why not give it a chance?
Another option, build a content empire of your own? As stated earlier, this new approach to content hasn’t just changed marketing, but business as well. Imagine if ESPN wasn’t just a media company, but also a sports marketing agency, publicist to athletes, and even owned a pro fessional team. Sure, there would be some restrictions, but the point is that in the same way content marketing is teaching marketers to expand channel mediums to impact the buyer cycle, it’s also paving the way for business owners to expand how their brand can be communicated and optimized, something RedBull does very well. Or even take Contently for example, originally just a Content Marketing platform, they’re becoming a major player in the content space by supply ing content agency services to their clients, a wicked daily email to their ELEVEN
fans, and a digital content magazine curated by a vast network of journalist. And finally, to join in this new era of content marketing, you could always just do nothing at all. To be great at content marketing simply means having the ability to be great at being and communicating yourself. This means being so great that you’re able to communicate and share that great ness through as many mediums as possible. So before hopping onto new partnerships, developing new videos, and creating an entire content house, make sure your house is organized and in order. If you do this right people will come to you, not the other way around and from there you and your custom ers can tell a story that will grow over time, who knows, like Vice, you might even usher in a new era of marketing we have yet to see.
WHY TRIPADVISOR TAKES THE CONTENT CAKE (Full disclosure: TripAdvisor is a Social by Definition client.)
written by ANN MARIE SKJOLD
TWELVE
On July 6th 2015, TripAdvisor’s stock jumped from $68.00 to $84.00, quite the leap for any company, let alone one that doesn’t actually sell consumer goods. So how does a company reach such noteworthy financial success? The answer is simple: content.
All things are derived from content
TripAdvisor, as a company, bases itself on user generated content; TripAdvisor users go on the site and rate and review different commodities that are a part of their travel experi ence. What makes this site a crowd favorite is that users have a voice: a clear way to express their honest opin ions to other TripAdvisor users yearn ing to hear what they have to say. This also rings with a sentiment of familiar ity: that the users are alike in that they are looking for the best travel deals
and offers; an invaluable entity to not only the TripAdvisor site, but to those who use it. TripAdvisor goes above and beyond basic user generated content and gives everyone what they really want: a community.
The community is everything
In this community, there is a way to showcase your status to others. Badges can be received, giving users who frequent the site, posting ratings and reviews, a status symbol within this digital circle. While it may seem like a trite incentive, users still appreciate the mentality that their selfpublished content is looked at as valuable.
A little incentive goes a long way
Users on TripAdvisor are not the only ones being rewarded. Hotels, restau rants, vacation rentals and flights that are up for review on the site are eligible for awards of excellence, which many of these noted companies and services proudly display both instore and online. Just this summer, I went to Chicken or the Egg on Long Beach Island, NJ and by the register of the breakfast and hotwing joint was their Certificate of Excellence (read: egg-cellence). This small certificate showcases the enormous pride that can come from customer reviews from a site known to be reputable.
UGC contests, but way cooler
TripAdvisor also hosts contests for its users through their social media accounts. One recent contest
asked users to show how their trips could go horribly wrote without using TripAdvisor. The contest winner received $25,000 and their idea was turned into a TV spot for the brand. This is but another example of TripAdvisor giving incentive towards making user generated content, which in this context, is not only engaging, but competitive and fun.
A social inspiration
TripAdvisor’s content itself is inspiring for all those who have an incurable case of the travel bug. Pictures of beautiful and colorful beaches, for ests and cityscapes line the pages of their Twitter, Instagram and Facebook
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accounts, engrossing and engaging audiences and furthering the brand’s identity. Their competition comes nowhere near the amount of followers that TripAdvisor’s social media has accrued. To boot, TripAdvisor also has a blog that explores different tips and tricks for the avid traveler and covers everything from life hacks to summer bargains. TripAdvisor positions itself perfectly with the trending lifestyle, wellness and travel categories so heavily coveted by audiences in the digital realm. Their content is sharable, ontrend and relatable to those in the community.
Don’t forget good ole fashioned PR
Lastly, TripAdvisor also relies on PR to gain media attention. The company re leases about two to three press releas es a week, which are usually picked
up for their attention grabbing content. Recently, TripAdvisor’s July 1st press release of the best burger places in the United States was recently picked up by a myriad of blogs and news sites, including ABC News. The content TripAdvisor puts forth is worth its weight in gold. These con tent geniuses have figured out what customers are really looking for. The user generated sites gives consumers a 360 look at travel options, but it also encompasses their brand identity and engages with audiences.
YOUR GUIDE TO DEVELOPING A CONTENT STRATEGY written by DEFINITION
FOURTEEN
To be completely clear, I am a major fan of content marketing. As an artist by trade, the idea of telling a story across multiple platforms is super exciting. However, we’d be fooling ourselves if we were to pretend that this is something new. Content marketing has been around for over a century, it’s just that thanks to a few recent pioneers and technological innovations, it’s finally finding its place in strategy and brand marketing. Since this is the case, we can only guess that there are a lot of marketers out there wondering where to get started. Therefor to provide some clear guidance, we present “Your Guide To Developing A Content Strategy” by Definition.
Start by solving a problem
Like creating a great business, great content is only as strong as the problem you’re trying to solve. Content can be about about winning over or entertaining your consumers and in many cases you’re doing it because your business is solving a problem, filling a gap, or acting as the voice of a generation. Whatever it might be, great content strategies start with the “why” and from there your story in some cases can almost tell itself.
Who are you solving it for?
Chances are if you’re a marketer you’ve had a client come into your office and tell you that their target audience is everyone. No, it’s not. Your audience is a select few that you need to influence and win over through the power of great content. By doing this, you’ll turn them into advocates carrying the message of your story for you, retelling it over and over again. However to get to that point, you have to find a niche group and from there can start building your empire. Think, even Facebook started as a product just for college students, now it’s the modern day human directory for the entire world
Position your product
One of my favorite marketing books is Positioning, from Al Ries and Jack
Trout, if you work in marketing and haven’t read this book, then you’re not doing your job right. Positioning lays out both the scientific approach and fundamental approach toward reaching your customer in a way that’ll actually drive interest through techniques that set your brand apart from everyone else, you could also read just about every book from Seth Godin, but you get the point. Be different and you’ll be recognized.
across a vertical of social media platforms utilizing different techniques to deliver the type of content and tell the type of story that will convert readers into buyers. For more on the story and content delivery process, I recommend reading Jab, jab, jab, right hook, by Gary Vaynerchuck. Be a resource and deliver on it by curating content around a theme that matters most to your consumers.
Tell an amazing story
Another option is to build programs and partnership where you cocreate with others. Look at HBO & Vice for example, a dual partnership where two parties involved are developing content for a mass audience. Business partnerships don’t happen often, but when they do they can be very effective. Think about partnering with an affiliate or someone who can supplement your brand, or even get crazier and partner with a competitor.
As mentioned in my opening paragraph, a lot of this isn’t new. You can tell that so far, what we’re really talking about is just marketing, but here is where we can slightly set the two apart and that’s in the story. Brand messaging drives great marketing, but stories, thematics, subjects, topics, and anything else fuels great content marketing. So, before diving in and creating a magazine to promote your shampoo, try and figure out what story you want to tell first.
Create a channel plan
The buyers cycle is no longer a tactic only used by the sales team, it’s used by content marketers too. Content strategies can be fueled with the most amazing stories there are, but there has to be a strategic placement of the content and the topics in a way that influences the buyer decision making so that consumer actions can support overall brand goals. This can be done either through the placement of your content or through the alignment of the channels of which you’re using to tell your story.
Write great content and become a curator
I get it, “duh?” Trust me when I say the goal here isn’t to be redundant. If the previous priorities have been outlined, now is the time to develop great owned content. Why this is so significant in the world of content is that the channels for content creation go beyond just web and Facebook, rather the story can be expended FIFTEEN
Let others create for you
Co-create with others
User generated content is all the rage, with a report saying that millennials trust UGC over traditional media by 50%, companies everywhere are developing campaigns that drive user generated content. For more on this, see our article detailing how TripAdvisor is developing a user generated content revolution.
License it
Native content is another option, you can always buy content from publications and bloggers in the form of “sponsored posts”. While this may integrate into one of the other areas here, buying stories where audiences already exist is an easy way to reach a wide audience that you can leverage to achieve your business goals.
Aggregate existing content
Not enough time to develop content? Aggregate it from somewhere else, there are tons of sites out there like paper.li and curated that can help you automate this process in order to deliver content that your customers can consume.
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