Marketers are watching the explosive growth of the latest social networking phenomenon, Snapchat — the social app now shares more than 350 million photos every day. But because the one-to-one messaging and pictures self-destruct after just a few seconds, it hasn’t been obvious how brands can use Snapchat. Continue Reading
Author: Tom Fishburne
Tom Fishburne is Marketoonist and Founder of Marketoon Studios, a cartoon studio that helps businesses like Kronos, Baynote, Motista and the Wall Street Journal reach their audiences with cartoons. Follow his cartoons at his Marketoonist blog or on Twitter @tomfishburne.
By tomfishburne published
May 9, 2014
Resist the Temptations of New Social Media Content Channels
By tomfishburne published
September 15, 2013
Why Don Draper Types Can’t Control Brand Content Anymore
Marketers all want to generate word of mouth, but we sometimes forget it inherently means giving up control. We need to remember that brand advocates are just as big a part of the content marketing team as content marketers themselves. Continue Reading
By tomfishburne published
May 19, 2013
Treat Content Publishing as a Privilege by Sharing the Awesome
Nowadays, any brand can become a content publisher, but we sometimes forget to treat content publishing as a privilege. Just because we have a soapbox, doesn’t mean there will be an audience to listen to us.
As marketers we are traditionally trained to repeat our single-minded proposition until consumers buy whatever it is that we’re marketing. In an effort to get our features and benefits across, we often lose sight of what’s actually valuable to our audience. Great content marketing turns a mirror on the audience.Continue Reading
By tomfishburne published
March 10, 2013
Why Your Content Marketing Riches Can Be Found in the Niches
In marketing, one size does not fit all. One size fits none. Many brands try to be all things to all people. General Mills CMO Mark Addicks once commented that too many brands were targeted to “women, ages 18-49, with a pulse.”
It can be tempting to aim for everybody — particularly for mass-market brands. I’ve been in brand discussions where the target market was identified by writing all possible prospects on a white board as if we were cold-calling customers rather than trying to connect with them. Yet that broad approach can lead to a split personality that appeals to no one.
Your target market is not the same as anyone who could conceivably buy your product. A target market is deliberately exclusive. That niche focus is what gives your message teeth. It is what compels consumers to identify with your brand. It is what gives you insight to speak to them so clearly. Continue Reading
By tomfishburne published
November 23, 2012
Why Video Content Continuity Trumps Virality
In your content marketing plan, are you trying to be the next Flock of Seagulls?
Last March, after the “Kony 2012” documentary generated 70 million views in one week, the marketing community rushed to add a “Kony” to their marketing plans. If a viral video could raise awareness of a Ugandan warlord, they reasoned, maybe it could raise awareness of term life insurance, cloud-computing services, or accounting software.
Some marketers talk about “virality” as part of their game plan, as predictable as magazine circulation or a sample count for an event. What marketers forget is that no one can create a viral video, viral article, or viral image. We can only create quality content that may or may not spread virally.Continue Reading
