Content marketing is a fantastic tool for raising the profile of your company, no matter what your size or service. The past couple of years has seen us invest a lot of time and creativity into our content marketing, with some great results.
Recently, Mike joined a Q&A panel for the Guardian discussing the lessons we’ve learnt - the dos and don’ts of content marketing. He spoke at length about user-generated content and the impact it’s having on the industry. The customer is now firmly in the driving seat and it’s up to savvy marketers to act as experience navigators - they can guide the customer’s journey but they’re not in control.
Mike told The Guardian: “Always put your customer first. When developing a strategy don't just think about what you want to achieve for your brand but what you want to communicate to your customer.
“And why? Why should they care? How will your message affect their lives? And how can this be made more powerful? The best brands are driven by their customers' needs.”
We’re currently working on a huge user-generated campaign with fastjet, Africa’s low cost airline. The #WeFilmAfrica competition does what it says on the tin - fastjet’s customers send in videos, giving a glimpse into what they love most about Africa and each week the winner receives two return tickets to a fastjet destination of their choice.
The videos are beautiful - frolicking lions, wild zebras, vibrant communities, cities, traditions and family members. They show the true diversity of Africa and have provided invaluable content that we can use in future marketing campaigns. They also make the customers feel invested in the brand, as though they are part of the company’s development. And they are.
The campaign has been incredibly successful so far, with over 100 videos already submitted in just under three weeks, and still four weeks of the campaign to go. We’ve put the customer centre-stage and encouraged them to share something they love - a winning formula. Other panel members agreed that user-generated content is the future of content marketing, it is one area that will always will show great return on investment, if positioned right by marketeers.
For more dos and don’ts of content marketing, check out the Q&A or the full article over on The Guardian website.
If you want to showcase your offering, convert more leads, provide resources, or all of the above, we can build a website that separates you from the competition.
