Why Businesses Need Content Marketing

Marketing is not what is used to be. Your customers can fast-forward past the commercials using their Tivos. Newspapers don’t use the ad revenue model anymore because the Internet killed it. Commercial-free web and satellite radio are replacing the old channels.

Your customers are skipping past what you have to say, not so much because they aren’t interested in it (if they’re your loyal or potential customers, they very well might be) but because they’re jumping ahead to the content they know in advance that they want—the next episode of their favorite TV show, breaking news in their hometown or music on their customized radio stations.

So how do you get their attention? By producing content yourself that they want.

There is a time and place for direct marketing, but your owned media—your company web site, newsletter and social media channels—provide the best platform for indirect  marketing that isn’t pushy and doesn’t read like it was written by salespeople. This is your chance to engage your current and prospective customers in a casual way when their guard is down so you can earn their trust and loyalty.

You don’t have to rent the media space, but if you want to engage, build and sustain an audience you’ll need to move beyond advertising. Think of your owned media like a company magazine.

Intel went all in and created IQ by Intel. It’s not “like” a company magazine. It’s an actual technology magazine published by their marketing department and edited and written by journalists. And it’s not all about Intel. It’s about technology in general. Intel is only a piece of it. In 2014, the site attracted almost six million unique visitors.

All magazines have ads, so go ahead and include them, but a print “magazine” consisting of nothing else will get round-filed along with the rest of the junk mail, and an online equivalent will just be ignored. An effective SEO strategy will get you plenty of hits from Google and Bing, but if the page readers land on isn’t engaging, they’ll click the “back” button in seconds.

Producing rich content, however, can help you attract new customers and turn casual customers into loyal customers. It can and should be related to your business, but the purpose is to educate and perhaps entertain people so they can get to know you, trust you, and make better informed business decisions.

If you produce relevant and engaging content, readers will want more of it. They’ll subscribe to your newsletter and won’t flag your emails as spam. They’ll follow you on Facebook and Twitter and look forward to your upcoming blog posts. They’ll share your content with their friends and family. Your business will grow.

So how do you do it? Stay tuned to the Reddbug blog to find out.

The Final Kick

During her running career, Kelly Holmes spoke about the perfect “800-meter” race. Her training and mental toughness affected every part of her run: the beginning, lap two, and the final “kick”.

As a marketing team we know all about the finishing “kick” – the making of a final presentation. All those months of research, testing and development organized into one, very important slideshow. You may ask, “Is it really possible?” Though it may be difficult, sometimes frustrating and always time consuming, the creation of your perfect presentation is possible.

Trust us. We know.

We’ve worked with many of you on these final presentations. The finish line is in sight. We know you’re exhausted, but keep going. It’s worth it! The numerous edits may feel tedious and even irrelevant, but they contribute to a powerful “kick” and presentation, which inspires and motivates audiences.

Presentation Tips

1. Keep it simple. Find your focus, stick to it, and then show it off. It’s as simple as that.

2. Break from the Mold. Use your creative skills to develop a template that will resonate with the audience. Be original.

3. Don’t go crazy with copy. Although I love to write, the slideshow should not highlight the presenter’s script. Avoid heavy copy or long-winded bullet points. Audience members should not be reading a “book”, but listening to a presentation.

4. Tasteful Animations. Tasteful is the keyword here. Animations can connect and engage audience members to the topic of discussion. However, fancy transitions and animations can also distract from the point of the presentation. Be aware and use accordingly.

5. Don’t skimp on Quality. Make every presentation your best work. Use high quality images. Check your work again and again and again.

6. Fonts and Colors. Step back from designing for a moment and think about the bigger picture. What is the tone of the presentation? What emotions should it invoke? Now choose the right font family and color palette to match those sentiments.

7. Never Stop Growing. You’re creative. But, when you feel your creative juices are running low, STOP your work and go get inspired. Learn from the great designers of history, experience the art of nature, relax with a good movie – do whatever it is that rejuvenates your creativity, and then go back to work. Your eyes will feel refreshed and your presentation will benefit from the revival.

#AAdigital

It was no surprise to see our client, Adobe, participating in the Ad Age Digital Conference this week.  We especially enjoyed the session where Adobe and other marketing executives shared insights about story telling.  To sum it up in a few words, brands will focus on making stories, instead of telling them. (Check out the full recap here.)

This is a new era for advertising. The current consumer rejects pushy, unauthentic and irrelevant messages, so brands are refining their approaches. As mentioned in the #AAdigital session, brands now focus on making stories. These stories are unique to their consumers, and resonate with their conversations, interests and aspirations. Consumers appreciate this attention and engage with brands by making their own, similar messages. This unity between the consumer and brand allows advertising campaigns to expand, initiate new trends and create lasting experiences for their consumers.

Creative Confidence Brainstorming

Sticky notes, sharpened pencils and caffeine – the necessities for a brainstorm session. But how effective are these gatherings? Many argue they’re a waste of time and provide no assistance to an original solution. I’m sure we’ve all felt this way at one time or another, but think of brainstorming as a rejuvenation of creativity.

Our creative work is poked, prodded and picked at on a consistent basis. It’s the nature of our profession. Our solution… we grow thick skin. However, with these frequent experiences, it’s important to find outlets that energize and inspire creative confidence.

Constructive brainstorming can initiate and restore creativity. As we express our ideas we strengthen our creative voice and abilities. From funny thoughts to unrealistic designs, creative insecurities collapse and our confidence increases.

So participate in the next brainstorm session. Spout out ideas, no matter how ridiculous you feel. You’re reinforcing your creativity. I can’t guarantee you’ll discover the perfect solution while brainstorming, but I do know it can revive your creativity after a long day of criticism and judgment.

Hello from Reddbug

We thought we’d introduce ourselves, before we launch our weekly Reddbug posts. We are a full-service advertising agency based out of Las Vegas. We also have an office in Washington State, and a few other “Reddbuggers” in California, Texas and Utah. What can we say? We love the West.

Reddbug began producing brand work and providing marketing services for companies in 2006. Our creative and strategic teams specialize in developing original solutions that transform and elevate ideas. Our services focus on brand work, creative design, digital and integrated offline content marketing, and web and app development. Our executive team, Kerry Kane, John Camacho, and Brent Johnson, direct and inspire Reddbug with a vision of collaboration and innovation within the creative industry.