Content marketing is something that you should be thinking about. I mean it. You shouldn’t just be doing it, you should be thinking about it. There is plenty of content out there already. Why would your target audience be interested in yours? I reckon the best content is something that is helpful, they’ll be interested in, and has a different approach. Perhaps then we can learn from some ‘All-Time’ content marketing ideas like Rudolf the red nosed reindeer.
Back in the late 1930’s Montgomery Ward department store identified that some valuable free content would be good for business. They commissioned Advertising Executive Robert May to compose a poem that (their In-Store) Santa could give away to the kids as an extra reason to visit the store.
Montgomery Ward and Robert May probably had no idea at the time how popular (and viral) their content would become. My kids sing about Rudolf as we decorate our Christmas tree now in 2013. That just proves that a great content marketing idea can not only promote your brand but can actually touch peoples lives for years to come.
In the first year that the department store distributed the poem they smashed out 2.5 million free copies. It was a popular idea. So popular in fact that that in 1949 the singer Gene Autry recorded a musical version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer with music composed by Johnny Marks. It hit number one in the charts that Christmas and sold over 2 million copies that year.
Now let’s remember that the intent for this content was to offer their target audience something for free that would give them a reason to choose their brand. The fact that you probably have a version of that song on your iPod (and will play it this Christmas) shows how powerful content created with the right intent can prove to be.
So what would help and interest your target market? Don’t answer that straight away. Have a think about it. Try and think about something different such as content marketing ideas like Rudolf the red nosed reindeer. It might be challenging to reach the same levels of success, but you have to start by thinking about it (content marketing that is). Montgomery Ward and Robert May thought about the idea and the poem and the rest is history.
Have you been considering content marketing as an inbound marketing strategy? I can’t promise the same results as Robert May, but would love to help you appeal to your target market. Please CLICK HERE, or leave a comment below if you’d like some ideas. I hope that you’ve found this post helpful, insightful and enjoyable. If so (or even if not) please share it to spread a bit of Christmas spirit and to encourage content marketers to think differently.
I’d like to take this opportunity to say that you to all of my subscribers and followers for reading, sharing and supporting my blog this year. You are why I do it. I really appreciate your support and look forward to seeing you back here every Thursday in 2014 for some fresh (and helpful) new material.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
If you enjoyed this post you might also like:
Creating viral content to be shared
5 Content Marketing Ideas to Win Your Target Audience
There are no more excuses for video not to be part of your content strategy
Image credits [Torley Linden]
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