Content Niches
"Epic content marketing takes you step by step through the process of developing stories that inform and entertain and compel customers to act—without actually telling them to."
Joe Pulizzi, Content Marketing Institute
THE PROJECT:
To celebrate his 7,000th home built, my boss, the owner of a leading, upscale, homebuilding company, wants a campaign to gain attention for this milestone.
THOUGHT PROCESS:
My boss is an extremely successful businessman. Many, many people are fascinated by the ultra-successful and want to know how they think. What motivates them? What inspires them? What are the people like who buy his houses? How did they become financially able to buy from him? How can I use their techniques to gain success and wealth in my life?
THE CHALLENGE:
How can I, Ashley, create a campaign that lasts longer than an hour or two when a photographer takes a photo of the builder and
homebuyer shaking hands as they stand on the driveway of the new home? Rather than one or two PR pieces, how can I stretch this
important event over a longer period of time to gain greater awareness of it?
THE INSPIRATION:
What about serial movies that used to play on Saturday afternoons in local theaters? Viewers had to return the next Saturday to see what the hero did to rescue the heroine. I could write a series of articles about the journey the buyers take to find their new home. Why did they choose this area? What kind of home did they envision early in the process? During their search, what twists and turns did their path reveal? Why choose Neal? Why choose the Silverwood community? What were their expectations, their fears? Who influenced them and how?
THE GOAL:
As always, my goal was to write to communicate—not impress. When people express their authentic selves, we, the observers, are the most enthralled. I call it human-to-human communications. My interviewees gave me the information. Now, I needed to engage the readers so they could identify with the new homeowners. Tally ho.
THE RESPONSE:
Over the next three months, the media campaign flourished. Three installments were published in a leading upscale magazine--online and offline. The articles were posted on the company website as well as in the sales offices. Then, the rest of the multi-media campaign was launched. The response was overwhelmingly positive. Many people told us that they waited for the next issue to arrive to read the next part of the story. They also said that they really enjoyed a glimpse into the building and development of a community. Free publicity grew through journalists' reviews, free ads came from a regional Spanish-language newspaper and the magazine published our articles gratis.
When people saw the framed articles in the sales centers, they became memory sparkers. Many visitors told the salespeople that it was the first time they had visited one of the communities. And, they gave the articles the credit for bringing them to the centers.
Storytelling is an essential part of content marketing. The most effective content marketing tells your story in a way that allows you to connect with and educate your audience. Building trust and educating builds relationships by giving people the information they need to make an educated purchasing decision.
