Advice from Fast Company’s Bill Shapiro

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As part of our Ask the Experts series, we learn from the world’s leaders in content marketing on how to create epic content. In this Q & A Pressboard’s Jerrid Grimm chats with Bill Shapiro, Director of Editorial & New Business Ventures at Fast Company.

Pressboard: What’s your role, your background and what first attracted you to the native/branded content space?

Bill: I’m Fast Company’s Director of Editorial & New Business Ventures. That’s a long-titled way of saying that I work with some of the world’s most exciting companies to create big-impact stories and meaningful connections with readers. That spans digital, video, print, live events, speakers, etc.

What’s special about Fast Company’s approach to branded content is that we’ve made the decision to use only highly experienced journalists and editors. I was the editor-in-chief of LIFE, the legendary photo magazine, and I later co-founded LIFE.com. I also oversaw all editorial for Time Inc.’s branded content division.

I find branded content exciting because, personally, I just love the blank slate, love creating a new approach and finding new ways connect with an audience. With branded content, you do that for every client. Every client is looking for a fresh approach, looking to connect with readers in a new way.

Pressboard: What’s the main reason brands come to Fast Company to partner on native/branded content, instead of creating and distributing the content themselves?

Bill: Howard Gossage, the legendary Mad Men-era ad man, once said, “People don’t read ads. They read what interests them, and sometimes it’s an ad.” Our editors know precisely what interests our readers. Brands get that. They come to us because our readers are influential, passionate, open to new ideas, and because we have a huge audience that truly cares about what’s new and what’s next. At the same time, our marketing staff knows how to target distribution and run a turnkey campaign. We’ve just redesigned Fastcompany.com, and our branded content seamlessly integrates into the user experience; it’s additive rather than disruptive

Pressboard: Fast Company regularly profiles influential thought leaders in both editorial and native/branded content articles. How can highlighting influential people and companies further amplify the content through their own networks? Do you have any examples/data points to support?

Bill: People love big, bold, inspirational ideas. They read our coverage of them. They think about them. They share them with their friends. They bring them into their place of work. As a reader, when a company exposes me to an idea like that, I appreciate it. And there’s obviously a halo effect: I start to associate those ideas with the company that helped me discover them. With both our editorial and native content, we tell surprising and thought-provoking stories about innovative companies and their leaders. Those leaders tend to share the stories with their peers and coworkers as a source of inspiration. We just launched our annual list of Most Innovative Companies, and brands that made the list – from Buzzfeed to RobinHood to Bristol-Myers Squibb and Amgen – all tweeted about it.

So proud of the talented, creative team at BuzzFeed. We’re #1 on Fast Company’s most innovative company list -> https://t.co/zd2oWh6lYP

— Jonah Peretti (@peretti) February 16, 2016

Pressboard: Which effect (either negative or positive) do you feel that ad blocking will have on native/branded content in the next 12 months?

Bill: Whatever you think about ad blockers, the net effect is positive for branded content. We create truly engaging stories and experiences that live well beyond the banner. For instance, we worked with Mini to create a beautiful magazine called The New Magic that focused on the promise of Virtual Reality. We packaged it with Google Cardboard and sent it to our 1,000 Most Creative People in Business – that’s high-impact. We recently launched a hugely successful campaign for IBM and promoted the content on our redesigned, tile-based homepage; engagement with IBM’s content vastly exceeded the client’s expectations. When the focus moves beyond the banner, it opens up lots of opportunity for meaningful engagement. I go back to that Gossage line: People read what interests them.

Pressboard: In 140 characters or less, answer this question: My favorite tip for creating great content is…

We’d like to give a huge thanks to Bill Shapiro for sharing his thoughts and advice. Bill’s words of wisdom are included in The Epic Guide to Content Marketing. You can follow Bill on Twitter @Bill_Shapiro