As part of our Ask the Experts series, we learn from the world’s leaders in content marketing. Contently’s Director of Content Services, Ryan Galloway, spoke with us about how he got into branded content and shares actionable advice for brands just getting started with content marketing.
This interview contains excerpts from The Epic Guide To Content Marketing – over 50 pages of advice from the experts at The New York Times, Forbes, Mashable, The Huffington Post and many more! For a deep dive into how to create and promote branded content you can also check out our Complete Guide to Branded Content.
Pressboard: Can you tell us about your role and background? What first attracted you to the branded content space?
Ryan: At Contently, I lead a team of brand editors, content strategists, and data-driven storytellers who help our clients create content that’s smart, engaging, and effective. We work with everyone from major global banks to small startups, and that’s part of what drew me to this role. I started my career on the digital side of book publishing, moved to a startup where I learned a lot about scaling and managing a team of freelance creatives. From there, I joined a boutique recruiting firm as their head of content. About the same time, I started doing a lot of freelance editorial work for Contently. Two of their early hires were former coworkers of mine, and they brought me onboard. When it became clear that Contently’s content services team needed to scale effectively, I joined full-time. The role is a great mix of building a practice, improving processes, and helping clients solve their problems by developing great creative assets. I love all those aspects, but the last point is really what drew me to branded content: working with a variety of publishers and solving a ton of different challenges every day.
What’s the main reason brands come to Contently to partner on branded content, instead of creating and distributing it themselves?
I’m going to cheat here and say there are three equally important reasons: time, expertise, and technology. Creating outstanding content takes time, and that’s something most marketers don’t have. For many of our clients, the same is true when it comes to expertise — especially if this is their first time creating content. If you don’t have editorial or content leadership experience, the learning curve for developing your brand’s content is going to be pretty steep. How do you know what pitch to accept? How do you know which headline will perform better? How do you turn a good story into a great story? Both of those pieces — time and expertise — are why Contently’s services have proven so critical for our clients. The technology aspect is equally crucial. Our platform alleviates the need for all the countless tools businesses use to create content, streamlines the production process, and comes loaded with a ton of analytics that help clients make smarter decisions.
Marriott Traveler – an online travel magazine created in partnership with Contently
What are your top 3 idea generation tips for brands that are new to content marketing? Are there standard questions that Contently asks at the idea generation stage
1. The first step for idea generation is for a brand to remind itself of the following mantra: “It’s not about the story I want to tell. It’s about the story my audience needs to hear.” That using what we call an “opportunity analysis” to audit your competitors’ content (and remember: you’re a media organization now, so you’re competing with established publications, not just direct competitors in your space). Look at the sources they use, the readers they address, and content types they leverage, and the topics they cover. Then look for white space: who’s not being addressed, what topics aren’t they covering, which content types are they failing to deploy? Know where your opportunities to steal mindshare are, and the ideas will surface themselves.
2. Another question I’d ask is “what would get your attention?” Content marketers — especially new ones — love to play it safe. That results in a lot of content that’s very similar, meaning your brand doesn’t stand out. Would you read yet another “X Things You Didn’t Know about 401(k)s?” Or would you rather read a profile piece entitled “How I Completely Blew it With My 401(k)?” Don’t be afraid to be unconventional.
3. Bring in fresh minds. Leverage some freelance writers to pitch stories. Bring in people from other departments. Don’t rely just on your internal marketing or content teams. This one is the easiest tip to execute, and it almost always injects some unexpected ideas into the mix.
For brands that are mature in their content efforts, how can they continue to generate great fresh ideas? How can brands get past the idea that they’ve done it all before?
Again, the opportunity analysis is critical here. Do it once a year to refresh your content strategy. Also, keep an eye on how your content’s performing. Focus on what’s doing well, and use that to drill down into new ideas. Bring in fresh perspectives, and experiment with new formats. If you’re already doing stories and infographics, consider adding a video or a series of podcasts. New formats almost always lead to new ideas. Also, focus on developments in your industry. Consider treating these developments like breaking news. Consider covering conferences and events, and if you’re not using seasonal content, you should add that to your mix as well.
Which will have the most profound effect (either negative or positive) on native/branded content in the next 12 months?
I’m going to cheat here and pick two (kind of). First, Facebook’s Instant Articles won’t impact content as much as it will impact publishers. I don’t see the content itself changing that much, aside from a few innovative formats going the way of the dinosaur. (I will reverse my opinion on this if Facebook starts using an algorithm to predict “winning” or “losing” content in advance.) It’s impact on publishers will be more substantial. Marquis publishers will have to compete with a broader range of publishers than they’re accustomed to, and they’ll have to fight all the harder to cut through the noise. In short, it will mean that publishers are dependent on yet another publishing platform that they can’t control.
I think that tighter restrictions on native disclosure will be the game-changer here. In theory, it should force native content (which can be terrible) to elevate its quality substantially. If a story is clearly a native placement, then content creators will have to work even harder to get readers to engage with and trust it. Changing native disclosure rules won’t get the media attention that FB’s Instant Articles have gotten, but it will have a substantial, lasting impact on the quality of native content.
In 100 characters or less, what is your favorite tip for creating great content?
It’s not about the story you want to tell. It’s about the story your audience needs to hear.
Pressboard would like to thank Ryan Galloway for speaking with us and contributing to our latest e-book. You can find him on LinkedIn and follow his writing at Contently.
