Karen Taylor Writes

Welcome To The Official Home Of Karen Taylor

  • Content
  • Meetings
  • Austin Life
  • Experience
    • Cybersecurity
    • Healthcare
    • Software
    • Inbound Marketing
    • Service Firms
    • Education & Research
    • Publications
  • About
  • Contact

The Purpose of Content? — To Connect on Deeper, Personal, and Emotional Levels with Customers, say Austin Pros

04.29.2015 by Karen Taylor // Leave a Comment

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Email

Modern Marketing Mashup Panel
Modern Marketing Mashup panel of Austin marketing pros. From l to r: Tom Barnett, John Ellett, Helena Lewis, Natasha Morgan, and Steve Kellog.

Last week four marketing pros from Austin companies and a moderator from Astadia sat down at La Condesa to share insights about content marketing. Here are highlights from their panel discussion.

Moderator Steve Kellogg, Director of Global Strategic Partnerships and Solutions at Astadia, kicked off the talk with the following statement:

Customers today expect an ongoing conversation. You not only have to focus on the conversation, you have to own it.

In content marketing today, we have brilliant data management, good content, but low conversion. There’s still too much about the company and no emotional connection.

Content marketing will be the Wild West for some time to come. We thought it was settling down, but it’s only getting more complex.

Steve later added:

As powerful as content marketing is when done right, today’s marketers are hampered by constraints — like silos and metrics breakdowns and customer data integration.

The customer experience is there. The technology is almost there. What’s missing is the capacity to influence behavior on the customer decision journey.

Natasha Morgan, Director of North American Marketing, Oracle Marketing Cloud

Event Agenda, stated:

People will forget everything except how you make them feel. Companies today need to have a personality and they need to show that they value people.

Another goal of content marketing should be to help consumers experience the product completely. Interaction with customers should be driving the content marketing strategy.

John Ellett, CEO and Founder, nFusion
, stated:

Overall, companies still don’t invest in people-to-people connections.

We are making the transformation from inside-out — it’s not easy, because the tools and the language aren’t there yet.

It’s critical to use data to build relationships in real-time, so that we’re not just creating content with a rear-view window approach, but a windshield perspective.

Tom Barnett, VP, GM, Callaway Golf Interactive, stated:

It’s easy to create content for an audience of avid golfers. But we still go to great lengths to improve the quality.

We’re creating content in many places to meet many different needs. It’s a complicated process, but we’ve worked to narrow it down into a process with easy steps.

Helena Lewis, Sr. Group Manager, Marketing Operations and Technology, National Instruments
, stated:

We’re transforming from content strategy that was product- and quantity-focused to content that targets the people we need to speak to in ways that are meaningful to them.

Traditionally, we overlooked who we were talking to. Now, we’re starting to work with personas.

We are investing in content creators and focusing on being creative in our content.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Email

Categories // Meeting Notes Tags // austin texas, content marketing, meeting notes

No Badge? No Problem! — 7 Interesting Things I Learned at SXSW Interactive for Free

04.15.2015 by Karen Taylor // Leave a Comment

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Email

Highlights from SXSW Off-the-Grid Events

Did you know that the non-official SXSW Interactive events all serve food and drinks? And some of it’s pretty good.

An event at Max’s Wine Dive served all kinds of delectable dishes, including its famous fried chicken. At Marketo’s event, one day I had tacos and shepard’s pie. Picora gave us delicious sub sandwiches.

Max's Wine Dive panel discussion
The free SocialChorus panel discussion at Max’s Wine Dive at SXSW Interactive 2015.

But the food was not the only reason to attend the non-official events sponsored by companies at venues near the Conference Center. I learned a lot of really interesting things from some very smart people.

Here’s how good some of the free sessions were — people with badges were attending them!

Whenever I debate the merits of purchasing a badge and attending the official event (no doubt, a great opportunity), I just remember the amazing sessions off-the-grid — and off my credit card.

And there are a lot of them. In fact, I was double-booked all day Saturday — and had to make some tough decisions on which talks to attend and which to miss.

I’m sharing a quick roundup of eight highlights from the many interesting sessions I attended on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday of SXSW Interactive.

1. Piggyback on Company’s Culture to Earn Funding for Social Media.

SocialChorus chose the swanky basement meeting room at Max’s Wine Dive to give its panel discussion. Whole Foods Market’s Global Director Social Media, CRM, and Customer Service, Natanya Anderson, said she got support for employees sharing their stories on social media when she reframed it.

“Our team is very important to Whole Foods’ culture, so when I wanted to get money to spend on social media my pitch was that ‘this is an opportunity to amplify our team members, while building our social value. I positioned it as a function of our authenticity. And I got the funding.”

2. Transition from Mass Communication to Mass Communicators.

At the SocialChorus discussion, Ryon Harms, Farmers Insurance’s former Director of Social Media, made a case for publishing and promoting a wide variety of content. One way to accomplish this is to enlist many voices in content creation.

“Content is an ongoing challenge. And there’s still a general lack of understanding that the third-person ‘brand perspective’ days are over. Now it’s all about an ‘I perspective.’ A smart goal is to put as much relevant content out there as you can and let your audience pick and choose what is meaningful to them.”

3. Build Community on Instagram Using Clever Hashtags.

The Infatuation Guys discussion
The guys from TheInfatuation.com discussion maximizing marketing opportunities on Instagram at the free Piqora talk at SXSW Interactive 2015.

Piqora took over a tiny office space on East 5th street for three days — hosting great talks every day. On Sunday, I learned some awesome Instagram pointers from the New York City two-man team that heads up the popular blog with “restaurant reviews for the people,” The Infatuation. Their popular #eeeeeats (yes, five e’s) hashtag has racked up over 200,000 followers on Instagram.

“Create something people want to interact with,” said co-founder, Chris Stang. “For example, the right hashtag is a great way to get recognized and be heard. If you do it right, people will bond around your brand. There are so many voices around eeeeeats, like Hurricane Sandy Snacks and the Infatuation Bake Sale. If you give them a voice, you win.”

4. If You’re Going to Post on Instagram, Take Great Photos.

The guys from The Infatuation shared their favorite photo tips. “Use natural light. We’ve been known to take our plates over to the window of restaurants to get the right lighting. Yep, were ‘those guys,’” said co-founder Andrew Steinthal.

Be selective. “No brown soup or pudding shots!” Also, no shadows, aim for a good background, and get perspective.

Here’s a fun post from the guys.

5. Brands Need More Authentic Visuals.

Speaking of marketing with visuals, over at the Marketo off-the-grid venue at the historic Vulcan Gasworks Company building on East 5th, Dayna Rothman, Senior Content Marketing Manager, spoke about creating viral content. “Going viral demands more authentic visuals.”

She advised the audience to think like the owner of Grumpy Cat. “Push the envelope. The more engaging and relevant your images the better.” Once you establish a following, “focus on how to capitalize on it.”

6. To Go Viral, Evoke People’s Emotions.

Dayna Rothman also provided insight on creating viral content. Key aspects of creating viral content is being controversial (“without being polarizing”), being outrageous (“in a way that provokes thought”), and being hilarious (“think Winnebago Man”).

Viral headlines also need to evoke emotions, such as, awe (with a cliff-hanger that demands a click), anger (“people want a voice and to be heard”), fear (“tension evokes action”), and joy (“people like to feel good”).

7. Brands Need to Create Experiences that Align with Their Master Narrative.

Back at Piqora on Monday, Catherine Martin from Edelman Digital spoke about how agencies are making the transition to digital marketing. “You can’t necessarily use the same content everywhere. You have to think of the audience on each platform and create great experiences that match the tone.”

SXSW Interactive
Random great shot at SXSW Interactive 2015. GE sponsored free talks about meat. I tried to attend one, but the acoustics were horrible.

While digital is changing marketing in many important ways, some basics are still critical, like having a master narrative. “Companies still have to ask themselves who is their audience, how do they find them, and what’s the overarching brand message. You still have to be smart strategically.”

After this year’s slate of great free content, I can’t wait to see what I’ll find off-the-grid at SXSW Interactive in 2016!

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Email

Categories // Meeting Notes Tags // austin life, content marketing, sxsw interactive

Three Content Marketing Take-Aways from “That Dress”

03.02.2015 by Karen Taylor // Leave a Comment

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Email

The Perfect Modern Digital Media Story

Classic face-vase opital illusion
The classic face-vase optical illusion has been updated for the digital age — by a colorful dress. The viral image came out of nowhere bearing lessons for content marketers.

Everyone from my hairdresser to CNN was talking about “that dress” on Friday. It even trumped the otherwise sure-thing news stories, like Madonna’s fall and the Kardashians’ new $100M contract.

Like the rest of the world, I went crazy for a day trying to figure out why people saw different colors than I saw.

It was an optical illusion, of sorts. But, more importantly, it was the perfect modern media story — and it offers today’s marketers vital lessons on how to get attention in the new world of digital marketing.

My favorite article on the whole phenomenon was written by journalist Ben Fischer at the New York Business Journal.

Thanks to his article, I understand better what every marketer — and marketing writer — needs to know about how to rivet people’s attention in today’s crowded world of content.

As a freelance marketing writer, here are four questions I’ll be asking when I write content for my clients.

1. Does the story have universal appeal?

“That dress” came with a compelling story: A bride and her friends trying to decide the color of the mother of the bride’s dress.

Getting an answer evoked frustration, fear (of going crazy), and humor — all components of universal appeal.

According to novelist Kate Forsyth:

“Stories are the common ground that allow people to connect, despite all our defenses and all our differences … a story only survives if it articulates some kind of desire or dilemma, some kind of predicament, which is of importance to both the reteller of the tale, and to his or her audience.”

What compelling stories can you tell in your content marketing?

2. Does the story have an interactive element?

“Interactive” is a word that gets thrown around a lot in today’s marketing world. What people usually mean is merely content that people will actually read.

However, true interactivity means more than that: It means engaging with the content. What could be more interactive than having people vote (and fight over) the colors of “that dress”?

According to Visually:

“By definition, interactives engage viewers in a very active way – and that engagement can be incredibly powerful to marketers. People viewing interactives spend more time on the page, seeing a brand associated with content that interests them, all at their own pace.”

What engaging elements can you add to your content?

3. Is the story easy to consume?

Among the top five ways to make content easy to consume, according to the Content Marketing Institute, is “eye candy.” The story about “that dress” was nearly 100 percent visual — plus a wickedly alluring headline (another of the top five).

“Humans are visual beings — it’s one of the traits that has kept our species going. Thus, it should come as no surprise that 90 percent of the information we take in is visual, and that we process images 60,000 times faster than text. Even more important for global audiences is that visual content often spans multiple languages, where text-based content may not.”

What arresting visuals can you add to your content?

4. Is the story emotionally evocative?

People got emotionally involved in the colors they saw in the dress. Evoking emotions is the Holy Grail of viral content.

Smart Insights reported on research that investigated why content goes viral:

“… emotional arousal was the single biggest factor in determining whether a campaign went viral. Articles that inspired, caused anger or awe-inspiring emotions, were all far more likely to end up on the ‘most emailed list’ on the site.”

So, the next time you need powerful content that will appeal universally, engage interactively, evoke emotionally, and be easy to consume, let the viral story of “that dress” be your inspiration.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Email

Categories // Content Matters Tags // content marketing, freelance writers, viral digital stories

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • …
  • 8
  • Next Page »

About Karen

Karen Taylor is a professional freelance content marketing writer with experience writing for over 100 companies and publications. Her experience … read more...

Let’s Socialize

  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Categories

  • Austin Life
  • Content Matters
  • Meeting Notes

Search The Site

Recent Posts

  • Client Turns My Blog Post into a Successful MQL Engagement/Re-Engagement Marketing Tool
  • In SEO, Keywords are Out. User Intent is In. What You Need to Know Now.
  • Austin’s Bulldog Solutions Galvanizes Team to Create One-Day Conference in 3 Months
  • What I Learned from Kenneth Berger’s Talk on “What I Learned at Slack — 3 Strategies for Growth”
  • The Most Creative Mornings in Austin — and You Might Not Get In

Recent Comments

  • Dave Mink on Client Turns My Blog Post into a Successful MQL Engagement/Re-Engagement Marketing Tool
  • Ivan on Content + Design + Business Strategy Equals Awesome User Experiences – and Seducible Moments
  • Karen Taylor on Show and Tell — “Austin Chronicle” Photographer Captures Powerful Images and Gives a Memorable Workshop
  • Sylvia Benini on Show and Tell — “Austin Chronicle” Photographer Captures Powerful Images and Gives a Memorable Workshop
  • Karen Taylor on BlogathonATX 2013 Recap — A Fun and Delicious Day-Long Blogging Camp for Adults

Archives

  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • March 2016
  • September 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • January 2015
  • November 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • November 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013

© 2013-2025 KarenTaylorWrites.com | Sitemap | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Copyright © 2025 · Modern Studio Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.