The Drum’s video series shows how the spirit of information, not selling, is the driving force behind content marketing
In recent weeks, The Drum has been uploading three-minute episodes of its latest video guide, entitled Everything You Need to Know – About Content Marketing.
The six episodes, presented by Ben Pheloung, head of demand EMEA at the programmatic platform PulsePoint, look at a range of content marketing issues. Speaking from the back of a London black cab, Pheloung runs through advice, examples and poses questions about best practice.
The episodes cover an introduction to content marketing, targeting your audience, programmatic technology, measurement, optimisation, and the future of the industry. The series not only shares advice on how to improve your content marketing, it also puts into practice some of the ideas itself in the way it is presented.
The medium
Utilising short-form video to discuss content marketing is a logical move. By next year, according to Cisco, video will account for 69% of all consumer internet traffic.
The idea of hosting the episodes from the back of a cab is a gimmick, but one which resonates with the audience. The idea being that if you’re in a taxi heading to a meeting about content strategy, the videos will give you a quick burst of inspiration or knowledge.
It therefore adds a sense of engagement to the videos – allowing the audience to feel that the people behind it are involved in the same type of business conversations that they are.
As well as that, it’s also a memorable point of interest and allows for plenty of visually attractive shots out the window at the passing London skyline.
Playing to the audience
Everything You Need to Know – About Content Marketing also succeeds in terms of format – the three-minute duration likely to appeal to busy people browsing their newsfeeds during a working day.
The Drum has opted for the format of a simple guide, reflecting the wild popularity of listicles and ‘how to’ guides from sources such as BuzzFeed and the BBC.
And it’s this fact that particularly shows the strengths of effective, engaging content marketing.
Content marketing is at its strongest when it is working to spread information, and not trying to ‘make a sale’.
One of the most interesting points to come out of the series is the research showing that including a product pitch within an article brings down the content’s credibility by 29%.
The Drum, in conjunction with PulsePoint, has recognised the inherent mistrust of their audience towards content that displays its advertising credentials too brashly. People are increasingly smarter, more savvy and less tolerant of the advertorial intent behind content.
Provide a useful service
The continued goodwill towards content marketing stems from the sense that the content produced serves a genuinely useful purpose for the audience.
As content marketers, we can position ourselves on the side of the audience through informative, helpful content and, importantly, by withholding the urge to slip in a more explicit pitch of our product or services – unless it is wholly pertinent and useful to do so.
Through this series of videos, The Drum was able to further cement its brand as a marketing, digital and advertising hub and as a place for information and features. It has promoted the services it provides, brought in traffic with well thought-out and useful content – and all without seeming to be beating its own drum.
