Make your content as accessible as possible

 

The certificates above show that I have just completed the HubSpot Academy courses on content marketing and SEO. I did pick up a few tips, but the best part of it was the feeling of gratification that my understanding of best practices from years of experience was spot on. Unfortunately, the businesses I sometimes worked for often deviated from such best practices.

Unlock those gates!

For example, I'm generally not in favor of gating good content. You want it to be read, so why create barriers to getting it read? I fully understand that you want to force people to give you their contact information to follow up with potential leads. However, as the course points out, you can encourage some kind of opt-in even without blocking the content.

Semrush, the online visibility platform, agrees that introducing a layer of friction -- even if it is as simple as entering an email address -- will turn away readers. That is not something you want to do in the awareness stage when you wish to attract as many eyeballs as possible.

"You usually wouldn’t start a relationship with gated content. You have to woo your readers first, showing that your content is worth their time and — later on — their personal information." - Semrush

HubSpot's course suggestion was to have the content accessible with an option for the reader to download it as a PDF. People will voluntarily download content they like to have available to read at leisure, particularly longer form content. My guess is that seeing things first the first time on a smartphone likely contributes to that practice even more.

Keep it simple!

I also felt particularly gratified about another explicit guideline it gives that I've clashed with some clients over in the past. That is to use clear, direct language rather than jargon or what you believe is a very impressive vocabulary filled with the types of words students used to memorize for the SATs. It's a mistake to believe that you sound smarter by using big words, as the really confident person will explain even more complex topics as clearly as possible (think "explain it to me like I'm five").

I still remember what my composition instructor said about Winston Churchill, who was a highly capable speaker and writer. As the British Prime Minister during WWII, he didn't say, "The received communication from France is extremely unfavorable." Instead, he said, "The news from Paris is very bad."

The contrast to Churchill's direct and honest approach appears in Emperor Hiroshito's observation after the devastation of two atomic bombs, "The war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage."

Consider which statement you would consider more trustworthy as a source, and remember that when crafting your own content.

screenshot from https://app.hubspot.com/academy/21390613/tracks/15/377/2059

I took the liberty of grabbing a screenshot from the HubSpot video as proof of what I tried very tactfully to convey to a few of my recent clients. Unfortunately, they refused to get the point. In one case, they insisted they have to avoid using "layman" terms. In the other, they insisted that really smart people speak that way.

P.S. Semrush also corroborated that point in a tweet that went up just today. Here's the final step in its short thread on how to format your content for search engines & target featured snippets:

✍️ Finally, tighten up your page’s copy. Try to use short, direct sentences with language that isn’t too complicated. Good luck 👋

— Semrush (@semrush) February 9, 2022

Related:

Where HubSpot Messed Up

Think Marathon Rather Than Sprint When Planning Content Marketing

What Edison Can Teach Us About SEO

Churchill's Guide to Writing

7 Ways to Grab Customer Attention in Subject Lines 

CRO is Like Basketball 

Most Memorable Brand Slogans 

Metaverse marketing and NFTs for fashion brands

Fashion brands have embraced the metaverse to showcase their wares and offer their customers the chance to purchase digital versions for their avatars. Sneaker brands that appeal to young customers are a natural fit, and so Roblox now is home to both NIKELAND

 and Vans World.





Even exclusive brands are able to become more accessible to potential customers by inviting them to experience their wares in digital form at a price point most could afford. Gucci did that by introducing sneaker designs that exist solely in virtual form. The Gucci Virtual 25 can be projected onto your feet via augmented reality.


The shoe always fits when it’s virtual, as you can see in this video:






The Verge reports that the shoes that could be purchased for $12.99 from Gucci’s app can also be virtually worn on an avatar in partnered apps like Roblox and VRChat. In an interview with TechCrunch, Gucci CMO Robert Triefus said that it “has been redefining its approachability as it extends its reach to digital platforms like Roblox — which the company sees as an opportunity that’s growing too quickly to ignore.”

Luxury fashion is more affordable in the metaverse

The same kind of thinking motivated Ralph Lauren to venture on to Roblox to connect with Gen Z customers. As reported in FashionUnited, at this year’s National Retail Federation’s conference, Ralph Lauren’s CEO, Patrice Louvet, said, the metaverse offers “a fantastic opportunity to interact with younger consumers, to create experiences.”

He explained, “You can get into Roblox and get your avatar to have a virtual coffee at a virtual RL coffee shop, create a virtual outfit on Zepeto or visit the Madison store virtually.”

Those virtual outfit sales already exceed 100,000 units. Items listed for sale on Zepeto are priced in ZEMs, which is the platform’s digital currency; Charged estimates that those listed price range from $0.57 to $2.86 a piece.

While a couple of hundred thousand dollars in sales doesn't make a huge different in the bottom line of a major fashion brand, it shows that the cachet is strong enough to motivate purchases for clothes that can only be worn by digital characters. And that feeling of connection to a brand will likely lead to purchases of real clothes in the real world when those customers can afford them. 

Merging NFTs and wearable clothing

( To understand NFTs, see Nearly Everything You Wanted to Know About NFTs But Were Afraid to Ask)
On January 12, Gap launched its first collection of NFTs under the name Gap Threads. The offering is designed to tap into the heightened interest in digital art and gamified experiences, which also plays on the need to act fast due to the limited availability of drops, particularly for the NFTs in the rare category.



Gap tapped Brandon Sines, the artist behind Frank Ape, for the initial collaboration.



Gap courts the digital collector with loads of FOMO.



To up the FOMO component and retain the brand identity connection, it also is dangling “the unique opportunity to own a limited edition, collectible Gap hoodie.” That’s a real hoodie you could wear, not just a digital one. But that requires earning one’s way through the more common and rare NFTs to unlock the epic category.



Gap was also riding on the popularity established by Brandon Sines, the creator of Frank Ape. “Community, creativity, and self-expression are core values in Sines’ art, which embodies positivity and equality, and aligns with Gap’s values of modern American optimism,” declared Gap.




Simplicity must not be one of those values, though. You can’t just buy what you want but have to follow the rules in place for completing a collection. Gap has to clarify some of those points on the FAQ page.
How do I complete a collection in Gap Threads?

A collection is considered complete when you collect a combination of 4 different Common NFTs and 2 different Rare NFTs from a series. Once you complete your collection, you fuse your Common & Rare NFTs to create a collector’s special NFT. Possessing a collector’s special NFT unlocks access to purchase an available limited-edition Epic NFT & IRL merch designed by artists.



The rare metallics already sold out their first day, so anyone who intends to catch one of the epic Frank Ape drops had better be poised on ready at the stroke of nine on January 19. Gap had great success with its limited-edition Yeezy offerings, and it, undoubtedly, expects to meet with similar success with its digital offerings.


The collections will likely prove to be a good short term investment, as these kinds of things do increase in value while NFTs retain the interest of an engaged fan base. Whether NFTs will retain their value over the long term is still a matter of debate. Some compare owning an NFT to naming a star -- a kind of vain ownership in two sense of the word.

"Wheel of Fortune" Loss is a Big Brand Win for Audi

Not everyone gets to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. But Audi did in giving a car to the "Wheel of Fortune" contestant who lost that prize due to a technicality. 

Here’s the clip of the fateful decision that launched thousands of tweets and the hashtag #GiveHerTheQ3:

The public booed that decision as unfair and used the hashtag #GiveHerTheQ3 on social media.. Of course this came to the attention of the manufacturer of the car in question, and then the company won over many hearts and minds by using the same hashtag and saying it would make it happen. 

That Audi tweet  generated 3,543 Retweets, 735 Quote Tweets, and  33.1K Likes. It also generated a string of positive reactions from both existing Audi customers and those who said they would now consider it for their next car purchase. Read more in Audi Turns a Loss into a Win.

Dr. Seuss adds a word to the dictionary

In October, Merriam-Webster announced that it had added 455 words. Many of them come from new terms associated with the pandemic and some from general popular culture. My favorite is this one:

"Oobleck : a mixture of corn starch and water that behaves like a liquid when at rest and like a solid when pressure is applied. Oobleck gets its name from the title of a story by Dr. Seuss, Bartholomew and the Oobleck, and is a favorite component in kids’ science experiments." 

This is almost like seeing the book Frindle come to life. No spoilers. If you haven't read it as a kid, you could still read it as an adult. 

This is not the first word coined by Dr. Seuss to make it into the English language. The word "nerd" first appeared in If I Ran the Zoo published in 1950.. He used it rather like Lewis Carroll used Jaberrwocky -- a made-up name for a made-up creature. 

And then, just to show them, I'll sail to Ka-troo
And bring back an It-kutch, a Preep and a Proo,
A Nerkle, a Nerd, and a Seersucker, too!

In 1951, the word had already taken off with th emeaning that we assign it today. Merriam-Webster recounts:

  Newsweek carried an article about the latest slang that includes the word nerd. "In Detroit," it notes, "someone who once would be called a drip or a square is now, regrettably, a nerd, or in less severe cases, a scurve."

 Unfortunately, the book that book is among the 6 that are no longer published pictured here:

. 

Related: The literary origins of robots 

Copy & Content Writer Inspiration: A Timely Reminder from the Past

Copy & Content Writer Inspiration: A Timely Reminder from the Past: Leo Burnett's reminder to his ad agency to strive for excellence by putting the client and the creative first may have been delivered in...

Most memorable brand slogans

What do brands aspire to when they set out to create a slogan? They want to be remembered. I was inspired to make my own list of memorable slogans to identify my own favorites get the dates down for each. The baker's dozen below are selected to represent some ranges. I don't mean to endorse any of the products or stores listed only to applaud excellent copy.

1. Apple – “Think Different” The slogan was introduced in 1997, way before most of the world adopted the ubiquitous smartphone. It was born as a decided twist on  IBM's "Think",  the brand identity established in 1915 when Thomas J Watson expressed his frustration at the lack of thought:

“The trouble with every one of us is that we don’t think enough. We don’t get paid for working with our feet — we get paid for working with our heads,” he intoned in a noteless lecture that continued for several minutes. “Knowledge is the result of thought, and thought is the keynote of success in this business or any business.”

Watson then wrote the command "Think" on a blackboard. The rest is history, literally IBM history that was the backdrop for Steve Jobs' differentiation of his computer brand.

2. The California Milk Processor Board — “Got Milk?” Goodby Silverstein & Partners originally came up with that slogan in 1993, and it was such a hit that it was licensed for use by milk processors and dairy farmers.



 

3. De Beers — “A Diamond Is Forever” A woman named (Mary) France Gerety came up with that
slogan back in 1947, and it has been used ever after and been further immortalized in a James Bond novel and film.  It was named ‘The Slogan of the Century’ by Advertising Age in 1999.

4. FTD — "Say it with flowers" This one dates all the way back to 1917 when people were generally familiar with the connotations of different blooms. See The Language of Flowers.


5. Greyhound — "Go Greyhound and Leave the Driving to Us" dates back to 1956



6. M&M's  — “Melts in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hands.” The slogan was trademarked in 1954, though that was the goal of developing this form of candy in the 1940s. The unlikely source for this information is the explanation of a work of art on the MoMA site.

7. Maxwell House — “Good to the Last Drop” slogan dates back to the 1920s. The company played up the attribution to one of the most memorable presidents,  Theodore Roosevelt.

8. Kellogg’s Rice Krispies — The words "Snap! Crackle! Pop!®" first appeared in a print ad in 1929. Four years later, the artist Vernon Grant created the whimsical elves named for those sounds associated with the cereal. They then began appearing on ads, posters, and, of course, cereal boxes.

9. L'Oreal — “Because I’m Worth It" dates back to 1971 to position the brand as a  premium one because it cost more than its main competition Clairol.

10. MasterCard — "There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's MasterCard" 1997 was the year that the credit card first branded itself as "priceless" by capturing the thrill of experiences one can enjoy, thanks to the card. It was a brilliant play on the truism that money can't buy happiness. The elephant example is of the heart-warming variety, though many take a sassier approach.

11. New York State — "I Love NY" " was created by graphic artist Milton Glaser  to boost tourism to New York State (not just NYC) in 1977. But it only became the the official state slogan in 2009, the year that the "I Love New York" song by Steve Karmen was also adopted as the official state song. In the age of emojis, we're used to symbols standing in for words, particularly the heart for love, but likely we owe that to Glaser's vision.

12. State Farm — “Like a Good Neighbor, State Farm Is There.” Barry Manilow composed this memorable jingle for the insurance company in 1971.

13.Virginia Slims —" You’ve Come A Long Way, Baby" The cigarette brand launched this campaign in 1968 and kept it up for decades (of equating feminism with the freedom to smoke a cigarette made specifically for women and gain equal opportunity for lung cancer). New iterations came out to match changing fashions and to reflect on "bad old days" for women. 


If you're interested in what makes people like and/or remember a slogan, see A study of the antecedents of slogan liking. According to its abstract, "the liking for a slogan may be unrelated to media expenditure, and driven largely by the clarity of the message, the exposition of the benefits, rhymes, and creativity."

Do you think this level of content is beyond your budget? Think again. Poor quality content not only fails to deliver the ROI you get from high quality content; it can actually harm your brand by demoting the the site ranking you've invested so much in building up.

What you really can't afford is poor quality content. Hire a seasoned pro to craft the right message for your organization and your demographics. Learn more here and book a free consultation call.

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Amazon uses snail mail for direct mail

I got mail from Amazon. I don’t mean a package for something I ordered or the usual email marketing marketing message but an honest-to-goodness paper letter that was folded into an envelope and sent to me via the post office. 

So here’s my response:

Dear Amazon Prime Video,

I have received your letter and do appreciate your taking the time to reach out to me, though I do wonder at your inability to match the personalized envelopes with a letter that would address the recipient by name. 

 The real reason I don’t use Prime Video is because there is nothing on there that I would want to see.Let me correct that. There are a few movies that have caught my eye, but they all require another paid subscription on top of Amazon Prime. In other words, they would not be included free with my membership.

As with any business, don’t assume people aren’t using your service simply because they don’t know about. Consider the possibility that your service doesn’t meet their needs or interests.

Thank you,

Ariella Brown

To read my analysis of what Amazon got right, see Dear Amazon Prime Video Team

Related: Ryan George shows best and worst marketing practices

Seeing stars