A Content Marketing/Big Data Summit was held on Nov 28-29 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Toronto. This area of publishing as we all know, we need to pay attention to. Here are the key takeaways on the content marketing/ social media strategies being used to market to Generation Z (Millennials) from 3 industry experts. The panelists for this discussion were Rashel Hariri, Digital Social Media Manager, McDonlad’s, Agnes Koc, Marketing Manager, SPC – Student Price Card and Justin Bastedo, Brand Strategy Manager, Canada Buzzfeed

 

 

Here are tips that the panel members provided the audience.

 

1. Create content for the reader that they is passionate about and is sharable.

2. The reader has a short attention and the need to be  personable is a must.

3. Contests are used as an incentive to engage with the brand like Digital Colouring books and 15 minutes of fame promos.

4. Listen to the reader and be authentic and transparent with them for best results.

5. Learn how the reader behaves and be part of their daily lives.

6. Don’t underestimate the power of user content, but controversy gets more attention so you need to pay attention

7. If you are big company it is time to think small, as the personable approach is best.

8. The big 4 social media channels are Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. but don’t underestimate the value of email as part of your digital toolbox

9. Each social media channel is different and you need to create unique content for each channel.

10. Brand ambassadors/influencers are the new celebrity spokespeople online, but friends and family are still the best as they are authentic.

11. Metrics must be used to evaluate the engagement of the content.

 

The tips are rooted in the marketing fundamentals of generating an emotional response of readers, designing for the medium, word of mouth is still a good thing and measuring ROI. The only difference is the use of brand influencers being used to pitch products where church and state lines are crossed. According to Andrew Jenkins from Volterra, a social media expert attending the conference, a marketing campaign on Snapchat can be expensive ($50,000) and brands need to share ongoing stories and content on social media and not treat it like a campaign where you are in and out of the person’s mind in an instant.