Story Telling in Marketing: A Case Study

Content marketing is storytelling through one or multiple channels. Like a great story, content marketing gives viewers a glimpse into your world. It educates, informs and entertains. It gives back. It resonates. It leaves the reader wanting more of the story you are telling, more about you.Recently I wrote a piece on Instagram and three ways to share a story across it, but that's just one platform. Social media has several and this case study of the "Game of Thrones" premiere designed by Billy Butchkavitz with lighting designer Images by Lighting illustrates how one story can be woven across them.

Content Marketing Begins with Original Content

The story begins with original content -- a blog on the Images by Lighting web site. Blogs are great for telling your story, and for driving traffic to your web site. There are a lot of other elements that come into play with blogs that have to do with Search Engine Optimization (SEO), but that's a different story! For this one, I'm concentrating on how to drive traffic to the blog and site through original content and how it's  disseminated on the social media channels.

Content Marketing and Facebook

Facebook is a channel you can't ignore. Even if it has pros and cons for the marketer these day, the old adage -- be where your customers (and competition) are -- applies here.And so, after publishing a story, article, how-to, or photo essay, Facebook is one of the channels that will drive traffic back to that content.In this case, because of its relevancy, and popularity, we made Game of Thrones the cover picture of the Images By Lighting Facebook page for the duration of Season 6.A word about the cover image on Facebook: Think of it in the sense of the word cover. It's like a magazine, so change it out, using a little strategy when you do. Choose something topical and timely. Then of course, run a few posts apropos to that cover image. We did that, as well as posts on the press the event received. Press is yet another channel. While we can't control whether or not we receive it, we can control where we place it once we do!Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention using Linkedin as you do Facebook and publishing blog links there.

I Heart Instagram

I love Instagram, especially so for creative brands and individuals as it's so visual. Even some writers have found a way to make it work (check out @michael_xavier).Here it is in action with Game of Thrones (below). Six images that when they are finally all up, cover the story in the thumbnail tile section of Images by Lighting's feed. Each post brings subsequent information as well as hints of more to come, which keeps the reader involved in the story. This is an effective way to build a substantial audience on Instagram.If there is no "story" such as an event profile, this can still be done. For caterers, the story can be a new seasonal menu. For floral designers, a look at a specific flower three different ways. And even for corporate event planners, it can be three ways to design a rousing General Session. This works best if there is a blog to frame the information around, but doesn't have to be so, especially in the case of Instagram which doesn't link as easily to content as other social media.

Content Marketing and Twitter

Yes! Twitter! Not to be discounted, Twitter is great for story telling through links. You can see the progression of tweets, retweets and new content around the Game of Thrones premiere on the Images by Lighting feed.

The Final Channel: E-mail

The final step is the "ask." There is still a lot to be said for e-mail marketing when done right. Sometimes hard to get through security measures, but you still can't beat the fact that your message is being hand-delivered into a potential client's e-mail box. And, like print when digital came in, e-mail marketing is blue water marketing -- taking your story out to sea where there is less competition. With the right subject line, timing and relevant information, email marketing is the perfect last chapter for your content marketing story.  Thanks for reading! Upcoming marketing topics include more on email marketing, blog writing and using web site downloads to build an email list while marketing your content.Photos: Gabor Ekecs