Contently’s Social Content Summit, on April 4 at the Bowery Hotel, will bring together more than 200 of the top marketers from notable and innovative brands, agencies, and publishers to explore and understand the future of content marketing and social sharing.

The panels will feature a host of industry experts who have developed successful content campaigns and have grown their brands’ social media reach.

Contently co-founder Shane Snow will provide opening remarks. The event will run from 12:15-6 p.m., beginning with lunch and ending with cocktails at the Bowery Hotel, 335 Bowery, New York.

The day’s first panel, “Brand as Content Creator,” will focus on three brands that are publishing compelling content and offer an inside look at how they do what they do. Panelists include Lauren Passero, associate brand building manager at Degree Men; Jeannie Reeth, senior director of social for North America at eBay; and Scott Roen, vice president digital at American Express.

The second panel, “Publishers With a New Approach,” will examine what publishing means beyond just creating content. Three publishers who have developed different ways to create and promote content on behalf of brands will tell their stories. These include Lauren Drell, campaigns editor at Mashable; Mark Howard, senior vice president of digital advertising Strategy at Forbes; and Pete Spande, CRO at Business Insider.

The final panel, “Agencies Meet the Content Challenge,” will look at how the role of agencies in this new world of brand publishers. Three experts in this realm will explain how they’re adapting. These innovators are Keith O’Brien, director of social activations at Horizon Media; Chris Perry, president, digital communications at Weber Shandwick; and Jonathan Sackett, managing director of content for North America at Ogilvy.

In between the panels, the conference will turn its attention to content-marketing executions by those attending with opportunities to make connections. Those who would like to submit their content work for presentation, should send a URL to neil@contently.com.

To purchase advance tickets or for more details, click here.

The Content Strategist is a daily magazine for forward-thinking publishers and content marketers, sponsored and created by Contently

Pixar’s Storytelling Formula

Business2Community posted former Pixar story artist Emma Coats’ tweets revealing Pixar story basics. They include keeping in mind what’s interesting to the audience, not what is fun for the writer to do.

Characters need to get out of their comfort zones and learn to deal with the uncomfortable. The ending should be thought out before the middle, and characters need to have opinions.

Google+’s Importance

Brian Clark of CopyBlogger writes about how important it is to be on Google+. He says that it has more members than Twitter and ranks second to Facebook.

It helps in terms of authorship rank on Google and it is a place that welcomes content. He says, “It’s a topical network, organized around content, not who you went to high school with.”

Zappos’ Highly Effective Facebook Page

According to Mashable, because of the Zappos Facebook page, the site received much more business.

From November of 2012 to January of 2013, there were 85,000 visits to the site thanks to the page. Forty two percent of the status updates led to purchases, while the other 58 percent of updates led to “likes,” shares and comments. Most of these updates included a URL with a link to the retailer’s site.

Self-Published Books Now in iBookstore

According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple has introduced a new section of iBookstore called Breakout Books that features self-published authors.

There are 60 titles already in the section in the romance, mysteries, and fantasies genres, to name a few. Chief Executive of the Idea Logical Co., publishing consultants Mike Shatzkin said, “This could be Apple wanting to do a good enough job for self-published authors that they won’t go Amazon-only for their titles.”

A Guide to Guest Posting on Blogs

Content Marketing Institute’s Jami Oetting writes about the rules of guest posting on blogs. She says that guest posters should start with one to two posts per month and think about what they want to accomplish by contributing.

They have to consider the audience and determine what value the content will bring to them, and determine at least three business goals to achieve with that content.

The Content Strategist is a daily magazine for forward-thinking publishers and content marketers, sponsored and created by Contently

Good stories have the power to change the way a customer feels, thinks, and behaves.

The five steps in mastering storytelling include listening, being personal, inspiring action, continuing to listen, and thinking ahead.

Forbes’ Phil Johnson points out that if advertisements are thinly disguised as good stories, consumers won’t bite. They have to unveil something personal or unknown about a person or brand, tap into emotions, and take them on a transformational journey.

“When you make the choice to tell a story, you’re competing with the best minds and writers in the history of the world,” he says. “Make your effort count.”

The Content Strategist is a daily magazine for forward-thinking publishers and content marketers, sponsored and created by Contently

Ikea’s Holiday Catalog Includes Interactive Content

Ikea’s new interactive online catalog for the holidays includes videos clips with social media integration, and “a feature to change the furniture and accessories in a photograph by using a mouse to ‘pull down’ a virtual window shade,” writes The New York Times’ Stuart Elliott.

The catalog is promoted through an online banner ad campaign as well as e-mails to customers in the United States.

Fiat’s Branded Content Efforts

Social Media Manager of Fiat Esperansita Bejnarowicz talked about the brand’s live storytelling events at Ad:Tech in New York, Media Post reports.

Dubbed “Alternate Routes,” the event featured Moth storytellers and was filmed and put online. It also appeared on CBS radio over the period of two months. There were 76 million impressions of the campaign, along with 440,000 hits on the videos.

Bejnarowicz said, “try to make your content as good as — or better than — the content around it; that’s what we learned. Make sure your content organically fits with the brand. Real content, like stories, engages.”

Branded Content Worthwhile?

Adrian Flores of mUmBRELLA says that, basically, branded content is a bit of a waste of time, and that it’s not profitable.

While he praises Harley Davidson’s Ridebook as being on point, some branded content is not selling anything, he says.

“For every pitch perfect execution like that, you have an Intel asking Kiefer Sutherland to reprise a character from a defunct television show with the only link back to their product being the fact it’s in the same room as him,” he continues. “As 1950s adman Howard Gossage said: ‘Nobody reads ads. People read what interests them. Sometimes it’s an ad.’ And if your ad is not about selling, the question must be asked; why exactly did you make it?”

The Power of Brand Media 

Blogger Steve Earl writes that brands now have just as much power as the media, which might get them in trouble.

To avoid this, he suggests knowing what the audience can take, and valuing editorial skills. People creating the content need to know the laws, and there should be planning for stories and how they could work across different channels.

BBC Chief Steps Down Over Scandal

According to the BBC, Chief George Entwistle will receive £450,000, or one year’s salary, as part of his deal to step down this past weekend. He stepped down after a Newsright report accused Tory politician Lord McAlpine of child abuse (McAlpine denied the charges, and the accusation was taken back by the man who claimed to be the victim).

Tim Davie, who is director of BBC Audio & Music, will be taking over the role of chief in December.

Content Marketing and the Competition

CopyBlogger’s Beth Hayden discusses why it’s necessary for content marketers to scope out the competition. Marketers should look on social media sites, in search engine results, and see who is getting a lot of attention in the industry.

It’s important to study the products and services competitors offer, along with their strengths and weaknesses and SEO strategy, she says. Marketers should monitor the social and SEO campaigns so that they can learn to beat the competition.

The Local Marketing Push in 2013

According to ClickZ and Balihoo, 91 percent of national brands will be investing at least the same amount or more into local marketing efforts next year. Forty seven percent of those brands “said they plan to invest more in local marketing for 2013 than they did in 2012.”

Local mobile marketing is also going to play a factor in campaigns; 34 percent of survey takers said they would be using it in 2013.

The Content Strategist is a daily magazine for forward-thinking publishers and content marketers, sponsored and created by Contently

How Alton Brown Made Anti-Twitter Work on Twitter

This falls into the accidental marketing category. Whether you like him or hate him, Alton Brown is a man who knows himself and he knows he hates Twitter.

But when he was told he had to enter the social networking fray he did what any luddite would do — he drew on post-its.

400,000 followers and 1,000 messages a day later, he’s got the hang of it, and his followers are bidding on his post-its.

Good Relaunches as Social Network

Good is taking social action to the Internet and launching a new network, Good.is, for people interested in meeting others in their community.

Mashable reports the idea stems from the success of the magazine’s get-togethers. 

Publisher Ben Goldhirsh “sees the unique experience offered to each user based on specific interests as one of the key opportunities of the new platform, which Good couldn’t do when it was a more traditional magazine,” Mashable said.

Much of the experience in, Goldhirsh’s eyes, is based on content creation and he’s throwing the same amount of money into that content as he was on the magazine.

How Storytelling Can Help Your Brand

Nick Nanton and JW Dicks of the Celebrity Branding Agency explain why stories are such an important part of being human and why humans are always searching for an easy to grasp explanation — preferably in story form.

It’s a fascinating story that has something to do with a love hormone and your cave-dwelling ancestors.

As it turns out, stories are also good for your brand. 

Zing! Samsung’s Ad Pokes Fun at iPhone Frenzy

Samsung might be acting a little bit like that snotty girl in the hallway who’s just really jealous of your shoes.

In a classic move, Samsung just released an advertisement making fun of obsessive iPhone users.

Watch it on TechCrunch. Fanboys are not amused.

The Content Strategist is a daily magazine for forward-thinking publishers and content marketers, sponsored and created by Contently

A particularly effective way to get the word out about a brand is to tell a story.

“With more media channels for engagement, and greater consumer control over what they pay attention to, marketers have scrambled to make their content more captivating, and stories represent a natural evolution,” says Forbes‘ Phil Johnson.

Companies are competing to gain customers’ eyes and ears. Add social media and general online content to the mix, and it’s clear that spreading an advertising message these days is no easy task.

Attention means survival

Johnson writes, “In an environment where you don’t stand a chance to win anybody’s attention without some magic, a good story might save you and your brand from oblivion.”

A compelling story, says Johnson, will “reveal something personal and unknown about the person or brand,” evoke emotions, and “take people on a journey where there is a transformation between the beginning, middle, and the end.”

Take, for example, Invisible Children, the nonprofit that posted the “KONY 2012″ video that populated newsfeeds and was all the rage on Twitter at the beginning of the year. The story it told about Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony got people angry and engaged, thus motivating them to donate millions of dollars to the cause.

Tell your brand story, for starters

Aside from sales and profits, gaining customers through a good story can foster brand loyalty, according to Kenneth C. Wisnefski. Marketers, if they are short on ideas, can tell the story behind their own brand and how it came to be.

As always, telling a story with visuals, which include photos, videos, and Whiteboard presentations help engage viewers.

Johnson said that Rob Walker, a New York Times columnist, “made an insightful point about the marketing value of stories. He said that a good story is an end in itself. Whether or not it helps define a brand, sell a product, or make a point, a story must stand on its own. If it only exists to thinly disguise a marketing message, you’re not fooling anybody.”

Image courtesy of NCinDC/flickr

The Content Strategist is a daily magazine for forward-thinking publishers and content marketers, sponsored and created by Contently

Even large tech companies like Google are favoring the power of emotions over search terms in their advertising. The best practices of storytelling are already innate for content marketers.

How so? All forms of content require a story.

Jim Signorelli shares on Marketing Daily 5 Things Marketers Can Learn From Stories. Content marketers should be more than familiar with these tips already, but a reminder is always nice.

Here are Signorelli’s tips:

1. Stories clothe facts with meaning
How can something be both informational and inspirational? Content marketers knows that even data can be inspirational if it can be visualized.

2. We are more drawn to stories that leave the meaning to us
Traditional advertising forces people to attach values and emotions to certain products. One of Andrew Stanton’s principles of storytelling that has guided him as creator of “Toy Story” and “Wall-e”is his “unifying theory of 2+2.” Audiences do not want to be told the answer is 4, but would rather figure out the problem.

3. Audiences are drawn to meaning that arouses identification
Stories should allow audiences to see themselves and relate. While it might be difficult to do so for b2b content, discussing topics audiences can relate to will suffice.

4. Storytellers don’t use focus groups to decide what their meaning should be
Consumers are smart. They feel advertising lacks authenticity. Online content marketers have an advantage since they are tuned in to their audiences through social.

5. Great storytellers always give us something to look forward to
Audiences stayed tuned to a source of content because they like it: the tone is consistent, they know what to expect and don’t expect to be disappointed.

Content marketers also have an advantage since they know a continuous feed of content created consistently from the same content strategy becomes a staple.

Image courtesy of Brian A Jackson/shutterstock

The Content Strategist is a daily magazine for forward-thinking publishers and content marketers, sponsored and created by Contently

Content creation may seem like a daunting task, and the first step can be the most difficult. When creating content for the first time, think of content that is most universally appealing.

Scott Aughtmon of Content Marketing Institute created a list of 21 types of content audiences love to consume.

These types of content have emotional and intrinsic appeal versus functional and informative. While most businesses are hoping to share information that shows they are thought leaders, care must be taken to make sure that content appeals to audiences emotionally.

“This is the kind of content we must create if our goal is to influence, inspire, and move to action the unique group of people we have chosen to reach,” Aughtmon says.

This type of content that appeals emotionally is the kind we “never get tired of, always have time for, don’t forget, and want to share with others.”

He advises marketers to print out this list and put it somewhere that it can be viewed regularly to help develop the kind of content that is irresistible.

From now on, when beginning to create a new piece of content, the following two questions must be asked:

1. Does the content I am writing meet this criteria?
2. What can I do to make the content I’m creating fall under this category?

The Content Strategist is a daily magazine for forward-thinking publishers and content marketers, sponsored and created by Contently

Often, brand representatives find themselves unable to meet the demands of their content marketing campaigns. However, when marketers search smartly, they’ll find good content.

Many marketers are too quick to think that their stories have grown stale or dried up, but Business 2 Community‘s Joe Pulizzi says it’s just a matter of knowing where to look.

“No company has a shortage of raw material for content marketing,” he writes. “What’s usually missing is that the content is not in storytelling form or that a process has not been created to extract the information in a way that works with the content marketing plan.”

To find that kind of information, Pulizzi suggests looking at the strengths of a company’s leaders and employees.

For example, if the CEO is better at talking than writing, he or she should do a video conference. If coworkers claim they can’t write, the company’s marketers should assure them that their content will be edited and polished before publication. Interviewing is also a proven strategy that helps create content. Above all, he says that employees need to feel comfortable with the format they’re working with to produce the stories.

It’s crucial to show employees that great content can happen anywhere. As an example, Pulizzi points to a company that told its employees to look for that story generating information in their customer service emails. Now, that company uses that content in its blog posts and on its website.

When looking for these stories, it’s always advisable to think about how each one might connect with customers. An inspiring story from inside the company or a milestone/celebration for the brand can make for solid content.

Every brand has a plethora of information to share — locating the best of it and telling it in the right way is the key.

Image courtesy of Paul Lowry/flickr

The Content Strategist is a daily magazine for forward-thinking publishers and content marketers, sponsored and created by Contently

According to the social networking site’s data and Mashable’s Matt Handy, “Posts that include a photo album or a picture generate about 180% and 120% more engagement than the average post respectively.”

Each day, more than 250 million pictures are posted on Facebook. And a quick look at the new Timeline design makes it clear that photos are now the most prominent objects on the social site.

With the rise in popularity of infographics, Instagram, and the heavily visual social media site Pinterest, there is no doubt a hunger for visual content exists online. It was even found that “page views were 94% higher for pages with visual content than pages that contained only text.”

Handy suggests posting photos of customers using your brand’s products, just like Starbucks does on Twitter, for example. He also says that brands should “turn real-world interactions into shareable visual stories,” pointing out the fact that JetBlue held a nationwide campaign to get users to send in photos. Disney practices the same method year round by promoting photos of their fans at the theme park and giving them the option to create Facebook memory albums.

All of the data leads to the same conclusion: People value visuals. Thanks to HD, crystal clear graphics on the iPad, laptops, and cellphones, and the importance placed upon pleasing graphic designs on infographics, visuals are more popular online than ever. A picture is no longer worth a thousand words — perhaps it’s worth a million “Likes.”

Image courtesy of Flickr, Shermeee

The Content Strategist is a daily magazine for forward-thinking publishers and content marketers, sponsored and created by Contently