Intel-Microsoft Interactive Film, Teen Marketing, Newsweek Ends Print Run

The Content Strategist picks the day’s most relevant and interesting stories about the world of content from around the web. Here’s what you should be reading today:

Intel and Microsoft’s Branded Interactive Film

“Discovered,” a Kinect interactive movie, promotes Microsoft and Intel, and allows users to star in it.

According to AdAge, “Users download the game from Xbox Live, log in with Facebook or Instagram and the game allows them to punch, kick, jump and more as a co-star in an action film with Avengers star Chris Evans; dance & crowd surf with Redfoo of LMFAO; and walk up the red carpet with model Chanel Iman.”

The game aims to show whether or not “users have what it takes to be a ‘rising star.'”

Email Marketing for Teens

Teens are, of course, huge on the Internet, and ClickZ gives advice for marketers on how to tap into this demographic.

Blogger Christine Dore says that in terms of email marketing, the text needs to be short, and an image should be embedded. She says brands need to familiarize themselves with popular teen websites and blogs, and send out different messages for the varied ages of teens.

No More Print Edition for Newsweek

By the end of this year, Newsweek will become a digital only publication, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The weekly newsmagazine will turn into a website, Newsweek Global, and be supported through subscription fees.

Forming an Engaged Audience

According to NewsCred, it’s easy to get people to look at content, but it’s hard to make them stick around and engaged with it. In order to accomplish this, brands should be posting breaking news, putting out content speedily after an event occurs.

They need to “Decide upfront how you will measure success, whether it’s social sharing, inbound calls, or some other metric” and figure out the editorial strategy and voice. T

he content should be distributed on the platforms that its audience uses, whether that’s email, Pinterest, Facebook, or any other number of channels.

How to Succeed in Blogging: Fail at Something

CopyBlogger’s Demian Farnworth has a theory: Write about failing on your blog, and you just may succeed. This is because when bloggers are transparent, and people value the human connection.

This applies to businesses as well: Farnworth says that businesses should be truthful about their flaws, because people are always going to be attracted to honesty.

Lessons on Not Overloading the Customer

ClickZ’s Tessa Wegert says that overloading customers is not a wise idea for brands. For example, instead of posting the same message on Twitter and Facebook a few times per day, brands should send out “messages that deliver both brand value and interest: a timely or seasonal special offer, a behind-the-scenes look at your office or staff, a response to a consumer inquiry.”

Posting times should be scheduled for messages, whether it’s three days a week or only on the weekend.

“Show respect for their interest and engagement by ensuring that you don’t overstay your welcome,” she writes.

Using Data to Tell a Brand Story

Patricia Redsicker of Content Marketing Institute writes about the importance of using credible data when telling a brand story.

Brands can find the information through doing research on government websites or Q&A sites like Get the Data or Quora, and then visualize the story with an infographic.

The story should be shaped in a way where the brand is “saying something that hasn’t been said before. … More often than not, a successful data-driven story will require the collaboration of analytical-types (to gather, analyze, filter and visualize data) and creative types to unearth a compelling story that’s just waiting to be told.”