When it comes to social sharing of Internet content, all the action is about cats, fail videos and anything humorous or titillating, right?
Not so. According to a report in The Atlantic, content curator Upworthy publishes far less content than competitor Buzzfeed, yet gets as much as 12x more content shares, per content asset.
What’s the editorial difference between the two? Buzzfeed is generically about news and entertainment; Upworthy draws attention to things that matter or that are meaningful, mentioning women’s issues, health, climate change and Net Neutrality as just a few examples.
What Upworthy has tapped into is that content that matters is as share-worthy, if not more so, than content that is simply humorous or titillating. Additionally, a study by Contently has shown that knowledge-based verbs such as know, understand, believe, prove and think were prevalent in headlines of highly shared content.
A key takeaway is that content that informs, enlightens, inspires or teaches is content that matters enough to people that they want to share it with friends, family and coworkers.
This observable behavior about most shared content dovetails nicely with research published in Cone Communications /Echo Global Studies and the Edelman Good Purpose Study. Findings in these reports indicate that consumers not only reward brands for their values, cause or Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) related activities, but that consumers invite brands to tell them about these activities.
At FusionSpark Media, we recognize that these are significant trends, and we’re turning the editorial focus of our blog, and a book of the same title, to “Content that Matters: How the Path to Engagement is Paved with Purpose.”
In “Content that Matters” we combine the above insights to demonstrate that the path to engaging content happens when you connect the dots between:
- The share-worthiness of meaningful content,
- The share-worthiness of content that offers “utility purpose,”
- Increased consumer expectations that brands must address social issues,
- And consumer acceptance of brands talking about the good work they do.
In this framework, brand “purpose” is the line that connects the dots, and the linking of purpose with content marketing is what we call “Purpose-focused Content Marketing.”
To explain Purpose-focused Content Marketing:
- We’ll tell the story of Purpose-focused Content Marketing through emotionally inspiring and engaging stories about real world scenarios by leading brands,
- We’ll delve deeply into “why” and “how” successful brands, large and small, are tapping into purpose as their communications “North Star,”
- We’ll demonstrate how content that matters deepens engagement, builds brand loyalty, drives actions and delivers measurable results.
Topics to be covered, backed by research, subject matter expert interviews and case studies, include:
- The technological, socio-economic, political, cultural and demographic influences driving the need for Purpose-focused Content Marketing
- The competitive imperative for focusing upon purpose
- How having a purpose focus applies to small and large B2B and B2C businesses, as well as Non-profit and Government communications
- Why having a Purpose-focused content strategy is an essential ingredient of brand authenticity
- Why Marketing Technology, from data research, to mobile and web apps, to Websites to CRM and marketing automation solutions, are elevating the importance of focusing upon purpose
- What the difference is between “utility” purpose and “greater good” purpose content
- Why having a Purpose-focused content approach is as relevant to small businesses as it is to big businesses
- How to develop mutually beneficial Brand and Non-profit, or Brand and Government, partnerships based upon purpose-focused content
- How to discover great story opportunities at the intersection of Cause Marketing, Corporate Social Responsibility and Content Marketing best practices
- How to “sell” Purpose-focused content to stakeholders, internal and external
- How to build a Purpose-focused Content Marketing strategy
- What it takes to implement Purpose-focused Content Marketing initiatives
- How to measure the results of Purpose-focused Content Marketing initiatives
- And More …
Case studies used to convey the above will include the following topics or projects:
- The rise of B Corps and the influence of “philanthropreneurs”
- Unilever’s “Project Sunlight” sustainable living content
- Chipotle’s “Back to the Start” sustainable farming content
- Coca Cola, YouTube and Instagram’s awareness raising content for HIV
- Kleenex’s “Achoo” web app for tracking the flu
- Patagonia’s “What the Pluck” and “Damnation” content activities
- Kenneth Cole’s partnership with TakePart.com’s Take Action Platform
- P&G’s “Like a Girl” content campaign
- Dove’s “Selfie” content campaign
- And more …
Are you interested in Content that Matters and Purpose-focused Content Marketing? We’d like to here from you!
Please Contact Us us to offer suggestions about this topic, share with us possible case studies or suggest new blog topics that fit this editorial direction!
Additional Reading:
How to Improve Lives and the Bottom Line through Purpose-driven Content Marketing [Infographic]
Does Purpose Play a Role in Your Content Strategy? If Not, Here’s Why It Should.
The Path to Engagement is Paved with Purpose [Recorded Webinar]