SEJ Summit 2015: Engaging Content Marketing for 'Boring' Industries by Mindy Weinstein

• Director of Training at Bruce Clay, Inc.
• Published author
• Former business professor
#SEJSummit #Searchmetrics

3Takeaways
Develop real-life stories Keep your eyes open for
inspiration
Focus on being practical
and personal

WhenyourSubjectMatteris
is dull as a doorknob...
Whatdoyoudo?

Develop Real-Life Stories
When rats invade your car,
what do you do?

“Why are stories so valuable? One reason is
that a story exerts a power beyond the
obvious. The whole is so much greater than
the sum of the parts—the facts, the events,
the context—that a story creates a deep
resonance.”
– Think Like a Freak

• Stories allow us to put ourselves in the character’s shoes
• As the reader, we start to project ourselves onto the character:
• “Yes! That is what I would have done”
• “That’s how I felt too”

• People become interested when they are in need and want to know how
you have helped others like them
• When you all of a sudden have a problem, you start to notice possible
solutions all around you
• A once boring topic is no longer that boring to you

• Develop stories that address:
• How people have used the product or service
• The types of successes your customers or clients have had
• Take testimonials a step further by painting the entire picture for the
reader

Why LED billboards are the right
choice for your organization.

From our families to yours.

Keep Your Eyes Open for Inspiration
• It is often difficult to sit down at your computer and try to determine
what to write.
• Prepare ahead of time by storing a file on your desk that is labeled
“Content Topics”
• Say goodbye to writer’s block

• Behave like a critical thinker
• Reexamine every article or book you read and story you hear—is there
some type of angle or insight you could provide your target audience?
• Reshape concepts and ideas into something new by asking yourself,
“How can I translate this information into something useful for my
audience?

• Harness your inner news reporter
• Always be looking for something new that would relate to your
audience
• Some of the questions you should ask:
• What are other companies saying?
• Is there an event or holiday that I can tie to this topic?
• What can I say that is different?

Personal Finance = Often boring
Budgets + Calories = Something interesting

Will it blend?

• Sources of inspiration:
• News publications
• Magazines
• Social networks
• Comments on your existing blog posts or articles
• Junk mail (yes, even junk mail can be inspirational)
• Anything can inspire you

• Even more sources of inspiration:
• Google Trends: http://www.google.com/trends/
• Google Alerts: https://www.google.com/alerts
• BuzzFeed: http://www.buzzfeed.com/
• Buzzsumo: http://buzzsumo.com/
• Addict-o-matic: http://addictomatic.com/

• Great tool, if you want to store articles and read them later: Pocket:
https://getpocket.com/

FOCUS ON BEING PRACTICAL & PERSONAL
And once the advice became practical
and personal, it became memorable.
– The Tipping Point

• You have to include points in your content that makes it personal, but
also practical to the reader
• You don’t have to provide an avalanche of new information—you might
only need a change in how you are presenting your message (boring
or not)

No bags or filters to buy. No extra
costs.

• What concerns does the reader have and how can you make it
simple to get help?
• Consider the types of questions your customers or clients ask and
the worries they face—those are potential topics

Embarrassing question?
No problem.

When you are in a car accident, you
will be looking for advice.

@mindydweinstein
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mindydweinstein
plus.google.com/+MindyWeinstein/

SEJ Summit 2015: Engaging Content Marketing for 'Boring' Industries by Mindy Weinstein

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SEJ Summit 2015: Engaging Content Marketing for 'Boring' Industries by Mindy Weinstein