By Guest Contributor Carlijn Postma
Author of Binge Marketing, Carlijn Postma, gives us an overview of her original binge marketing methodology which allows you to make your brand and marketing as binge-worthy as a Netflix series.
EPISODE 1: THE PILOT
Nowadays all brands are working with content. Some have a well thought of content marketing strategy, others are just creating content to be present on their (social) channels. But how well are we doing in this area? I’d say we are still trying to reinvent the wheel.
Content marketing isn’t that new. But you have to look at the right examples. And you know what? Those examples aren’t yet to be found in marketing. Or only sporadically. We have to look at another industry. An industry that is making lots of money with content ever since they started to exist. I am talking about the creators of films and series in Hollywood and at Netflix for example.
How come they know exactly how to attract and retain an audience for their films and series, which is actually content, and marketers have so much trouble finding and retaining an audience for theirs? So that’s when I thought: what do they know in Hollywood and at Netflix that they are keeping secret from marketers? And after a few years of research and practice with brands I work for, I can tell you now: that is a lot! And that’s why I wrote a book called Binge Marketing, the best scenario for building your brand.
SO WHAT IS BINGE MARKETING?
Binge marketing is a sustainable marketing strategy that allows you to build a long-term relationship with your audience, through the use of serial content, based on the common interests of your audience and your brand. This earns you the trust of your audience and allows you to lay the foundations for achieving your marketing goals.
You probably recognize the fact that it’s very hard to stop watching your favourite television series and you’ll find yourself watching episode after episode. Even when you promised yourself to go to bed early this time. The cliff hanger at the end of an episode, or just curiosity to the evolution of the story or the character tells our brain that the story is not finished yet. And according to social psychologist Arie W. Kruglanski, people need a finished story to find peace of mind again. So, if a story is not finished, we just can’t go to sleep. We have to find out the ending of the story. Creators of television series use this perfectly to their benefit.
ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS
Why do you, as a marketer, or writer or creator of content in any form, always finish your story? Why not use multiple episodes with cliff hangers, recaps, character arcs, story arcs and all that to build and retain your audiences?
It’s a very simple idea, but what if you would look at your brand or organization as if it were a television series. What would it be about? What would the content of your brand be about? That’s why Binge Marketing starts with writing down your plot summary. A summary which includes the main characters, themes, the arena concerning time, place and circumstances and of course your genre. And with that plot summary you can create your own series with seasons and episodes. Every piece of content is an episode of that same series. And I am not just talking about video. You can use this as the briefing for all pieces of content in all forms.
If you would like to start with Binge Marketing there are a three things you have to be aware of:
- First of all: it’s all about audience development. If you are going to use binge marketing, you have decided to use content, that means text, video and audio to get your message across. And therefore, you need readers, viewers and listeners. That is an audience. An audience differs from a target group because an audience decides itself to be your audience. It wants to consume your content. And a target group is defined by the sender of the message. And you know: “I am a target group to many, but an audience to only a few.”
- The second thing is: Always create content in series instead of separate pieces or recurring campaigns. Leave people the opportunity to consume the next episode, or the previous if that is possible. With one piece of content per story you won’t be able to build a loyal, returning audience.
- And last but not least: Create content based on the mutual interests of your audience and your brand. Once you’ve created your plot summary, you know what your series is about. But, is that also what your audience wants to hear? Is it relevant to them? Using the audience journey will give you insights on what content or episode is relevant to your audience in what stage of its journey. The audience journey is based on the hero’s journey that is being used in Hollywood to retain the audience’s attention during the whole movie.
IN THE NEXT EPISODE
‘What does the character arc of James Bond tell us about creating serial content?’ And more knowledge and tactics from the creators of films and series.
Do you want to binge all knowledge and tactics right away? Order Binge Marketing, the best scenario for building your brand.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo-by-Stefan-Kemper
CARLIJN POSTMA is a Dutch content marketing strategist. As founder of The Post, a leading content marketing agency in the Netherlands, she translated her unique binge marketing methodology into practice. Her efforts for the content marketing profession have not gone unnoticed. Carlijn Postma is a much sought-after speaker on international stages. In 2014, she was ranked 27th in the international list of most influential people in the field of content marketing. And in 2017, she was awarded with the title ‘Content Marketing Woman of the Year’ in the Netherlands.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlijnpostma/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/carlijnpostma?lang=es
Website: www.carlijnpostma.com
Suggested Reading
How do you build a brand in a time of information overload where the media are so fragmented that you can barely get the attention of your audience? And how do you ensure that everyone tells the same story on all those channels? Carlijn Postma takes you to the place where content is the product and where people know how to attract and retain an audience: Hollywood.
Binge Marketing is not another stuffy marketing book, but a refreshing look at modern marketing so you can be sure that people will want to listen to your story. Not just one episode, but as a loyal and committed reader, viewer or listener. Compare your brand with the scenario of a very good television series and consider every single statement and marketing activity you put out there as an episode of that series. As a true show-runner you can build on your own loyal and involved audience.
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