Rock Content premieres today our own late night show! Rock Tonight is all about content marketing trends, fun facts about the industry and amazing content experiences around the web. Sit tight, click on the play button and enjoy the show!
In this episode:
Transcript
Let’s get ready to Rock!
Hello everyone and welcome to the first episode of Rock Tonight, Rock Content’s own late night talk show dedicated to the celebration of memorable content experiences from all around the world.
I’m your host, Nick Vaka, and tonight we’re going to have a look at a few inspirational pieces of content from around the web, read some fun facts, offer up a hot tip, and get a brief history lesson to learn the origins of our craft. It’s Rock Tonight, baby!
Take in the outdoors
I don’t know about you, but making the shift from in-office work to completely remote hasn’t made me any less busy nor life any less stressful – saving of course the lack of any commute.
With that said however, it’s often difficult to get away from it all and return to nature. At least that’s what the folks at Nature Valley thought when they commissioned SpokenLayer to create their “Take in the Outdoors” immersive audio experience.
Nature Valley wanted to give consumers the ability to transport themselves into an immersive nature experience, no matter where they were or the time of day. While featuring the Nature Valley branding, this experience is SO MUCH MORE than your typical ad for snack bars.
It is an interactive experience using the latest technology in binaural processing to capture the sounds of nature and make you feel as though you’ve stepped onto a wooded trail.
A voiceover guides you on your walk, and the sounds of woodpeckers in the distance actually got me to turn my head to look for these birds.
At 8-10 minutes per episode you can escape in the middle of the day guilt free. This is content marketing in its purest form, promoting the experience for the experience’s sake. The Nature Valley brand makes its presence known, but only as the facilitator of this valuable experience.
You can check out this microcast by heading over to TakeInTheOutdoors.com, which includes a complete 360° virtual tour of the trail with links to episodes and supporting video content, or by searching “Nature Valley Take in the Outdoors” wherever you get your podcasts.
Truly an incredible effort, well worth your time, ESPECIALLY if you need a little break from the grind.
Wise words
I know it’s tempting, but don’t just jump into content creation. Even looking at social media is pure tactics. Look at the context. Understand the audience, their pains, their journey. Look at what your competition is doing and discover the white spaces where you can easily succeed. Diagnose, strategize, and (finally), execute.
Legends of Content Marketing – The Jell-o story
Sure, the things we’re doing today are great and cutting edge, but where did it all start? After all, we didn’t just invent these concepts overnight. That’s why we at Rock Tonight want to take a moment to recognize the folks who came before us by talking about some “Legends of Content Marketing.”
Gelatin. The gelatinous confection dreamed up in the 15th century and previously only enjoyed by the elite, actually played a huge part in the history of content marketing.
Pearl Bixby Waite trademarked the gelatin dessert, Jell-o, which he and his wife, May, formulated and distributed in 1897.
However, they could never find a market for the product, as housewives of the time simply didn’t know what to do with it. As a result, Waite would end up selling the Jell-o patent to Orator Francis Woodward for $450 in 1899.
Despite once being the dessert of kings, Jell-o had a difficult time breaking into the market. That is until 1904, when Woodward’s Genesee Food Company published a cookbook, and sent an army of salesmen to distribute it door to door.
The content they handed out let their customers know what could be done with the product, and demand rose drastically. By 1906, the company would see sales rise to over $1,000,000.
The Jell-O cookbook. A historic piece of content marketing that raised awareness, empowered consumers, and created an empire. Just another one of our legends of content marketing.
Fun fact!
78% of people watch online videos each week, with 55% of them watching every single day. Here’s another fun fact: you are watching an online video, right now!
2022 Marketing Planning Bundle
Up next, we want to talk about a content experience that we brewed up to empower you, the marketers out there, as we hurtle into the new year.
The Rock Marketing Planning Bundle is a complete kit created by Rock Content that includes a marketing plan template, budget assessment, planner, and 2022 marketing calendars with holidays. Just visit us at resources.rockcontent.com to get your copy and be ready for what’s coming in 2022.
And with all of that, I’m afraid it’s time for us to end the show, but we’ll be back, with more incredible content to feature, more useful skills to employ, and more legends of content marketing to admire. Keep coming back for more content like this, but for now, that’s YOUR content ROCKED, for the week. We’ll catch y’all again right here, on Rock Tonight.
Extra content
Interactive Experience Highlight
Nature Valley is a brand of bars, snacks and granola owned by General Mills and they really take the “nature” in their name very seriously.
That Nature Valley experience is breathtaking! It’s really worth giving it a try right now!
Take In The Outdoors: Experience the energy of nature
Willing to check out more amazing interactive experiences in nature? Click on the links below and have a good trip!
PBS Amazon Rainforest Interactive Experience
National Geographic Gibson The Lion VR Video
Links to content strategy articles
Following the wise words Nick shared in this episode, here are some contents to dive in the content strategy topic:
- Interactive Content Guide: How to Bring Life to Your Content Marketing Strategy
- Must-Read Content Marketing Books to Boost Your Content Strategy
- Content Atomization: Why Is This Process So Valuable To Scale A Content Strategy?
- Distinctive Assets: How To Include These Unique Elements in Your Content Strategy?
- How to Optimize Your Content Strategy With a Competitive Analysis
More about the Jell-O story
Well, the Jell-O anecdote makes us think that content marketing is indeed an ancient craft! Read in more detail a Jell-O cookbook published in 1905?
In fact, content marketing is older than that. Early examples of this strategy can be found dating back to the 18th century! This infographic made by the Content Marketing Institute says it all!
The 2022 Marketing Planning Bundle
To make things easier for you, here’s the link to download the 2022 Marketing Planning Bundle!
Start planning your marketing efforts for the next year NOW to get ahead of the competition!
