Storytelling in Marketing

Have you seen Chipotle’s recent video called "The Scarecrow"?

It’s an eye-catching little video meant to highlight Chipotle’s commitment to using far more sustainably grown ingredients than most fast-food chains do, or for that matter, most sit-down restaurants. Their brand is only mentioned at the very end for a few seconds.

Amazingly so… it has received a lot of press and people have either ferociously embraced it or strongly objected this little video. To date it has been viewed more than 11 million times.

Why was this video so popular? 

First of all, Chipotle’s effort isn’t just to make a viral video: It's a brilliant content marketing play to get people involved in the Chipotle story on a massive scale.

Secondly, it pulls at our heartstrings - I will admit you can get a bit choked up with the video - and if you manage to do that in marketing, it’s an incredible feat. A secrete to storytelling is to create a character that your audience will root for. Chipotle did that brilliantly. (By the way, this isn’t the first time Chipotle has done this. They did "Back to the Start" in 2011, which was a similar movement.)

Thirdly, they are not trying to sell you anything! At least it doesn't blatantly feel like it. It is telling you a story. That's also key in content marketing. You want to make your audience feel that you have their best interest in mind, not that you want to pick their pockets.

One of the most important things in content marketing and storytelling is consistency, consistency, consistency. You need to take a 24/7 approach to telling stories to attract and retain your customers. This is exactly what Chipotle has done. They found their bigger story and began a movement around it. 

If you think about what stories you can tell, they should not be about you but rather something you stand for, which will make a difference in your customers’ lives.

Let us know what you think...

Should I bring a megaphone or magnet to the market?

There's a lot of talk about different types of marketing...from inbound to content to outbound and more..We'll try to break it down a bit and focus on what attracts consumers to you.


At Purple Arrow Marketing we break up our marketing tactics into two groups: Inbound Marketing and Outbound Marketing. Some marketers use only one or the other, but that doesn't make any sense. The idea that potential clients will "come out of nowhere if you write good content" is not true. You need to post or create a blog or something to get their attention!

Think of a megaphone and a magnet. You either go to market with a megaphone and shout about your product in the hopes people pay attention … or use a magnet and attract them to you (Point is you need to actually GO to the market in the first place!)

In other words, you “push” your product on to people or you “pull” them with something that draws them to you.

We actually believe in the power of both...but here is the difference:

“Inbound Marketing” is often used interchangeably with “Content marketing” and in all honesty, that’s fine as you cannot have effective inbound marketing tactics without good content to begin with! The beauty of this style of marketing is that contrary to your traditional “hammer style” marketing we mentioned, you communicate relevant information with potential customers without selling them anything. The idea is to inspire business and loyalty from buyers by delivering consistent, ongoing valuable information. I am sure we can all agree that we don’t like to be “sold to” and this is why inbound marketing generates a lot more loyalty and following. People grow relationships with you because they see you as the trusted source for that particular content. This can then lead to sales.


What does content marketing look like?

Like this! It can look like a daily blog, a podcast, a quarterly magazine, a weekly newsletter or even a TV show. You have to be the producer of the content and create an asset.

Content marketing happens when businesses start to think like publishers and deliver compelling content to a defined readership. You should position yourself as the go-to resource in your industry.

Where to start with a content strategy?

You need to answer the following questions when creating content:

1. Who is your buyer?
2. What’s your objective with sharing the information?
3. What’s the outcome for the buyer? What is your potential buyer / existing client getting out of it?

As always, the main question is WHY.


The next step is to know what you can be the leading expert in. Why are you unique? This is your niche and what your material should center around.

Joe Pullizi, founder of the Content Marketing Institute and author of the new book, Epic Content Marketing, states: "The number-one reason why content marketing programs fail is because they stop. The other is because businesses talk about themselves. IBM research states that 85% of corporate blogs have 5 or fewer posts. Content is a promise to your customers and you have to keep that promise.

Joe states that content marketing is a marathon, not a sprint. If you build a loyal audience, magic can happen in any business 

We couldn't agree more. What do you think? Let us know by emailing us at hello@purplearrowmarketing.com

Get your content seen online!

One of the top requests we get at PurpleArrow is our clients asking us for strong online presence. It never ceases to amaze us how many people assume that just because they write a blog or create a website, they will automatically receive millions of followers.

This takes time, dedication, good and relevant content...and patience. It won't happen overnight and if you ever read or receive an offer that says it can, then you are being taken for a ride. On average, it takes roughly 4 months for the average release to accumulate most of its views

There are thousands of article online with tips on how to "increase content visibility". It's rare to find one that is short and to the point. We did and we've summarized it here. Thank you Natalie Saumure  (Marketing Strategist at PROSAR Inbound Inc)

1) PLAN: Create an Editorial Calendar to organize your content/thoughts and publish timely and relevant information that people are looking for. By planning your content ahead of time, you ensure that it aligns with your goals and other marketing activities, such as events or campaigns. 

2) BE "IN THE KNOW": See what’s trending in your industry. Look at twitter trends, for example. Then write  an article that shares and comments on other people’s content. If you can’t think of anything to write about, don’t sweat it. Take a look at what some other’s people in your industry have been talking about and share some of their insights along with yours (don’t forget to give those sources credit!). 

3) SHARE, SHARE, SHARE! Share your content! If you use social media networks on a regular basis, you this to your advantage and post updates about the content you just published. You can even post other relevant items with a link to your content as well to further penetrate your market. Tip: Join relevant groups (i.e. on LinkedIn, Facebook, etc…) and post your content and share/comment on other content as well. Just don’t be spammy. 

4) OPEN UP THE CONVERSATION: At the end of your article, ask an open-ended question to engage/interact with your audience. The more comments your article gets, the longer it has the potential to stay under people’s radars. 

5) HAVE AN INTERESTING HEADLINE:  Write headlines that will get more clicks. First impressions matter! The title of your article is extremely important because it is the first thing that a reader sees. There is nothing worse than reading a dry/boring headline. Note: Your title should not be too long as most search engines only pull 65 characters. If your title has to be longer, optimize your page with a creative meta-description to briefly explain your article. Check out these Nine Elementsof On-Page Website Optimization for further assistance. 

6) PEOPLE LOVE PRETTY PICTURES: There is nothing worse than reading long content without any breaks for visuals.

7) LET THEM KNOW HOW TO FIND YOU: Include a 'Call To Action' (CTA). A CTA within your posts encourages readers to interact with your brand and nurture client relationships. Some tips for creating good CTAs are: 

• use numbers - tells visitors exactly what they’re going to get, how much of it, for how long, etc.
• use action words like "call now" / "click here"
• keep it brief but enticing
• use practical language
• don’t overload the reader with too much information in the call-to-action. 

Give just enough information that they are clear on the offer, but not too much that it gives everything away. Create curiosity so that they click. Check out 4Ways to Get More Clicks on Your Calls-To-Action for more information on designing great CTAs. 

8)  ADD RELEVANT KEYWORDS: Being specific about your keywords makes the search interest more qualified in viewing your content. Remember to properly incorporate these keywords into the content of your article. Click here to learn how. 

9) ASK FOR HELP! Call us with any questions...we are always happy to help - 646.435.4707 or info@purplearrowmarketing.com 

People love pretty images. There is nothing worse than reading long content without any breaks for visuals. Include a CTA. A CTA within your posts encourages readers to interact with your brand and nurture client relationships. Some tips for creating good CTAs are: use numbers, use action words, keep it brief but enticing, use practical language. Don’t overload the reader with too much information in the call-to-action. Give just enough information that they are clear on the offer, but not too much that it gives everything away. Create curiousity so that they click. Check out 4 Ways to Get More Clicks on Your Calls-To-Action for more information on designing great CTAs.
Read more at http://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/8-tips-increase-content-visibility-online-0615720#obuBXD5tm3HfosaL.99

People love pretty images. There is nothing worse than reading long content without any breaks for visuals. Include a CTA. A CTA within your posts encourages readers to interact with your brand and nurture client relationships. Some tips for creating good CTAs are: use numbers, use action words, keep it brief but enticing, use practical language. Don’t overload the reader with too much information in the call-to-action. Give just enough information that they are clear on the offer, but not too much that it gives everything away. Create curiousity so that they click. Check out 4 Ways to Get More Clicks on Your Calls-To-Action for more information on designing great CTAs.
Read more at http://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/8-tips-increase-content-visibility-online-0615720#obuBXD5tm3HfosaL.99

Share, share, share your content! If you use social media networks on a regular basis, you this to your advantage and post updates about the content you just published. You can even post other relevant items with a link to your content as well to further penetrate your market. Tip: Join relevant groups (i.e. on LinkedIn, Facebook, etc…) and post your content and share/comment on other content as well. Just don’t be spammy.
Read more at http://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/8-tips-increase-content-visibility-online-0615720#obuBXD5tm3HfosaL.99

Share, share, share your content! If you use social media networks on a regular basis, you this to your advantage and post updates about the content you just published. You can even post other relevant items with a link to your content as well to further penetrate your market. Tip: Join relevant groups (i.e. on LinkedIn, Facebook, etc…) and post your content and share/comment on other content as well. Just don’t be spammy.

Share, share, share your content! If you use social media networks on a regular basis, you this to your advantage and post updates about the content you just published. You can even post other relevant items with a link to your content as well to further penetrate your market. Tip: Join relevant groups (i.e. on LinkedIn, Facebook, etc…) and post your content and share/comment on other content as well. Just don’t be spammy.
Read more at http://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/8-tips-increase-content-visibility-online-0615720#obuBXD5tm3HfosaL.99

Most companies now understand the importance of maintaining a strong online presence, the constant need to provide worthwhile and fresh content, and the benefits of nurturing client relationships online. So inbound marketing, SEO, and content marketing are all in great demand as we strive for greater sales conversions online. But it is no surprise that there is a tone of competition for your audience’s attention (just because you publish something, doesn’t mean they’ll see it!). 8 Tips To Increase Content Visibility Online image strat So, how do you publish your creative content and promote it so your target audience will see it and more importantly, convert? Below are tips on how to make your content more easily found online. But remember, this won’t happen overnight. On average, it takes roughly 4 months for the average release to accumulate most of its views. Check out 5 Rules to Make Your Content Great for additional advice. Want more? Here’s Proof that Blogging and New Content Boost Traffic and Leads. Create an Editorial Calendar to organize your content/thoughts and publish timely and relevant information that people are looking for. By planning your content ahead of time, you ensure that it aligns with your goals and other marketing activities, such as events or campaigns. See what’s trending in your industry by writing an article that shares and comments on other people’s content. If you can’t think of anything to write about, don’t sweat it. Take a look at what some other’s people in your industry have been talking about and share some of their insights along with yours (don’t forget to give those sources credit!). 8 Tips To Increase Content Visibility Online image social sharingShare, share, share your content! If you use social media networks on a regular basis, you this to your advantage and post updates about the content you just published. You can even post other relevant items with a link to your content as well to further penetrate your market. Tip: Join relevant groups (i.e. on LinkedIn, Facebook, etc…) and post your content and share/comment on other content as well. Just don’t be spammy. Open up conversations. At the end of your article, ask an open-ended question to engage/interact with your audience. The more comments your article gets, the longer it has the potential to stay under people’s radars. Write headlines that will get more clicks. First impressions matter! The title of your article is extremely important because it is the first thing that a reader sees. There is nothing worse than reading a dry/boring headline. Note: Your title should not be too long as most search engines only pull 65 characters. If your title has to be longer, optimize your page with a creative meta-description to briefly explain your article. Check out these Nine Elements of On-Page Website Optimization for further assistance. People love pretty images. There is nothing worse than reading long content without any breaks for visuals. Include a CTA. A CTA within your posts encourages readers to interact with your brand and nurture client relationships. Some tips for creating good CTAs are: use numbers, use action words, keep it brief but enticing, use practical language. Don’t overload the reader with too much information in the call-to-action. Give just enough information that they are clear on the offer, but not too much that it gives everything away. Create curiousity so that they click. Check out 4 Ways to Get More Clicks on Your Calls-To-Action for more information on designing great CTAs. Add relevant keywords. Being specific about your keywords makes the search interest more qualified in viewing your content. Remember to properly incorporate these keywords into the content of your article.
Read more at http://www.business2community.com/content-marketing/8-tips-increase-content-visibility-online-0615720#IsT7S6VwOTUyYq3V.99

"What the heck is SEO ?"

This week marks the 50th anniversary of National Small Business Week. Although things have certainly changed since President Kennedy signed the first Presidential Proclamation in 1963, one thing that hasn't changed is America's entrepreneurial spirit and the important role that small business owners play in our economy and our communities.

The way we market our companies has also changed dramatically. If we take a look at the very rudimentary definition of marketing: "the action of promoting and selling products or services", we can see how much this has changed over the years. The introduction of the web alone has changed the game completely. 

Many very successful business owners have turned to us and almost whispered, "what the heck is SEO?" We try to break it down very simply by saying: "SEO stands for "Search Engine Optimisation" which simply means working behind the scenes so that when people look for you on the web in places like Google, they find you in the first page."

The problem is, it's a constant battle to stay on the top page. Search engine optimization (like the web) is live and therefore always changing. "Even if you don’t think search results are the main business driver for your company, good SEO is important for building credibility and authority" ( Forbes article, April 2013) If you’re at the top of the search results, you’re also assumed to be an industry leader. In addition to freely generating direct sales, you earn media attention, attract business development deals, and very effectively build positive brand awareness.

Here are some tips that will help you think strategically about growing your Web presence:

1. First and foremost: SEO is hard work. There is no way around it. Don't fall for easy "tricks" to improve SEO

Phil Laboon ofEyeflow says: "Many people are saying that Google’s new Panda and Penguin updates are making SEO more complicated, but in reality, they are just eliminating all the “tricks” and making SEO easier. At its core, SEO is the same as it’s ever been — high-quality natural links and high-quality original content.  It's important to take the time (or hire a team) to create good content (what we call "thought leadership": how-to guides, blogs, educational videos) and push it out through as many channels as possible. If you do this, the links will come, and so will the organic rankings and traffic. If you want to see all the factors that search engines use to “grade” your site, there are many tools that can give you a snapshot of your SEO vitals. A good site where you can see these factors without logging in or downloading software is called SEOzio .

2. Have a plan and focus on conversions

Stephen Woessnerof Predictive ROI comments that what most business leaders don’t realize is that you can not only measure SEO’s return on investment, but you can — and should — predict it before you implement any optimization strategies. In the end, rankings don’t matter. Traffic doesn’t matter. Only conversions matter, because they can be measured in dollars and cents. 

3. Study your competition

Competitive intelligence has great value for business leaders in many areas. It can help counter competitive threats, seize otherwise unseen opportunities, benchmark leaders in your competitive landscape, and identify your strengths and weaknesses and those of your competitors. Competitive intelligence in SEO is no exception, and you need to learn all you can about the Internet marketing strategy of your competitors for all these same reasons.

Michael Marshallof Search Engine Academy talks about how in SEO, you not only need to know what competitors are doing, but also know how the industry is changing. Since the world of Internet marketing is constantly growing, it is of vital importance to stay ahead of the competition by keeping up on the industry’s latest strategies and best practices. 

4. Finally, don't rely on SEO as your only source of organic traffic on the Web!

You need to have a good mix of tactics that include blogs, emails and social networks. As Rand Fishkin of SEOMoz says: "SEO is a powerful tactic, but one that needs to fit into a broader set of inbound marketing channels. The combination of these channels into an inbound strategy can be very powerful, as visitors from these sources tend to be high-loyalty and have a lower cost-to-acquire."

Don't hesitate to contact us for further information as we'd be happy to go over your current SEO tactics! www.purplearrowmarketing.com