What once existed as a webpage now finds expression as an update on Facebook, a bit.ly link, a tweet, an email link or a reblog on Tumblr. Welcome to the age of “traveling content.”
Traveling content, a consequence of the social evolution of the Internet and smart bookmarklets, is changing how search works. Google +1, Google's war on content farms, and Facebook's partnership with Bing all elevate content people actually like over content designed to gin search algorithms.
Brands have only begun to grapple with the repercussions. Two big ones need their attention.
First, a brand needs quality content. Otherwise who wants it? If nobody wants it, nobody's going to share it. If nobody shares it, it's impossible to meet audiences where they are on the Internet. Second, unless the content travels well, audiences won't make the trip.
So how do you make content that's a desirable traveling companion, and package it so it's ready to go? Let's look at five strategies.
1. Create Quality Content
There are two ways to do this. Create content that people can use, or create content that's going to entertain them.
Quality branded entertainment can be hard to create, but it can pay dividends with audiences. "Easy to Assemble," a quirky web series created by and starring Illeana Douglas as an employee at a Burbank IKEA, attracted more than 9 million viewers.
More recently, a seven-minute documentary released in January about The Sartorialist, Scott Schumann, drew 700,000 views (and counting) as part of Intel's Visual Life campaign. It managed those numbers without any media spend.
Other brands create content people c an use. Sephora's Beauty Advice section combines...
