Content Marketing 101:
CREATIVE CONTENT MARKETING FOR CANADIAN
ARTISTS AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATIONS
WHITE PAPER
By: Aude Mathey
Account Executive, Partners and Affiliates, Le Cirque du Soleil
Arts & Culture Blogger
Table Of Contents
Talking the talk of the content marketer (Lexicon).. ....................... 4
Introduction.................................................................... 7
What is content marketing?.. .............................................. 10
A definition................................................................. 10
New take on an old recipe. . .............................................. 10
Storytelling: interesting shareable attention-grabbing content........ 11
Human to human: the future of marketing.............................. 13
Why a content strategy for the arts?..................................... 16
Giving a second life to produced content............................... 16
Content marketing as an individual: Ashley Longshore................ 16
Traffic and sales: Rijksmuseum Case Study............................ 18
The arts organization advantage......................................... 18
How to run a content marketing strategy?. . ............................. 24
Seven steps. . .............................................................. 24
Important points to keep in mind........................................ 28
Creating a content marketing strategy: MuseomixMTL case study. . . 30
Conclusion................................................................... 33
Bibliography................................................................. 36
Culture Days would like to extend its gratitude to Aude Mathey, Account Executive, Partners and
Affiliates at Le Cirque du Soleil and Arts & Culture Blogger for her generous collaboration and by
sharing her expertise with the Canadian arts and cultural sector. Culture Days would also like to thank
the Department of Canadian Heritage and The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation for their support.
©Culture Days 2015
TALKING THE
TALK OF THE
CONTENT
MARKETER
(LEXICON)
3
Talking the Talk of the Content Marketer (Lexicon)
Content marketing is marketing that involves the creation
and sharing of media and editorial content in order to
attract and retain customers. This information can be
presented in a variety of formats, including news, video,
white papers, e-books, infographics, case studies, howto-guides, question and answer articles, photos, etc.
Content marketing consists of:
Earned media (or free media):
■■ Refers to publicity gained through promotional efforts other than
advertising, as opposed to paid media, which refers to publicity gained
through advertising.
Brand language:
■■ The body of words, phrases, and terms that an organization uses to
describe its purpose or in reference to its products.
Inbound marketing:
■■ Promoting a company through
blogs, podcasts, video, eBooks,
e-newsletters, white papers, SEO,
social media marketing, and other
forms of content marketing which
serve to attract customers.
Permission marketing:
Information can be presented in a
variety of formats, including news,
video, white papers, e-books,
infographics, case studies, how-toguides, question and answer articles,
photos, etc.
■■ The opposite of interruption marketing; instead of interrupting
the customer with unrequested information, permission marketing aims
to sell goods and services only when the prospect gives consent in
advance to receive the marketing information
(ex: Opt-in emails).
4
Talking the Talk of the Content Marketer (Lexicon)
Custom content:
■■ Another word for content marketing. Usually, custom content is
directed towards an existing audience while content marketing aims
to attract new customers.
Leads:
■■ Describes the interest a customer or a prospect has
towards your brand or your organization. For example,
when someone sends you an email from your website to
find out more about your services, this is a warm lead.
Content curation:
Indicators that
influence engagement
rate include users’
comments, shares,
and likes.
■■ The way of organizing and classing your content
according to your strategy (your targets and the public you want to
engage).
Editorial content:
■■ It means that content is not promotional or commercial. Editorial
content has to first answer questions that your public asks.
Content monitoring/Business intelligence:
■■ It means keeping an eye on published or shared content that
interests you, as well as following the actions of similar organizations
or individuals.
Audience/Public:
■■ This is whom you wish to talk to. Your audience or your public
represent the people who come to your organization for exhibits,
shows, performances or trainings, or your clients and network (if you
are an artist for example).
5
Talking the Talk of the Content Marketer (Lexicon)
Engagement rate:
■■ A metric that measures the level of engagement that a piece of created
content is generating from an audience. It shows how many people
interact with the content. Indicators that influence engagement rate
include users’ comments, shares, and likes.
On Twitter:
■■ Engagement rate = Engagements (clicks, answers, retweets,
favorites and subscriptions) x 100 /Impressions (how many times your
tweet has been published)
Tools: Twitter Dashboard, Twitter Analytics
■■ On Facebook: (Likes + comments + shares) x 100/Followers
■■ Tools: Facebook page statistics
■■ On Instagram: (Likes + comments) x 100/Followers
Persona or personalities:
■■ A persona is a character that segments your audience. For example,
if most of your 4:30 pm Wednesday show audience is composed of
mothers and kids who usually like talking to artists, and eating sweets.
What kind of content strategy can you create for them?
Distribution channels:
■■ This represents the ways and means you will publish, share and
distribute your content depending on your strategy. For example: a
blog, a Facebook page, a webinar or recipe books are all examples of
distribution channels.
Evergreen content:
■■ Content that has been published once and can be republished later
because it is still pertinent or can serve as a reference for something
you are saying.
6
Introduction
Content marketing is now a trendy marketing term. We are seeing a rise
in specialized magazines and trainings (such as this one) on content
marketing to help professionals create and handle content. Newspapers
like Forbes, the Guardian or even the New York Times publish articles
on the subject. There is even a Content Marketing Institute!
Surprisingly for some, content marketing is not new. It could actually
be understood as: “the publication of material designed to promote
a brand, usually through a more oblique and
subtle approach than that of traditional push
EVEN WITH A SMALL
advertising. The essence of good content
BUDGET, ARTISTS AND
marketing is that it offers something the viewer
wants, such as information or entertainment.
ARTS ORGANIZATIONS ARE
Content marketing can take a lot of different
SITTING ON A GOLDMINE.
forms, including YouTube videos, blog posts
and articles. It shouldn’t really seem like
marketing — in some cases, in fact, it should only be identifiable as
marketing because the advertiser is identified as the content provider.” 1
We can trace the onset of content marketing with the birth of the
Michelin Guides in the 1920s, when the tire company published guides
to encourage its customers to travel, and therefore use their tires!
Success has made content marketing unavoidable in order to
reach audiences and create public engagement. Even with a small
budget, artists and arts organizations are sitting on a goldmine.
In fact, a museum, an artist, a troupe or a music festival
develops tons of content prior to an exhibit or a performance.
1. Content Marketing: definition. Whatis.com
7
Introduction
However, this content is rarely shared with
the public due to lack of time or budget.
Sometimes it’s because people don’t know
what to do with it, although there are 21
reasons why people crave this content (please
see below).
This white paper aims to help you share your
gold with your audience in order to create
conversations and engage with them.
Figure 1: 21 Types of Content People Are Craving.
contentmarketinginstitute.com
8
WHAT IS
CONTENT
MARKETING?
9
What is Content Marketing
Before practicing content marketing, it is important to dissect it.
A DEFINITION:
■■ Content marketing is the art of communicating with your public without selling anything
directly (branded content is part of the content marketing umbrella). It is called noninterruption marketing because it is not supposed to interrupt the path of your public. It is not
advertising or cold calls but relies more on content you have created, curated and shared with
them.
■■ Content marketing is not focused on selling
(or at least not as a short-term goal) but on
simply communicating with customers and
prospects. The idea is to inspire business and
loyalty from buyers by delivering “consistent,
ongoing valuable information”.2
THE IDEA IS TO INSPIRE
BUSINESS AND LOYALTY
FROM BUYERS BY DELIVERING
“CONSISTENT, ONGOING
VALUABLE INFORMATION
NEW TAKE ON AN OLD RECIPE
As mentioned earlier, Michelin created its famous Red and Green guides. But Jell-O also created
interesting content for its customers with the free distribution of recipe books in 1906. This tactic
apparently brought the company some $1 million!
In the 1930s, Procter and Gamble began its foray into radio soap operas with brands such as
Duzz and Oxydol (hence the “soap opera”). In the 1980s, Hasbro partnered with Marvel to create
G.I. Joe comic books and created quite a revolution in toy marketing.
IT IS CALLED NON-INTERRUPTION MARKETING BECAUSE IT IS NOT
SUPPOSED TO INTERRUPT THE PATH OF YOUR PUBLIC. IT IS NOT
ADVERTISING OR COLD CALLS BUT RELIES MORE ON CONTENT
YOU HAVE CREATED, CURATED AND SHARED WITH THEM.
2. What is Content Marketing, The Content Marketing Institute – contentmarketinginstitute.com/what-is-content-marketing/
10
What is Content Marketing
There are numerous content marketing examples and the most
successful ones are those that provided useful and (almost) selfless
information and content to its public (customers and prospects).
STORYTELLING: INTERESTING SHAREABLE
ATTENTION-GRABBING CONTENT
People will like your organization because
of the content you will provide but also
because of the story behind it. The story is
part of your DNA, so prepare yourself to do
lots of introspection.
THE STORY IS PART OF YOUR DNA,
SO PREPARE YOURSELF TO DO
LOTS OF INTROSPECTION.
Content marketing obeys six rules:
■■ Personal connection: You need to address your public personally, to
make him/her matter.
■■ Information: You have to share truly interesting information with your
audience.
■■ Entertainment: Enjoyable content is shared the most because it
entertains people and creates engagement.
■■ Relevancy: Information you share always has to be relevant to your
public. Before sharing anything and creating a content strategy, take
a look at your audience and understand what matters to them.
■■ Consistency: Be consistent in your tone and language but also in
your publication frequency. Start slow and anticipate in order to avoid
hasty publication.
■■ Honesty: Always be honest about you or your organization. If there is
something you don’t want to talk about then don’t talk about it. Stay
polite and concise.
11
What is Content Marketing
Some tips:
1. Everything you produce is not content: Content is something that
communicates something to an audience and influences a change in
mindset or behavior. Blogs: yes. Tweets: sure. Video or case studies:
yes, they are. iPhone app: no, it’s not, it is a platform. However, if you
populate that app with content to make it worthwhile for your audience,
this is content.
2. Good content has a purpose: Every piece of content you produce
should have a purpose and, ideally, a measurable goal attached to it.
The purpose will help you to keep your content efforts focused and help
you to deliver the right kind of content at the right time. And of course, it
will help you to adjust if necessary. The purpose of content is either to
enhance your editorial strategy or to help you fulfill your targets (we will
see how below).
3. Quality vs Quantity: You want CONSISTENCY: BE CONSISTENT IN YOUR
to be everywhere that matters to
TONE AND LANGUAGE BUT ALSO IN YOUR
your audience, where you can
PUBLICATION FREQUENCY. START SLOW
deliver credible, relevant content.
AND ANTICIPATE IN ORDER TO AVOID
Producing masses of content for
HASTY PUBLICATION.
the sake of volume will prove a
costly and time-consuming expenditure with limited return. What you
need is to stay focused on your goals. Start small at the beginning,
schedule your publications and stick to it.
12
What is Content Marketing
4. Execution matters: It’s not enough to plan what to produce; you
need to know how to make it happen as efficiently as possible. This
is why you need to plan your work and start small at the beginning
by using your existing
STAY FOCUSED ON YOUR
skills. For example, if you
GOALS. START SMALL AT THE
are more familiar with
BEGINNING, SCHEDULE YOUR
Facebook than Twitter,
PUBLICATIONS AND STICK TO IT. start with Facebook, then
progressively learn how to use Twitter. Once you have nailed content
publishing on Facebook and have developed your page’s engagement,
take a look at Twitter.
5. Distribution is key. Finally, think of the most appropriate channels for
distributing your content. Where does it matter for your public? Where
do you already have a presence? To answer these questions, we will
give you tips below.
HUMAN TO HUMAN: THE FUTURE OF MARKETING
It used to be that marketing was segmented into two categories;
business-to-business (B2B) or business-to-consumer (B2C). This was
done to separate specialties, audiences and segments in order to
specifically target the people who would ultimately consume a brand’s
message.
Today, with content marketing, the game has changed: customers
want other people to talk to them. When a brand creates a personal
connection, it creates engagement, a step closer to customer retention
and recommendation.
13
What is Content Marketing
Key facts:
■■ 78% of Chief Marketing Officers think custom content is the future of
marketing.3
■■ B2B companies that blog generate 67% more leads per month than
those who don’t blog.4
■■ Companies with less than 10 employees allocate 42% of their
marketing budget to content.5
■■ 58% of consumers trust editorial content.6
■■ 68% of consumers spend time reading content from a brand they
are interested in.7
3. Custom content and solutions - Hanley-Wood Business Media:
hanleywoodbusinessmedia.com/files/custom_solutions_brochure.pdf
4. Generate more leads with B2B Social Media - Social Media B2B:
socialmediab2b.com/2012/03/b2b-social-media-leads-infographic/
5. 2013 B2B Content Marketing Benchmark, Budget and Trends – The Content Marketing Institute
contentmarketinginstitute.com/2012/10/2013-b2b-content-marketing-research/
6. The Content Marketing Cost – Benefit Analysis (Proof You Need) – Heidi Cohen – Nielsen Study
heidicohen.com/infographic-how-to-make-the-case-for-content-marketing/
7. Infographic – The Content Marketing Association
www.the-cma.com/uploads/documents/cma-01.jpg
14
WHY A
CONTENT
STRATEGY
FOR THE
ARTS?
15
Why a Content Strategy for the Arts?
GIVING A SECOND LIFE TO PRODUCED CONTENT
Content marketing implies curating content. Arts organizations
already have people who accomplish this task: curators, producers,
choreographers, creators, etc. They curate lots of content that will never
be published and distributed.
Why not use their content to develop your audience’s engagement? It is
a great opportunity to give this content a second life.
Content marketing doesn’t mean you have to always talk about yourself;
it’s roughly 80% about others and 20% about yourself/your organization
or practice. You will definitely need to keep an eye on the market to see
what your public is asking for, what content they interact with, and how
you can benefit from the best practices of others in the same market.
CONTENT MARKETING AS AN INDIVIDUAL:
ASHLEY LONGSHORE
Sarah Ashley Longshore (popularly known as Ashley Longshore) is a
Louisiana-based painter, gallery owner and entrepreneur. Ashley’s
work sells for more than $30,000 to some of the wealthiest and elite
people in the world.
Ashley’s primary focus is building relationships. Some of Ashley’s
collectors have known her for years. They call her up and talk to
her like an old friend. They followed her to Instagram because she
was enthusiastic about it, and they’re enthusiastic about her.
Ashley is engaging, funny, crude and occasionally poignant.
16
Why a Content Strategy for the Arts?
She responds to people when they email, tag, or otherwise
communicate with her.
Ashley Longshore takes the content marketing rule of “honesty” very
seriously. Ashley’s art reflects a part of her personality that many people
would be repelled by – and that’s a big key to her success. People who
enjoy her big personality enjoy following her on Instagram. “I like to
laugh. I’m perverted,” she says.
Her Instagram account presents her work but also her research (see
below) and things she thinks her public could be interested in.
She also makes herself accessible and replies to every question her
followers (and sometimes clients) have on price, payment, creation, etc.
Figure 5. Example of Content: Ashley Longshore shares on Instagram
17
Why a Content Strategy for the Arts?
Finally, her greatest strength is that she doesn’t just rely on Instagram. She also
has a website with an impressive press kit. She aggressively pursues media
opportunities that in the end comfort her collectors.
She plays the long game. Ashley Longshore has been a working artist for 23 years.
She knows that if she continues to pursue relationships
and is true to her own personality, the sales will come. This
philosophy is working out well for her, but it was certainly a
struggle early on.
TRAFFIC AND SALES:
RIJKSMUSEUM CASE STUDY
While the Rijksmuseum was being renovated in 2013, it
digitalized a vast portion of its collections and made them
available online, for free. The online platform was called
Rijksstudio. To create buzz and engagement around its
collection, the museum launched the design contest
“Make Your Own Masterpiece” based on the reuse of
images from its collection. The prize: €1,500 and the
production and commercialization of the winning product
in the museum’s shop.
Figure 6. Tattoo by Droog, based on the
XVIIth century painting Still Life with Flowers
from Jan Davidsz. de Heem
Figure 7. Silk scarf by Alexander van Slobbe
based on Rijksmuseum collections
A year after the launch: +100,000 visitors on Rijksstudio
Visit duration on website: 9.16 min. on computer, 14 min.
on tablet, 4.21 min. on smartphone
THE ARTS ORGANIZATION ADVANTAGE
AN ARTS ORGANIZATION’S
BIGGEST ASSET IS THE
POSSIBILITY OF REUSING
ITS DESIRABLE CONTENT
While in pre-production, arts organizations always produce
content while doing research for an exhibit, a festival or show. However, most of this
content isn’t usually shared with the organization’s audience. An arts organization’s
biggest asset is the possibility of reusing its desirable content (see Figure 1).
18
Why a Content Strategy for the Arts?
Becoming a reference: the National Theatre (UK)
Case Study
On the National Theatre’s “Learning” page, the organization has
collected videos exploring theatre by subject. It’s a genuinely useful and
interesting resource that also contributes to the image of the National
Theatre as rich with history and with a respected position in theatre.
Figure 8. National Theatre – Learning Center
19
Why a Content Strategy for the Arts?
Bringing some fun to the conversation: Opéra de
Montréal, Royal Ontario Museum, and Musée de la
civilization de Québec
The Opéra de Montréal makes its artists talk and interact with their
public on Twitter to increase its engagement rate:
Figure 9. Opera de Montréal : a hashtag for its public and its artists
Figure 10. An artist takes a selfie (but forgets the hashtag!)
20
Why a Content Strategy for the Arts?
It is important also to be part of common initiatives and activations like
#museumselfie, #askacurator, #archiveselfie, or #museumweek in order
to increase your share on social networks.
For example, The Royal Ontario Museum does this on Facebook:
Figure 11. ROM love #museumselfie day!
21
Why a Content Strategy for the Arts?
The Musée de la civilisation in Québec City shares content in a specific
context and related to current events. For example, the Musée shared
interesting content on Antique Greece during the Christmas season.
Figure 13. Your family relationships seemed complicated during Xmas holidays? Nothing compares to those of Greek Gods!
22
HOW TO RUN
A CONTENT
MARKETING
STRATEGY?
23
How to Run Content Marketing Strategy?
Based on the previous examples, you now have
a better idea of successful content marketing
strategies and actions for organizations or
individuals. Now, to understand how to implement
such a strategy, we will dissect the methodology
below.
SEVEN STEPS
The most successful content is personalized for a specific
audience. Whether you are a museum, theatre, or learning centre,
people with different interests visit your organization. The key is
to identify core personalities or persona’s, and make sure you are
shaping your content strategy for those individuals.
THE KEY IS TO IDENTIFY
The most common question that follows is: “How
CORE PERSONALITIES OR
do I know what the key personalities are for my
organization?” It takes some research. This is where PERSONA’S, AND MAKE
SURE YOU ARE SHAPING
arts and cultural organizations have an advantage
because they have ticket sales data. Look at your
YOUR CONTENT STRATEGY
purchase history and see if there are any trends. Do
FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS.
more people come for musicals than tragedies? Are
there any trends in the age or demographics of your visitors? All of
these things shape the persona for which you will create content.
If you do not have a ticketing system (because what you offer is
free), take a look at your website and e-newsletter analytics. These
will help you see where your visitors are from, what they read on
your website or what they click on your newsletter.
If you do not have analytical data to rely on, then consider creating
a short survey for your audience (age, gender, interest in what you
do, how they heard about you, what they would like to hear from
you, etc.).
24
How to Run Content Marketing Strategy?
Follow these steps:
Plan: Build fundamentals of your plan
WHAT IS YOUR DNA?
WHAT ARE YOU
LOOKING FOR?
WHAT ARE YOUR SKILLS
AND BUDGET?
WHERE DO YOU DISTRIBUTE
AND SHARE CONTENT?
Regional, local, national
visual arts, theatre, dance…
Individual or organization...
Increase sales
Notoriety
Launching a new
program/event
Team/No team
Specific skills
Subsidies?
Website?
Blog?
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram?
Audience: understand your core audience
Figure 14. What you need to know to define your core audience
The survey template is accessible here: goo.gl/forms/QH7k1ZlU54
You can either duplicate it or tailor it to your own needs. Do not forget to
respect the Canadian anti-spam laws when sending out this survey!
25
How to Run Content Marketing Strategy?
Story: Tell your brand story
■■ This is your DNA, the story of your organization or of the person you
are.
Questions you should ask yourself:
■■ What is the origin of my organization/my work? Where did it all start?
■■ What do you stand for? What do you fight for?
■■ What interests your core audience? (See above)
■■ How do you hope to change and improve people’s lives?
■■ How have the stories you’ve heard told about other brands/
organizations/individuals influenced you?
■■ Are there particular areas of your brand story you’re struggling to
incorporate?
Channels: Determine your distribution channels
■■ Where are you currently?
■■ Where is your audience?
■■ What are your skills? (Do you like writing? Are you familiar with
Facebook? etc.)
■■ What content do you want to share?
■■ What are your targets? (Visibility, building an engaged community, etc.)
26
How to Run Content Marketing Strategy?
Some tips:
■■ Start small
■■ Don’t hesitate to run tests (see where your audience is more
engaged and more willing to interact with you)
■■ Start using channels you already use (website, blog, Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, e-newsletter, etc.)
■■ Distribution channels must always refer (link) to your main channel
(website or Facebook page for example)
BLOG
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
INSTAGRAM
+
+
+
+
Ideal to create your
own content
Perfect to share
visual content
Perfect for content monitoring
Talking to influencers directly
Great to create engagement
on visual
Perfect to set you up
as a reference for
your customers
Page statistics are
very useful
Still very used
No need to pay
advertising to get people see
your content
Perfect if you are an artist
or need to share photos or
images
You own the channel
Possible to program posts
-
-
Easy to interact with fans
Limited characters
Need to do some
web development on
your website
Perfect to create and gather a
community
Lots of info
Good platform if you want to
run an image-based contest
with followers
Could become
time-consuming
-
Not very intuitive
Advertising is cheap
Self-centered
Poor for community creation
Posts may not appear at
the top of your followers’
newsfeed if you don’t
purchase advertising space
Advertising is needed to
increase reach
■■ Process: Manage your teams and tools and create a detailed plan.
■■ Conversation: Create your content and listen. Look at what other similar organizations/
individuals say, make frequent searches to discover what people say about you on social
media, don’t hesitate to ask your audience what they are looking for
27
How to Run Content Marketing Strategy?
Measurement:
■■ See if you have reached your targets or are on the way to doing so
(more sales, more visitors, more notoriety, etc.)
■■ Look at your analytics again (for your website, social media or
e-newsletter) and see if you notice any improvement in terms of
visitors, or time of reading or in engagement
■■ Tools that can help you: Google Analytics, Xiti, Piwik (for websites),
Klout, Twitter Analytics and Hootsuite (for social media)
IMPORTANT POINTS TO KEEP IN MIND
Explore the work creatively: go further than the metrics (prices, data,
etc.). Work closely with your artists, your curators, producers, etc. so
you can have better insights on their
WORK CLOSELY WITH YOUR ARTISTS,
creative work. All of this can give you
YOUR CURATORS, PRODUCERS, ETC.
content ideas.
SO YOU CAN HAVE BETTER INSIGHTS
Produce evergreen content: If you
ON THEIR CREATIVE WORK.
don’t have a lot of time or if you don’t
have a big team working on your content marketing strategy, use
content you can reuse next year on different channels and give it several
lives online.
Consistent content: The content you create and
publish should serve your strategy. Do not use content
inappropriately or outside of your editorial strategy. Also,
keep in mind that sharing content from other sources is
greatly appreciated and develops engagement. As a general rule, keep a
ratio of 80% of external/curated content and 20% from your institution.
PRODUCE
EVERGREEN
CONTENT.
28
How to Run Content Marketing Strategy?
Grab attention: Only truly attention grabbing content gets shared. For
example, you could use a humorous tone (such as the Royal Ontario
Museum Twitter account) or connect your content
to everyone’s life (such as what the Musée de la
ONLY TRULY
civilisation de Québec did).
ATTENTION
GRABBING
CONTENT
GETS SHARED.
Back it up: Support great content with effective
use of digital tools - segment an email campaign
so that you only email content relevant to people
who are interested.
Finally, use the attached calendar
template to help you schedule your
targets, publishing and budget.
SUPPORT GREAT CONTENT
WITH EFFECTIVE USE OF
DIGITAL TOOLS
29
How to Run Content Marketing Strategy?
CREATING A CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY:
MUSEOMIXMTL CASE STUDY
MuseomixMTL is a 3-day co-creation event in a museum. 2014 was the
4th edition and the 2nd to involve museums in various countries (France,
UK and Canada). Some 80 participants, working in teams, create
prototypes to answer mediation, communication or business issues in
the museum world.
The audience is protean:
■■ Participants: They are professionals working either in mediation,
communication, design, graphics, or web development. They could
also be artists or project managers, and of course they have to like
museums and the arts.
■■ Public attending this event: The audience is wide-ranging, from
museum-lovers to geeks and techno-files.
MuseomixMTL is a non-profit organization run solely by volunteers.
In February 2014 when I joined the non-profit as the head of
communications, it had no budget… and no museum!
Our targets were clear:
■■ Finding a museum and sponsors to launch the event!
■■ Creating and gathering an engaged community to find volunteers
AND participants for the event.
■■ Developing MuseuomixMTL publicity to attract people to the event
and test prototypes.
Our strategy was also clear:
■■ Creating bonds with the different local communities (influencers,
museum lovers, geeks, journalists, etc.).
30
How to Run Content Marketing Strategy?
STEPS
Plan
ACTIONS
TARGETS:
✓✓To gather various local communities of
professionals
✓✓To reinvent the museum
✓✓To initiate thoughts on cultural mediation
on a global scale
DIFFERENTIATING FACTORS:
✓✓Makathon in a museum
✓✓Networking
✓✓Positive results for the institution
Audience
had a waiting list
FIGURES:
✓✓Engagement rate +82% (1200 fans in
PROFESSIONALS WHO WILL PARTICIPATE
50/50 gender
Age: 25-50
✓✓Professional event: show your skills
✓✓The opportunity to spend 3 days in a
museum to reinvent it
✓✓Website (brand new website) + blog
✓✓Facebook
✓✓Twitter
✓✓Newsletter
✓✓During the event: + Instagram
✓✓Team: recruiting volunteers for the event
(team of 15 people)
Conversations
✓✓Participants were duly hired and we even
Facebook:
✓✓Public who will visit MuseomixMTL
✓✓Others (reps/ambassadors)
Process
Hélène David, Quebec Minister of Culture
and Communications visited the event
✓✓3 volunteers on a part-time basis
✓✓No budget
communications, gaming, content,
fabrication/manufacturing
Channels
✓✓Record attendance at the museum. Ms.
TEAM AND BUDGET:
✓✓Professionals in mediation, IT,
Story
STEPS
ACTIONS
Measurements TARGETS WERE MET:
✓✓MuseomixMTL happened at MMFA on
Nov 7-8-9, 2015 with major sponsors
such as Google, Bell, Quebec Ministry of
Culture, Banff Centre, etc.
✓✓Role definition and planning
✓✓Facebook: sharing content on
hackathons, mackathons, new moments
(events), blog posts
November 2014. Account created in
March 2014)
✓✓Publication reach: 41,400 persons in
Nov. 2014 vs 4,400 in March 2014;
Twitter:
✓✓Increase of followers by 60%
✓✓Conversation rate: 9
Website:
✓✓1,800 visitors on Nov. 2014 vs 120
visitors on March 2014
✓✓Newsletter:
✓✓Open rate: 48% (Industry average: 17%)
✓✓Click rate: 7% (Industry average: 2%)
Press:
✓✓About 30 articles on MuseomixMTL (No
specific relationships with journalists.
Relations have been developed online)
TOOLS USED TO OBTAIN THESE STATS:
Piwik, Google Analytics (Website)
Mailchimp (e-newsletter)
Twitter Analytics, Twitter Dashboard,
Facebook Dashboard, Klout, Hootsuite
(social networks).
✓✓Twitter: contacting individuals directly,
sharing external content and blog posts,
influencers detection
✓✓Youtube: all the produced videos were
hosted there but no specific actions
✓✓Flickr: all photos were stocked there but
no specific action
✓✓Instagram: sharing the best and
funniest (most engaging?) photos of
MuseomixMTL
✓✓Blog: posts on our ambassadors and on
our events
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CONCLUSION
32
Conclusion
Developing a content marketing strategy implies a deep study of
your organization’s DNA. You have to be sure of your core values and
understand your audience before planning any content publishing. This
reflection will help you define your objectives and schedule your activities
before any production process begins.
DEVELOPING A CONTENT MARKETING STRATEGY
IMPLIES A DEEP STUDY OF YOUR ORGANIZATION’S DNA.
Finally, keep in mind these last (but not least) four key points:
■■ Content marketing means creating loyalty and engagement
■■ Always talk about AND to others before talking about yourself (80/20
share)
■■ Small is smart
■■ ALWAYS check copyrights!
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Figure 15. Content marketing – Main facts by Aude Mathey –
culture-communication.fr
34
BIBLIOGRAPHY
35
Bibliography
Ryan King, 5 Steps to Content Marketing Success for Arts and Cultural Nonprofits
http://npengage.com/nonprofit-fundraising/5-steps-content-marketing-arts-and-cultural-nonprofits/
Jason Brewer, 5 Ways to Create a Likeable Content Marketing Strategy
http://www.convinceandconvert.com/content-marketing/5-ways-to-create-a-likeable-content-marketing-strategy/
Jonathan Salem Baskins, We Curate Content, but Over at the Museum, They Really Curate
http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/marketers-curate-sell-museums-curate-enlighten/230787/
Heidi Cohen, 9 Content Curation Ideas for Bulking Up Your Editorial Calendar
http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2014/07/content-curation-bulk-up-editorial-calendar/
100 content marketing examples:
http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Ultimate_eBook_mayrev.pdf
Sean Kelley, Marketing Lessons from the Museum That Content Marketing Built
http://lonelybrand.com/blog/marketing-lessons-museum-content-marketing-built/
Brent Gleeson, Content Marketing Done Right: AMC Theatres’ THE HUNGER GAMES:
CATCHING FIRE Infographic
http://www.forbes.com/sites/brentgleeson/2013/10/31/content-marketing-done-right-amc-theatres-the-hungergames-catching-fire-infographic/
Alexandra Shepard, Bringing a content Marketing Strategy into the Arts
http://www.spektrix.com/blog/bringing-a-content-marketing-strategy-into-the-arts
Alexandra Shepard, What is the future of Theaters in the digital age?
http://www.spektrix.com/blog/what-is-the-future-of-theatre-in-the-digital-age
Gus Ferguson, Content Marketing for FMCG – Report: 37% More Product Purchased by Site Visitors
http://www.omnlondon.com/content-marketing-for-fmcg-report-37-more-product-purchased-by-site-visitors/
Neil G. Kotler, Philip Kotler, Wendy I. Kotler, Museum Marketing and Strategy: Designing Missions,
Building Audiences and Resources, John Wiley & Sons, 2008-07-10
Best content marketing Infographics – Content Marketing Institute
http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2012/02/best-content-marketing-infographics/
Aude Mathey, Rijksstudio: faîtes ce que vous voulez des grands maîtres flamands – Culture &
Communication
http://culture-communication.fr/fr/rijksstudio-faites-ce-que-vous-voulez-des-grands-maitres-flamands/
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Bibliography
Sales Force Blog – Content marketing facts
http://blogs.salesforce.com/company/2013/06/content-marketing-stats.html
Content Marketing Institute – What is Content marketing?
http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/what-is-content-marketing/
WhatIs.com – Content marketing
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/content-marketing
Robert Wyne – Content Marketing, the Real Story – Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwynne/2013/07/08/content-marketing-the-real-story/
Pam Didner – People, Devices and the Future of Content Marketing – The Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/media-network/media-network-blog/2014/oct/09/future-content-marketing-wearables
Chris Trimber – Why Online Video is the Future of Content Marketing – The Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/small-business-network/2014/jan/14/video-content-marketing-media-online
Ryan Kyle – Eight Key Insights from the Culture24 report on Digital Engagement –
townswebarchiving
http://www.townswebarchiving.com/2013/12/eight-key-takeaways-from-the-culture24-report-on-digitalengagement/
37
Aude Mathey
Account Executive, Partners and Affiliates
Le Cirque du Soleil Arts & Culture Blogger
New media and arts enthusiast,
Aude Mathey is first of all a
#museogeek, a connected museum
lover. She has founded Culture
and Communication in 2005 as a
way to gather Most Unexceptional
practices from Arts professionals
in communication, marketing and
mediation in one place. Culture and
Communication has followed the publication
of her first book: Le musée virtuel : quel avenir pour la culture numérique ?
Aude has an extensive experience in communication and marketing
for Arts and Entertainment companies and institutions. She has indeed
worked on communications strategies for Musée Soulages and Fête de
la Musique in France, handled key accounts’ media plans in a regional
newspaper, created content marketing and communications strategies of
MuseomixMTL in MMFA and developed Getty Images’ presence in Quebec
(Canada); where she has helped her clients on their content marketing
approaches. Aude is also on the Museum Africa committee based in
Chicago. Aude has now joined Cirque du Soleil as a marketing specialist
in charge of offers activations in North America, Oceania and Europe. You
can connect with Aude on Twitter or Linkedin.
38
Thank you to all of our partners
National Partners / Partenaires nationaux
National Broadcast Partner /
Partenaire national de radiodiffusion
National Creative Partner /
Partenaire national de créativité
Federal Government Support /
Soutien du gouvernement fédéral
Making the Arts
More Accessible®
Founding Partners / Partenaires fondateurs
Inspired by / Inspiré par
Provincial Partners / Partenaires provinciaux
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