The Rasputins and tea leaves are chiming in with worthy content marketing trends to follow as 2015 kicks into gear. It’s good to get the upper hand on what the content marketing world believes is worth the investment. If you don’t have the support of your peers, it’s hard to make the impression needed to win clients and gain influence.
But you read the title and you’re wondering what a boozy Hollywood self-back pat has to do with content marketing? Plenty, I’m glad to tell you. Those awards are decided and gifted by the Hollywood Foreign Press and much like content marketing, those statuettes help guide new viewers to television and cinematic endeavors that may otherwise go unnoticed. People don’t flock to films such as The Imitation Game or Birdman without sharply directed content aimed at peers (cinephiles and entertainment journalists).
The public is indirectly affected by the peer-to-peer content, coming for the marquee names and dazzling culture and staying for the post-Golden Globe buzz that drives hype into Oscar season. It’s carefully curated content that shapes what happens next.
So as the glow of a new award season begins, here are the nominees of Golden Globe-influenced content marketing:
Breaking from Tradition
It took a few years before the Hollywood Foreign Press took notice of the upstarts of pay cable. A generation missed out on the power of Oz and the downer dating scene of Dream On. Those ideas were refined and rewarded in their second life, thanks to The Sopranos and Sex in the City. Now it’s not award season without careful attention paid to HBO and Showtime programming.
The Hollywood Foreign Press has taken notice of that early faux paus as the next generation of entertainment options –Netflix and Amazon Prime chief among them – have exploded with original programming that allows people to watch how they wish, when they want.
The best content offers the same flexibility without worrying about traditional delivery. Social media platforms such as Ello and Cyber Dust have yet to take off but each offers an alternative audience eagerly awaiting fresh content. It’s easy to forget the slow climb Netflix and Amazon Prime have had in establishing an audience and cementing a reputation; most will just remember those first bits of juicy content that made them tune in and take notice. Twitter and LinkedIn may be your hotspots akin to network television (an audience you can never ignore) but don’t be afraid to devote some time and energy to those non-traditional upstarts.
Rewarding Youth Culture
Music award shows have the youth movement cornered, because what speaks to us most in our teenage years are songs of heartbreak and raw emotion. But the Golden Globes happily bequeathed revered hardware onto some emerging youth trends as well.
Issues such as virginity and transsexuality produce awkward conversations and debate, but they are also being stoked by younger audiences. The Hollywood Foreign Press took notice and awarded actress Gina Rodriguez and the television show Transparent for their work in wide ranging but socially progressive work.
This isn’t about your politics or personal beliefs, but rather about understanding the power of youth culture. It goes beyond Hollywood blockbusters, dystopic teen fiction, and songs about angst. Content should always be looking forward, not backward, which is why articles about upcoming trends are crucial content because those emerging trends are usually being championed by youthful experimentation. It’s hard to take chances as you grow older and more set in how things were. Content that is aimed at and influenced by a younger audience can help you stay ahead of said trends.
Old is New
This column just spent 600 words telling you why breaking from tradition and embracing youth culture were advantageous content marketing moves. Clearly, pop culture is the playground of forward thought!
Which is to say, just because something is old doesn’t mean it is steeped in tradition or is antithetical of youth. Though most associate the likes of Bill Murray, Michael Keaton and Jeffrey Tambor with more nostalgic roles, each has continued to prove that reinvention reminds every one of their talents and contributions while moving past former flops.
It turns out old failures and forgotten moments can spark renewal. The same is true for ignored content that seems well past its shelf date. Look no further than Birdman, primed to reintroduce Michael Keaton to a generation of film goers and critics. Birdman is such a success on a trope…that Michael Keaton explored nearly a decade ago.
Content follows the same pattern. It’s likely you first gazed upon Facebook with trepidation and caution, seeing the failure of its predecessors such as Friendster and Classmates as reasons to ignore its potential. Maybe you believed with its cache and instant power, MySpace was going to remain king. So you kept your content contained to one social media channel and found much of it going unnoticed.
It may not have been due to the subject matter or untimeliness of the content, just the readiness and availability of the audience. Now’s the time to dust it off, revamp and give it back to a world able to accept multi-purposed content for myriad social media networks and publications aimed at spreading the goodwill of content-based marketing.
In case you feel I haven’t been following my own rhetoric as explained throughout this article, I beg to differ. Understanding the versatility and fickleness of content marketing is like trying to predict the outcome of the Golden Globes. There will always be surprises, the return of a forgotten face and the ascension of new talent. It’s the daily circle of content marketing as well. And though trend-watching is well worth the price of admission, it’s also wise to spruce up those seemingly bygone trends.