by Shane O'Neill, Vice President
Depending on your objectives, digital marketing now consumes between 40% to 60%+ of most retailers' marketing budgets. As digital continues to shift our marketing strategies, it also demands an increased level of personalization. If you do digital marketing, it’s fair to say you probably want or expect it to deliver results, and to do so means rethinking the roles of in-store team members. A key in-store role can and should be the Content Curator. Here’s why.
Social Media is becoming highly specialized. Even if you are working with an agency, there is only so much a third party can provide based on time and money. While they can be essential in driving strategy and managing advertising placement and buys, more and more retailers have someone internal to supplement those efforts, the Content Curator.
What is a Content Curator?
A Content Curator is an in-store person who leads the charge to collect and cultivate original content.
- Produce content in-house
- Engage with employees to create content
- Post or share content with your marketing partner
It’s All About Content.
Each social channel has its own unique purpose and should have original content. Programs that share the same content over different channels isn’t an effective way to approach social media.
What Channels Should You Use?
If you’d like to run effective social campaigns, start by assessing what you can do… and do well. Also, understand what the channel should be used for and develop content to match. While there are many choices, most retailers will find the best opportunities in:
Facebook - Brand positioning, general news, all age ranges
Instagram - Lifestyle, younger
YouTube - Great if you can create video content…custom?
Equipment. You don’t need to spend a lot of money to be able to produce great content. You can easily get set up for under $200.
- Newer Smartphone or Camera w/ Video
- Camera Rig with LED lighting
- Editing software such as Photoshop
Share and Store. As the Content Curator, you collect and create content that can be used socially, but also on your website or other opportunities.
- Save all your content on Dropbox or Google Drive
- Save by category and monthly folders Ex: 2-19
- Save images at the highest resolution. Images can be scaled down but not up.
Video. Video typically shows better user engagement as well as costs when doing social advertising.
- Facebook promoted posts
- Facebook Live
- Facebook “Video Creation Kit” - Create Video from Still Image and Text Assets. Built into Ads Manager and your Page Publishing tools
- YouTube Channel
Facebook GIF Advertising. Like video, GIFs tend to have much lower CPA. They stand out and don’t require the same investment as video.
How to make a GIF… the simplest way is to use giphy.com/create/gifmaker
Remember, if you want to compete online, everything should be as personalized as possible. It will set you apart from your competition and better position your store in your local market. A Content Curator is a core key to that success.
