What are you most excited about in the digital marketing space at the moment?
The definition of compelling content is evolving, as is the DNA of the content creator. As a brand, there's a lot we can learn from creators who've built audiences across Instagram, YouTube, Vine and others, and are offering programming experiences made for each platform. We focus on working with these creators across platforms, to help us tell our story in new ways.
What's your favourite example of innovative digital marketing?
What's your favourite example of innovative digital marketing?
We're really enjoying CAT's 'Built For It' series. It covers all bases by presenting the products and driving to lead gen opportunities, while also showing off the humanity of the brand. Playing giant board games with monster machine excavators is a moment of pure geek heaven. It's always special when a brand connects the dots between their story and what will ignite the imagination of audiences who might be curious about their work.
We think a lot about what the science and tech community is truly interested in, and how we can support those experiences. We also think about the connection of online and offline, and how programming that starts on Twitter or Tumblr, can end with a physical item in someone's hand. When we celebrated 3D Printing Day on December 3rd (D3 for 3D), we wanted to make the potential of 3D printing as tangible as possible. At GE, it has huge implications for how we design and manufacture everything from our jet engines to our ultrasound machines, allowing for new efficiencies at the industrial level. For consumers at large, it means faster innovation and accessible production. For one day, we invited fans to tweet us for limited edition 3D printed gifts, and used that engagement to ignite a larger conversation about the technology.
Where do you go for great content?
Twitter and Facebook are go-to places for daily content. There are some great newsletters out there as well, particularly The Daily Beast Cheat Sheet, Alexis Madrigal's 5 Intriguing Things, The Guardian Today and Mashable's daily newsletter. Medium is also a great source for compelling pieces.
What's next for digital content?
We're continuing to see the evolution of digital experiences, and the channels through which they're delivered. Digital programming is everything from a great YouTube video to an experience on Oculus Rift.
Whether it's augmented reality, connected TV, or other, there's a redefinition of what digital content really means. The things we thought about form and format are changing, the theory that long form doesn't work on digital is being proven wrong time and time again. Mobile is becoming much deeper than developing a great content experience for smartphone – wearables are presenting a whole new frontier for digital content.
Experimentation is a big focus for us as we work to stay ahead of the landscape. Our approach is to honour the brand and experiment quickly. We look at each new channel as an opportunity to surprise our audiences and deliver something truly memorable.
What defines good content?
We like to put the audience first. Great content comes from a combination of shared passion points between an audience and a brand, the authentic identity and voice of the brand, and a programming experience that is true to the platform it lives on.
What is the biggest myth about content marketing?
There used to be a time when we'd hear that quality didn't matter, it was all about pushing out a high volume of content quickly. Now, the pendulum is swinging and there's a relatively higher investment in content production for digital channels, and maybe a new inclination to be more precious with the content generated. If the content is too precious, it won't be enjoyed and shared, but if it's too messy, it'll get lost in the noise online. Success is about balancing the quality of the experience and the accessibility of the story.
How are you amplifying and maximising your content?
Our strongest distribution strategies always involve a number of levers. Our goal is to make sure we're delivering content to the right places at the right times. Outbrain has helped us do that, and supported the growth of a number of our editorial platforms (GE Reports, Txchnologist). We've worked closely with the Outbrain team on optimisation and best practices, and the platform has been a top performing traffic driver to GE sites, driving a targeted experience to users who spend valuable time with our content.
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