3 Ways to profit from Coca Cola's Content strategy

By

Hephzibah Asaolu

www.hephzysocial.com

In 2011, Coca cola had the goal of doubling worldwide consumption of coke by

the year 2020. They had a major challenge in the way consumers access and share

information. They recognized that traditional creative media's effectiveness and

relevance is facing out. Therefore, the company decided to create a content-

based marketing strategy to help drive consumer conversations, inspire purchases

and enhance their brand value.

They coined the strategy as "Liquid and Linked Content Strategy".

What is Liquid and Linked Content?

As we all know that Liquid content is what is inside a bottle, be it Coke, soda pop

or other drinks. The liquid content in this context is the kind of content that has

the capability to encourage sharing and engagement and educates the reader.

The 'linked' refers to the content being linked to your business interests and

customers. It is a totally balanced approach that is beneficial for every business

that wants to make a profit.

Coca cola designed different kinds of contents that are both liquid and linked.

They created a blogger contributor network that is like Linkedin's Influencer

programme, but focusing on new talent instead of the "big names". They called it

"The Opener". The result of this strategy brought Coca Cola increased global unit

case volume, boosted stock prices and recognition through international

marketing and advertising awards.

So, how can you profit from this strategy? Below are 3 ways you can use liquid

and linked content to boost your own small business.

1. Create compelling and captivating content

A compelling and captivating content has the following qualities:

Surprise

Most content you come across on the internet are predictable and some of them

are even boring. Liquid contents need to be surprising, catch your readers off

guard by challenging their assumptions and proving them wrong. You can write

something controversial, argue against normal opinion etc.

Writing contents with an element of surprise takes time, but when you listen to

little ideas that pops up in your mind from time to time, it becomes easier.

Universal Appeal

Your content must have universal appeal. It must be something your audience

wants to read. Does it address their problem? Does it educate them? If it does not

appeal to them, they have no business reading it.

Generate interest

There is no need of wasting your precious time when what you are writing does

not interest your readers. You need to determine what your readers want to

know, the kind of contents they viewed the most, shared the most e.t.c, and then

write more about those stuffs to keep them coming back for more.

2. Create relevant content that connects with people.

Coca Cola launched a campaign in India and Pakistan sometime ago, to unite the

people together as they were divided by conflict. They designed coke dispensers

with real time cameras that enable people to see each other and draw peace

signs and dance together. This campaign had tremendous results - 8,000 social

shares, 2 million video views and over 48,000 visits in the first week of the launch.

This is a great example of how to connect with people (remember content must

be linked).

3. Connect your channels together

Most small business uses only one channel to connect with their target audience.

You gain more traction when you use different channels to disseminate

information. For example, Coca Cola created a mobile app in order to engage with

teens and create buzz around a new TV ad. The teens could use their phones to

catch the tumbling bottle caps from the TV ad at 10pm every night and win

instant prizes. This campaign was also run in cinemas and outdoor spaces. The

result? After the first day, the app got the number one download spot on the local

app store and after the first month, it had been downloaded for more than

380,000 times.

You may not be able to develop a mobile app like the coca cola company, but you

can produce video contents, infographics, slides, white papers of great quality, to

help your readers connect with you. A liquid and linked content should make your

consumer engage with your brand and should be linked to

your business goals and interest.

A good liquid and linked content is not complete until it is measured to determine

its return on investment. Coca Cola uses an Expression of interest (EI) score. It

looks at different KPIs to evaluate and rank stories based on their popularity. Coca

cola in one of their campaigns - launch of journey discovered that the number one

search term on the website was 'coca cola cake' and so they included a good filter

that became the most popular category. So, you can see the effect of measuring

your contents metrics.

The ingredients of a liquid and linked content are: It must be compelling and

captivating, relevant and connect with your readers and it must be connected by

different channels. It is time to create viral content with your business interest in

mind. Why not start today?

I invite you to check out my blog www.hephzysocial.com and read interesting

posts that will help you to skyrocket your business to the next level.

ABOUT HEPHZYSOCIAL

READY TO TAKE YOUR BUSINESS TO THE NEXT LEVEL?

Then you are in the right place.

Here's the deal:

If you need contents to:

* Generate leads to follow up by sales and marketing teams

* Help your sales team close sales more quickly

* Generate interest in your products

* Build and repair public opinion about your brand and products

* Develop friends and fans who interact with your brand socially

* Help customers get the most from your products

Then you are in the right place.

HOW HEPHZYSOCIAL CAN HELP YOU GROW YOUR BUSINESS

I'm a big believer that every online marketer must master the art of content

marketing and promotion. But with the increasing amounts of information out

there, how can you find practical techniques that will help you to achieve the

goals highlighted above?

That's where Hephzysocial comes in.

Hephzysocial has grown into one of the most popular content marketing sites on

the web for one simple reason:

Everything I publish is super actionable and designed to help you get more leads,

customers and sales.

You can get in touch with me through my contact page or send a mail to

hephzysocial@gmail.com.