Don't be ancient. Do your homework before you start producing content. Three easy steps:

1. Research: Google data and other data
2. Plot the outcome on your themes
3. Competitor SEO analysis

* Warning: this is a long read *

Research: Google and YT data

A simple, cheap, and excellent check to gain insights into what your audience actually wants. In a nutshell: discover the Google and YouTube search queries related to your industry, brand and products. I promise you, you will be surprised by the outcome.

Having done this research for several clients, time overtime again, the top 3 searches revealed content needs the brand never imagined.

They all have in common that the searches relate to the ‘help’ content, the bare basics of your products. None of them had this specific content in place. The good news is, neither had their competitors…. From the different roasting processes of coffee beans, the how-to booze recipes plus hacks, to the specific details on the local road-taxes and warranty related to electric cars.

More on reverse search and the four main benefits

1. Reveal the top 3 of their concerns: what is your audience searching
2. Discover the unknown topics: you think in features, they look for solutions
3. Use the search intent to give them your solution
4. Know the volume to prevent producing unread content

Use reverse search to create relevant content

This Google and YouTube research will cost you roughly between € 7k for local and € 15k for global. With the condition, you have a crystal-clear and tight briefing for your agency. This can be your media agency or your creative agency. You can also hire a specialized data agency. Keep in mind it takes more time to brief a new agency as they do not know your brand and are not familiar with the organization.

Speaking from experience, my advice: use your creative agency. As the media agency is more inclined to develop an SEO and SEA strategy. That is exactly not what you are looking for. You want to gain insights into the audience's needs to use in your (creative) content strategy.

How to brief your agency

As this type of research is quite new for agencies, a few suggestions for what to include in the brief. Drill down the desired output and make sure they get your objectives and what you are looking for. Your executive brief should fit on 1 A4 in simplicity. If you need a death-by-powerpoint-deck, you have to learn to brief. The better your brief, the better the outcome.

• Objective: insights for content strategy
• Themes: list of topics you want to be found on
• Keywords: industry, brand, and product
• Competitors names: stick to main competitors
• Countries or region: stick to the most important
• Language(s)

Don’t include the details of your audience or personas. Keep it open to discover.

Ask the agency to do broad research. The goal is to find out if there are more keywords or specific combinations used. Can these be grouped, is there a common theme, is there a trend? What are the top 10 searches for your industry, brand, and your competitors?

Research: Google Analytics

Do a scan of your website and deep dive into the GA. What are the most and least visited pages? Include the origin of the traffic in this overview, the internal and external sources. This gives insights into how your www is actually used and what generates traffic.

This research often reveals a dis-balance between your content production and the actual audience behavior. If the majority of your content is on product features and the top 3 pages are ‘sustainability’, ‘marketing campaigns’, and ‘contact’ — then you have some amazing opportunities to stand out and to be distinctive. And you have some work to do.

Research: Google content needs

Research by Google and Kantar (2018) reveals the needs of the audience for the content. In a nutshell, there are six categories: ‘surprise me’, ‘thrill me’, ‘impress me’, ‘educate me’, ‘reassure me’ and ‘help me’. Note these are consumer-focused and not product or feature focused.

Plot your existing content and planned content against these categories. Do they line up or are you way off track and too much inside-out focused? Again, to create an impact with your content, your audience's needs are central. That defines what they actually want to read. It is not about you as the brand and about your products.

As Vogue wanted to increase their online readers base and their reach, they flipped their perspective. Research amongst their readers revealed their content needs. No surprise these align with the Google categories.

With some local differences in the order of importance:

1. Inspire me: the minority of actual content — most wanted
2. Teach me
3. Entertain me
4. Keep me up to date: 38% of actual content — least read content by the audience
5. Make me socially responsible: 2% of actual content — 53% of the audience wants this
6. Connect me

Easy to change category

There is no direct need to produce new content once you know the preferred categories. It is easy to adapt the ‘keep me up to date’ to ‘inspire me’ content. First, write a more inspiring title, and second, showcase different perspectives and points of view in the text itself.

Please view the talk by Sarah Marshall, head of audience growth by ‘Vogue International’ to get all the insights and details.

Research: Customer care and webcare

This department has the first line of (social media) contact with your audience. They know as nobody else what triggers them, their questions, and frustrations. Use them as a source to define what content is needed.

A few years ago, I was responsible for the setup of the new in-house webcare department for an insurance company. As sitting next to the boys and girls, I was reading and listening in on their conversations. Noticing the majority of the cases were questions by pregnant women on the insurance coverage.

Presuming our clients preferred to be independent and actually not wanting to chat with us, and presuming we do have these insurance conditions and fine print online… we concluded that our www-information was too hidden and scattered on several pages. And when the content was found, it was not clear enough. Hence, we did the content audit and rewrote the existing content. Furthermore, we created a merged overview-page with all pregnancy-related information. Provided with a short url and a targeted social campaign, we decreased the workload on the webcare team by significant numbers.

Plot the outcome on your themes

Pretty much an open door, you should use these insights to (re)define your themes to structure your content.

Imagine, you are a coffee company and the research shows your audience wants to know the difference between arabica and robusta, light roast, and dark roast. This could be your first theme to explain the basics of coffee beans. 

The same goes for when your audience is looking for how-to and recipes for a cappuccino. And they want to know the difference between an iced coffee and a cold brew, or a ristretto and espresso... here you have your second theme.

Read more on 'How to structure content'

Competitor SEO analysis

Once you know what content to produce, check out your competitors, and how they rank on SEO. 

Sneak preview how-to:

• Open an anonymous window in Google,
• type in the keyword and
• make a list of the first 10 content items.
• Check these pages on their H1, H2, and url,
• use these insights to produce your own content accordingly.

Me-marketing

If you want to hit the ground running with content strategy or do data research, don't hesitate to nudge me for help. With over 20 years of experience and helping great inspiring international clients, happy to share my knowledge and experiences. 

• 📱+31 6 245 03 999
• 💌fleurwillemijnvanbeinum@gmail.com
• or check my LinkedIn

Source and credits

All on the Google research with the six audience's needs and the Vogue example is stolen with pride from Cor Hospes in 'De zes contentbehoeften van jouw publiek' hope it Google translates. Next to the Vogue example, Cor also explains how BBC World Services nailed it and an interesting SXSW talk by BuzzFeed. Great read and he is worth a follow.

With mobile first you presume your audience grabs their phone and visits your website. With social first you flip the perspective from your 'end' to their 'beginning', from your website to their timeline. From a rather egocentric 'outside in', to a customer-centric 'inside out' mindset.

Produce content with their 'beginning' in mind, social content on their mobile. That is where your audience is triggered to come to your website. Create your content based on those expectations and preferences. 

Mobile first is still an illusion

We claim we are mobile first, yet the common process is still to focus on the desktop. Mobile more often than not is still derived and the adapted version. Flip this process to become more audience focussed. 

By default, develop your mobile website first, then followed by desktop optimization. On a more operational level, this means that all concepts and sketches for UX and visual design should be in iPhone or Android format.  

Social first content eco-system

Data tells about 60 to 80% of the traffic is on mobile. From a marketing perspective, most of these visitors come from organic and or paid in, uhm, social. Check out the content eco-system for this website and how I publish and distribute the content of my book. In the heart is the iPhone, not the desktop.

As I seduce and drive the traffic on LinkedIn, Twitter and Medium, I know most of the visitors are on mobile. Social is fast and easy. Hence my content also should be fast and easy in line with the rhythm and characteristics of social.

Social drumbeat

Social savvy content on a mobile website means sticking to the social drumbeat. Short reads, easy to scan and digest, fast-paced and pleasant on the eye with clear formatting and bold writing. Short. Simple. To the point. No fuzz.

High-end versus low-cost

These days of the corona crisis learns us that it actually is about the message, the content, you produce. The low-cost content that is pushed out there right now, beats the high-end professional produced posts. It is not about how beautiful you content looks, it is about what you want to tell. And if that is a bit more unpolished, a bit more raw and authentic, it actually adds to your credibility as a brand. 

Long reads

You can have long reads, just stick to the same formatting and writing style as for the short reads. When the content is relevant and adds value, people keep on reading. There is no rule about a specific number of words, the only golden rule is relevance and easy to digest.

Read more on 'Long-form content on the rise'

Visuals

The visuals enhance the message and merge seamlessly with the headlines. Exciting composition, clear and crisp colors and no boring stock. The main message and promise of the content in the headline and subtitle. The important stuff first followed by the fluff.

Read more on 'how to find great visuals'

By the way, having social first content also has benefits for the not-social visitors. The easy to digest and fast-paced requirements for social first content assets also work for visitors coming from Google or newsletters. 

In reality

This all sounds pretty common sense and clear. In reality, more often than not, brands and agencies still develop for desktop first, mobile second. And they do not combine the production of the content with the social drumbeat that delivers the traffic. The fix is easy, start with social and finish with mobile. It is the pace you adopt, not your message.

Finding a publisher is damn difficult. Honestly, getting denied time over time again isn't that bad, feedback improved my writing and made the book to what it is today. Yet, what is content if it doesn't reach the audience. If the knowledge stays on my computer, nobody benefits. Hence, flipping the perspective and practicing what I preach, I decided to publish by myself, online, piece by piece. 

Week by week I publish the individual chapters and paragraphs of my book. Each has its own release, indexed by tags. Use the tags or bounce from release to release. You can bounce from release to release by using the tags, you can search for topics or you can just go with the flow and read what resonates. 

At the end of each chapter, you can download the PDF with the collection of the releases that create the chapter. Below you find the first part of the first chapter. Available in low res (1,5MB) and high res (45MB).

Content of the first chapter

Foreword and outline, Basics and fundamentals for content, It starts with a belief, 3 Key takeaways for content excellence, 4 Elements of how to think like a publisher, How to set up a newsroom, How to find great visuals, To blog or not to blog, Share content from others, 'How to keep your CFO on board for brand-building' by Les Binet, Your why and leadership, The content basics and fundamentals, Cross-silo content, Long term brand building content, Content pledge: contribute to business objectives, Content painpoints, 'Epic content marketing tips' by Joe Pulizzi, Start up to scale up, Sense of content urgency, We hate ads, Be Distinctive, 'Character Gives Respect' by G-Star RAW, 'Content to stand out' by Flinders, 'Stick to Your Brand Voice' by WodBottom, Build a brand before products, Reputation management, Brand safety and content.

Soon to be published in this chapter

Content to contribute to business objectives, Set your KPIs, Reporting Tips, Measure progress with OKR, Fill the top of the funnel, Use a brand persona for content consistency, Sonic identity and content, Podcasts and how to make your own, Social first, The audience first for the best content, Learn them something new, Content follows media spend, Create a threesome: content, media, and production, Common content mistakes, Data and content

More to come within soon, stay tuned on LinkedIn or twitter​

They are taking over the CrossFit world by storm. With a strong and fierce brand, they make that emotional connection. Their base is in the USA and they have a dedicated EU shop. It all started online and expanding to pop-up and bricks and mortar shops. A basic collection with sold-out limited editions, excellent customer service, and strong social content and advertising, they rock big time. 

What is special about their brand, how did they developed it and what we can learn?

Key takeaways 

• It is about a long term view and mindset. 'Make the pie bigger and not make our slice bigger. If we get more people doing this, our slice by definition gets bigger.’
• Build a brand and create content before you have products to sell. ‘Once we had the name NOBULL, it became a filter that guided everything.’
• Recognize that the product specs are not enough to become relevant and to have an emotional connection. ‘It is not about you, it is about them, your customers and their needs. Most of the times a product is created and then sold to people. Start the other way around, first the needs and use those as a filter to develop the product.’

Stolen with pride from the podcast ‘Chasing Excellence’ 'The Origins of NOBULL' by Ben Bergeron, ‘a show dedicated to dissecting what it means to live a life of excellence, both inside the gym & out.’

I have written down a part of the interview, edited bits and pieces to improve readability. 

Entrepreneurial long term mindset

‘Reebok is coming back with an incredible offer.’ Without the slightest hesitation, the response was ‘go with them.’ ‘What they are offering, we cannot match.’

‘And what is better for them, is better for the sport. And if it is better for the sport, it is better for us in the long run.'

'That is such a long term view. Instead of what is better for us this week, this month, this quarter, … , it is about the long term. This is so refreshing because it is about making the pie bigger and not to make our slice bigger.’

'If we get more people doing this (CrossFit), the slice by definition gets bigger.'

‘They get it.'

Why NOBULL had to build a brand before they had a product to sell

[Ben asking] 'You were building the brand before you had the product. Most of the times people have a product and then start to build the brand on top of it. This is flipping it. You have the ethos first, and then find the product that fits. How did NOBULL do this?'

[Markus answering] 'It came from the name. Once we had the name NOBULL, it became a filter that guided everything. And that became the whole mentality about being a brand for people who train hard and have no excuses.'

'It is within the product. We try to keep the product simple and it performs with you the way you need it to - and nothing else. Once we had that then we could start to set that mentality. And that drives the content and everything else.'

Content creation before they had the products

'From the very early stages, even before we had the product, we developed content. You can be very creative in the way you shoot things. You could not see the shoes they were wearing, you can set the tone. You couldn’t necessarily see what the product was, but you can feel it.'

'We did this a lot out of necessity. Because once we started working on it, we had the timeline for launching and we did not have the products. When we realized the product was going to be delayed even more, we were forced to be more creative around the way we talked about the brand and the mentality.'

'The very first piece of content we created was for the factory, a 60’’ spot. Their response was ‘wow this is different and this is exciting’. And from that moment on everything started top-pick up a lot faster.'

Become relevant, recognizing that product spec isn’t enough

'How do we become relevant within the CrossFit space? We were not thinking about how we are going to compete (with other brands). We were always thinking about what we are going to say, and what connects with us.'

'One thing that was very clear for both of us (founders), …, we felt like brands talk about ‘where our products, our shoes can make you run faster, jump higher or make you stronger’. And we didn’t agree with that.'

'The only thing that is going to make you faster, stronger, any of those things, is you to put in the work. That is where the NOBULL mentality 'no excuses' comes from. And that is connected really well in the broader Crossfit community.'

Build an emotional brand connection

'Building an emotional connection to a brand and not relying on the product specs. Therefore you need to build a brand before you have the products. You have to fuse it with emotion to make it work.'

'It is not about you, it is about them, your customers and their needs. Most of the times a product is created and then sold to people. Start the other way around, first the needs and use those as a filter to develop the product.'

'For NOBULL the needs (of the athletes) are about stability, durability and there is no reason it can’t look good. That was the filter for the materials.'

'We went to look for the materials, the upper for our training shoe, the ‘super fabric’. It is a highly durable material, a military-grade material. It makes a lot of sense for everything we are doing in CrossFit with rope climbs and super stable for Olympic lifting we do. It came from a purpose around the need were going to be.'

'Above and beyond you need connection. That the people you are speaking to, feel that you get them. If your message is about you, there is no connection. Nobody is really excited to go out to lunch with somebody who constantly talks about themselves, they want to find about you and if you speak to them and their needs matter. That is where the connecting starts.'

Video and visual credits:  https://www.instagram.com/nobullproject/ , first posts June 2014

Aim to make the best better

’Talk to the customer every day. Selling is not a one-way game’ Pete tells me. ‘We advise our customers and our customers advise us. We learn from each other’. Often claimed, seldom brought in practice as Pete does. ‘We aim to make the best better, and in the meantime put a smile on our customers’ face’, he shines while he explains his passion.

Of course, in the end, it is always about sales and generating revenue. Yet there are big differences in how to close the sale, time over time again. Given the fact Pete’s sports shop is open for over 30 years in a very competitive and sales aggressive-Austrian-by-few-families-owned-market, says enough. 

Online one-way communication

‘In digital, it is one-way communication. Brands do claim they listen to their customers, yet they listen to reply. Not to understand. The key fact for the online sales in technical gear is that there is an 80% miscommunication between what the brands produce and what the customers want.

When the customer needs and the clothes get technical, online will not reach that level of connection and advice the customer needs to get the most out of those technical specs of the jackets or pants.’

Sure, there are online reviews and recommendations by influencers. Yet, ‘this is crazy’ Pete explains. ‘These are all N=1’s. In a store, you can connect, via the staff, to hundred of customers and peers instead of the few reviews online or the paid influencer.’

‘For a lot of brands in retail, the practical knowledge base of the designers is missing.’ ‘The (design) world gets better if the people who create the products, actually wear and use them in all circumstances.’ He adds ‘step down, talk to the people and your customers, involve them. Use that valuable feedback in your design process.’ Pete only sells brands that embrace and live this mindset, therefore you will not find the big commercial brands in his shop.

Customer input

Pete’s advice for premium brands ‘Go out there. Talk to your end-customers and ask them for their needs. Do this personally and locally. Come back, and use that knowledge.’ ‘The costs of the management or designers of a brand going into a retail store and collecting input are low, and the output is priceless.’

‘All you need is some effort and a little budget to spend on traveling. Keep an open view and get input from all the customers, also from other brands. Be openminded, it is about the needs of your customer and not the needs of the brand. Then follow up and continue. Collecting input from the direct source is not a one-off. You should do this once every season.’

Retail versus online

Online is an evolution. With e-commerce, customers are more flexible and have more opportunities. Yet, for retail (like us) everything happens in the building. ‘As a retailer, to run an e-shop, that costs about as much as having the bricks and mortar store’ Pete explains.

‘As a retailer, you will never reach the level you are able to reach as a brand.’ For example, Icebreaker made merino fabric big. Ortovox took a part of that wool story and build their own brand around it. Super smart. ‘We retailers cannot compete with the big brands in manpower, budget nor time. We do not have the margins the brand DTC shops have.’ ‘Hence we compete on a different level. We compete on knowledge, service and, for us, also on the footprint.’

Service and footprint as advertising

‘If you like us, you will come back’ Pete explains. ‘We have service as advertising. Don’t buy a new jacket if you don’t need one. And we also don’t want to cross or up-sell you. There is no need to sell some new ski thermo underwear if the customer can wear his e.g. running thermo gear. Be aware of what you buy and your footprint.’

Next to that, ‘we want to keep garments in the loop. We prefer to repair your gear than to sell you a new jacket. Why throw away something that still can be used? This also goes for items that are not bought in our shop.’ Sounds a bit like Patagonia, doesn’t it? With their footprint awareness behavior, they want to inspire their customers. And besides, it authentically sets them apart from the other shops.

If you buy a high-end technical jacket or pants in the Pete’s store, they give you a voucher for € 50 repair, to be used whenever from wherever. This is a mindset. For the customer to take better care of his product and don’t throw it away. For Pete’s sport shop to drive an honest and low footprint business with a long term strategic thinking of serving the customer in the best way possible.

Customers do return to the shop, even after 10 or 20 years. Amongst them, myself. Why I return to the bricks and mortar and not to buy online? I prefer to spend my money with them than any other shop. Even if I maybe pay full price. Excellent advice, superb service and never ever had the feeling I ‘needed’ to buy something there, like being ‘forced’ by the staff.

Just before our interview, I drop by in the shop. Pete is seated behind his sewing machine, repairing a gore-tex jacket at the side seams. ‘Since recently, people started to carry their skis in a different way. Not on the shoulders anymore, but in the hand, like some grocery bags.’ ‘This causes damage at the seams, the manufacturers were not aware yet of this new behavior. Yet, if we tell them, we hope to get enhanced seams in next years’ collection.’ The ‘them’ in this story are brands like Patagonia, Peak Performance, Arcteryx, State of Elevenate and Hestra to name a few of the wanna have high-end high tech outdoor brands.

What big brands can learn

If you are a big brand or a small local store, the behavior of the customer is always the same. It is about excitement. It is about passion. And if you can add a smile on your customers’ faces, they will return for more.

Go from ‘listen to customer’ to ‘invite your customer’. ‘Invite them to your process.’ Small costs, priceless output, and insights on the desired details that create your distinctiveness. ‘If these details are not done in the right way, you will not close the sale.’ Dare to do listen, to invite and to implement this as a brand.

Visit Pete when you are in St. Anton or go to sportpete.com

WodBottom sells booty shorts for CrossFit. For those who are not familiar with these bootylicious booty shorties, the special thing is the fit and if they stay in place during the workout. Next, a bit controversial, some people are quite opinionated about all shapes and size women wearing these short shorts. By a lack of shorties with excellent fit, high-quality fabric and with some sparkling designs, Emily Ruyle founded WodBottom. ‘WOD’ stands for ‘Work Out of the Day’ the name for the daily training in Crossfit. ‘Bottom’, well, that speaks for itself.

With a profound background in marketing and product development, Emily is very explicit about the brand voice of WodBottom. ‘What makes a person love it and buy again and again, is the emotional pull.’ In two years’ time, she developed the current slightly controversial and authentic brand voice. Sticking to it and standing firmly about it. In times of feedback, WodBottom showed that they were not stepping down due to negative comments from others about all women wearing booty shorts. Customers embraced the brand for being firm where they stood for.

‘Put your money where your mouth is.’ Strive to focus on the brand message and be who you are. ‘Sure you want to be profitable, yet it is not so much about making sales.’ ‘Focus on the long term game to keep customers happy and engaged.’

Brand voice

In Emily her own words ‘Everybody has their unique way to shine.’ ‘I wish I could convey to people they should forget about the word ‘should’. I don’t like it when someone says ‘they should’. Whatever… Who created those rules what people should and should not do? Accepting what other people do, would make the world a better place.’

Key elements to her brand

• Create what people talk about. A lot. Online and offline. This has two elements. Design to show off your personality on the but cheeks. Her first design sold out immediately, unicorns and rainbows. From there on expanding into florals and abstract. Nowadays, at request by the fans, also solid colors. The second is quality. Creating shorties that stay in place, cover your cheeks and are squat proof. No matter the workout.

• ‘Don’t be in the game for the money. Be there to create a relationship that matters.’ Listen to what they want, what they love and are passionate about.

• ‘Trust in the brand is essential. Give them a great product and even better experience. Value the customer more than their wallet.’

• Honest feedback shows her how valuable the customers are. Customers want to be heard and they like sharing their ideas and frustrations. What makes them happy or sad.

• Customers define your brand and give authentic feedback on how you are performing. Plus it is unique feedback on how to grow and expand your brand. Emily listens in several ways to keep up and to improve customer experience: Facebook Groups, email, and text, Ambassadors and Influencers program. 

Content strategy

The brand voice comes to life in the content strategy. The fun and funky designs that show personality with humor and a sarcastic tone of voice define the assets. The visuals are a bit raw and unpolished. Authentic in the typical recognizable very not photogenic CrossFit box settings. Emily has made a deliberate decision not to use the professional-looking polished picture-perfect photos for her products. This doesn’t resonate with who the brand is.

The customer-centricity also resonates in the posts. Honest, open and raw feedback. The reviews, quotes, and pictures taken by the ladies themselves are used on the website, on social and even in Facebook advertising.

Two types of content

The posts are split into two categories. Next to the bootylicious product posts, Emily speaks up via her blog. ‘Supporting women’ to ‘accept the way we are’ in ’all different shapes and sizes’. The blog that most impressed me is about ‘Body Positivity’. This is a common topic amongst female athletic brands such as Nike, Under Armor and many others. The big difference in the brand voice of WodBottom is that she takes it a step further. In the second part of this particular blog, a big shout out for women themselves not to judge the other women ‘What about how we treat others?’. Love this distinctiveness! Read her blog

Customer care the makes you giggle

For the sake of the great fun-loving and slightly different customer experience that makes you giggle, order a pair of booty shorts at WodBottom. Get onboard Emilys’ customer experience journey. Steal with pride that best fits your brand and your brand voice. For a small investment of $42 you get a pair of these shorties and you gain a great example by the book for customer experiences and the feeling there is a real person behind the brand. wodbottom.com/

Martijn is a smart entrepreneur with balls. With his origin in the beauty industry, he stumbled upon the plant-based formula for an all-natural and effective deodorant. Challenged by his peers ‘this is far too niche and never will be viable, let alone profitable’ he proved them wrong. Very wrong.

Let the sales numbers speak for themselves; Launched in September 2017. And +400% growth from 2018 to 2019. Currently approaching 250.000 tubes sold. The secret of their success is to have your audience in the heart of the brand.

Context first

The first step is to define the context. Use the insights on society and within the industry. What are the big trends, define the ‘gap’ with the current products in the market, and how can your product fulfill these needs.

‘People are looking for products that are harmless to the body and the environment. Going ’natural’ is the trend. The ‘innocent’ products are the answer. Up till the launch of Nuud, there were plenty of all-natural deodorants. But none of them worked in the long term or was always effective for a broad audience. Without jumping into details, if an all-natural deodorant works or not, co-depends on the skin of the user. The Nuud formula is the exception. You only need to apply it every 3 to even 7 days and works for many more people.

Content second

The next step is to develop the content in line with the needs and feedback of the audience. Given the ‘natural’ trend Nuud initially launched with starting to explain what was ‘wrong’ with the existing not-natural deodorants and why they were the better all-natural alternative. And their audience reacted, not always in a positive way.

Lesson learned a positive message works better than a negative one. Five months in, they shifted their communication strategy. It is more effective to confirm that their all-natural product actually works than to give the scientific explanation ‘why people should switch’ to all-natural. Stepping away from the ‘make the switch’ into the ‘it works’ as the basis of the content strategy.

The cherry on the cake to kickstart this new direction was their shout-out for real customer reviews. Overwhelmed with the response, they selected 30 users to produce the ‘happy movies’. Real people, with real stories, without incentives, to share their experiences with the product.

They incorporated social feedback to further develop the content strategy. Using the feedback loop with comments such as ‘works perfectly for my smelly teenager’ Nuud expanded their campaigns. With thanks to the agile in-house team, the time to market from ‘user comment’ to a new campaign is a maximum of two weeks.

Reviews third

Why I started to use Nuud myself, is due to the raving reviews by other users. No need to explain that reviews by others are more convincing that the marketing by the brand itself. Besides, a review doubles as valuable inspiration for new content and campaigns.

Currently, Nuud has about 500 reviews on nuudcare.com, 600 on Google, and some 800 recommendations on Facebook. All between 4,5 out of 5 stars. If that many people are happy with the product, it for sure has to work. Keeping in mind that they do got balls, as the reviews and recommendations on Facebook cannot be edited by the brand. Once a Facebook review is given, it is there to stay including all ugly or beautiful truth.

Smart usage algorithms

Last not least, Nuud is doing social marketing by the book. Integrating the ads and the media-buying based on the same set of KPIs and objectives. With over 4.000 ads running simultaneously they have all variations with the differences in the details. As there is no accounting for taste, they let Facebook and Instagram data work the magic. The social algorithm selects the best ad for the specific audience based on their split-second behavior.

Specific to their media buying audience Nuud has an open approach. The product doesn't dictate the audience. Helped by Facebook, they continuously test, learn and develop new and broad target audiences. From vegans to sports, teenagers, travelers, and all-hairy-let-it-grow-super-naturals.

Nuud tunes and tweaks their social advertising on a daily basis with an agile team of a content producer / visual designer, social media buyer and webcare agent.

Local to Global

‘There is no real differentiation between countries’ Martijn admits. The Google van Youtube Search Query data shows more or less the same pattern for the second keyword: ‘review’, ’buy’ and ‘discount’ or ‘coupon’.

For the advertising, again, they let the FB and IG algorithm work for them. Without going into too many business-sensitive details, the algorithm selects the target audiences based on the objectives and doesn’t differentiate between countries or regions. The key is to offer the right content at the right moment in the funnel. Hence the 4.000 ads.

Wear out of content

One of the current lessons by Nuud is the wear-out effect of campaigns on social. Compared to traditional TVC the lifetime of a campaign on social is shorter. Integrate the development of new campaigns in your daily business. Allocate enough time and resources for that daily optimization of the current campaigns, and at the same time develop the new ones.

In-house team

All this is done with their in-house team. On the webcare and customer care team Martijn is specific. ‘We value them’. ‘Not only financially, but we also give them freedom and mandate to reach excellence and customer satisfaction’. ‘It is a matter of trust and respect and that exponentially gives back to the brand’. Please, note not all roles are fulltime employees.

“Four Founders, among them a Marketer and two Creative Content Producers. In addition to that an Online Media Specialist, a PR and influencer marketing specialist, a senior marketeer, a creative producer and three Webcare and Customer Care Agents. They all work seamless together as a cohesive team and are conquering the world.