This week, the Cleveland Clinic shows how to ask your community to help, American Express teaches how to turn something small into something much bigger, and Zillow shows how someone else’s horoscope can catch people’s eye.
Spread content, not germs
WHO: Cleveland Clinic
WHAT: Cleveland Clinic and other top U.S. health care organizations launched the #MaskUp campaign with social assets and a supporting website (everymaskup.com) to encourage Americans to keep wearing masks while the pandemic continues.
WHERE: You can download the video with this link and access other visual assets for each social platform along with suggested copy through this link.
HOW IT WAS DISCOVERED: Amanda Todorovich, senior director, digital marketing/health content at Cleveland Clinic, posted this description of the campaign (and its related links) to the CMI Slack channel:
“Cleveland Clinic, along with 100 of the nation’s top health care systems, have come together with an urgent plea for all Americans – mask up … We also created a powerful social video with emotional images of caregivers asking the public to #MaskUp. Our hope is this video will be shared all over the country. We would appreciate any/all support in sharing this critical public health message.”
@ClevelandClinic, along with 100 of the nation’s top health care systems, have come together with an urgent plea for all Americans to #MaskUp, says @amandatodo via @CMIContent. #WeeklyWrap Click To TweetWHY IT MATTERS: Well, wearing masks matters for everyone. But the way Amanda distributed it is especially noteworthy for content marketers. Ask online communities you’re involved in to help share relevant content. Explain it simply, as Amanda did, and make it easy for people to share (provide properly sized images and suggested copy.)
But tread carefully. Asking folks to share your latest blog post every time you publish isn’t a smart strategy, your requests will soon become noise that’s easy to ignore. Be selective about what (and how frequently) you ask people to share.
Asking folks to share your latest blog post every time you publish isn’t a smart strategy. Be selective, says @AnnGynn via @CMIContent. #WeeklyWrap Click To TweetGo big with a small idea
WHO: American Express
WHAT: The Small Business Saturday campaign, launched by American Express in 2010, encourages shoppers to buy from small businesses the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The idea behind it has grown since to become the Shop Small movement. This includes the Neighborhood Champions program, which helps business associations, chambers of commerce groups, and other community organizations promote small businesses, and a big financial and promotional commitment from American Express.
WHERE: You can learn more about the movement on American Express’s Shop Small page and see examples of the content the financial services giant creates to promote it on Facebook and Instagram.
WHY IT MATTERS: The evolution of Small Business Saturday shows how content marketers can turn a good holiday idea into a great everyday idea. What content initiatives are you doing this holiday season (or in the era of COVID-19) that could turn into sustainable, long-term programs? Use the American Express example as inspiration to think bigger.
HOW IT WAS DISCOVERED: The CMI team chose to highlight the story because tomorrow is Small Business Saturday.
What would a Scorpio buy?
WHO: Zillow
WHAT: Zillow sent a Zodiac-sign-themed email to subscribers highlighting interesting homes for sale.
SUBJ: 5 Homes a Scorpio Would Love
“Introducing the star signs as homes. Here are five for-sale homes handpicked for the Zodiac’s most mysterious member (but you don’t have to be a Scorpio to enjoy them).”
WHERE: The email is only available in the inboxes of Zillow subscribers, but you can read its Zodiac-themed blog post.
WHY IT MATTERS: The zodiac angle in Zillow’s email stands out in a crowded inbox. CMI’s Ann Gynn opened it because she thought Zillow got her zodiac sign wrong. Only when reading the parenthetical sentence did she realize they sent the Scorpio version to all subscribers.
It’s a good example of how to personalize for the audience even if you don’t know your audience’s birthdate or other very detailed data about them. The email could have been even more successful if it included a link to find houses fit for the other Zodiac signs, allowing the recipient to make the content personal to them.
@Zillow’s zodiac-themed email is a good example of how to personalize for an audience even if you don’t have detailed data about them, says @AnnGynn via @CMIContent. #WeeklyWrap Click To TweetHOW IT WAS DISCOVERED: Ann Gynn is a Zillow subscriber.
Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute
