Content that Dazzles: 5 Winning Ideas for Entertainment Brands
Need to build awareness for a new book, TV series, movie, or album? One of the best ways to get people excited about your products is by offering entertaining, high-quality content.
But developing fresh content for your entertainment brand can be a daunting task. The entertainment industry is constantly changing, and there’s always something new happening, whether it’s a high-profile event or an emerging trend. To keep the content coming, you need insight, creativity, and tenacity.
The good news is that content marketing works. An effective content campaign can help your entertainment brand go farther than paid media alone.
Based on our experience at Prose working with top brands, we’ve compiled the following list of innovative content ideas to inspire your entertainment content marketing campaign.
1. Interview the talent
People are always hungry to know more about the person behind the book, band, or movie. Interviews feed that curiosity and satisfy the creative voyeur in all of us. First send some questions to your talent via email, or interview him or her by phone. Then write a thought-provoking, behind-the-scenes interview for your blog and publicize it via your social media accounts. Whether you package the interview as a narrative or present it Q&A style, you want to give readers the sense that you’re sharing information and insights that are new.
2. Make a list (or listicle)
The Internet loves lists. Make a list of the top 10 things to know about an upcoming book, movie, or album. There’s a fuzzy science to all the list-making, too. BuzzFeed reports that 10, 15, 21, and 25 are their most common lengths. Include a numeral in the headline (because people click on numbers, and don’t forget to be funny (plenty of images and GIFs). Here’s a silly example to get you started. Most of all, though, your list should contain great content. Don’t publish a list just because you’ve read people like lists! Make your lists matter.
3. Try persona marketing
The book or movie you’re promoting has a compelling character at the center of the story. Create a social media campaign — or a series of well-crafted blog posts — built around that character’s perspective. Choose a character that audiences either love or hate, and create a Twitter stream or Google hangout with the character, using social media experts trained in the nuances of the character’s personality.
4. Create teasers
Never underestimate the importance of giving people a taste of what you are promoting. If you’re marketing a book, offer readers the chance to download a sample chapter in exchange for signing up for an email list. If you’re making a movie, a video trailer is paramount. A well-scripted video trailer can also work well for books.
5. Tell great stories
Your company’s employees interact daily with popular people: actors, writers, musicians, and other stars. Use your blog and social media networks to share interesting employee behind-the-scene stories with your audience. “Wiz Khalifa signed my CD,” “My selfie with J-Law,” “Lunch with J.K. Rowling” — the topic possibilities are endless. The content will attract your audience’s attention, promote your products, and put a human face on your brand.
Producing content marketing for entertainment may be challenging, but it’s potentially very entertaining — and it works. Want some help with creative ideas to be truly remarkable? Prose Media can help. Major entertainment and media brands use Prose to engage fans old and new. Sign up to access our free, no-obligation platform. We look forward to seeing what you have in mind.
