In Game of Thrones, everything comes down to a power struggle. With warring families, even siblings at odds, and clashing loyalties, the clamor for power takes center stage in the books and HBO series. Though marketers need not worry about trials by combat or a brood of dragons, their quest to produce quality content-marketing campaigns can at times feel like a considerable struggle.
It’s about taking control of great ideas, harnessing that creativity into an executable piece of media and conquering the attention of the masses. So how does one successfully capture the public's attention? With this season’s finale on HBO just hours away, I took some tips straight from Game of Thrones’ mottos of the different family dynasties.
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House Stark: Winter Is Coming. Arya Stark has some of the most impressive self-preservation instincts. We’ve seen her grow from a dress-wearing, mischievous little girl into one of the most strong-willed and resourceful characters.
For content marketers, that resourcefulness is crucial. One of the toughest aspects is consistently coming up with timely, relevant ideas. You can’t simply stop publishing content when you’re short of ideas. Instead make a habit of socking away evergreen ideas that can survive the barren “winters” of writers’ block.
Whether it’s an interesting tweet or comment, integrate story mining into your daily routine and save those nuggets of ideas for future content. Don’t let the story mill run dry because even if the ideas are flowing today, winter is always coming.
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House Lannister: Hear Me Roar. The Lannisters aren’t shy about making their voices heard. Take Tyrion Lannister, for example. Whether it’s slapping a petulant king in the face (twice) or delivering an intensely powerful speech at his trial, Tyrion knows how to make his opinions resonate. For marketers, producing quality content means little if it reaches no one.
Ninety percent of consumers today are completing tasks and consuming content using multiple devices, according to a Think With Google post. To be heard in today’s noisy market, execute campaigns across all channels while maintaining a unified experience.
It’s less about creating unique content for each channel (a massive resource drain) and more about identifying your best content and spreading it effectively. One example of a “Lannister-loud” brand is Starbucks. The iconic in-store experience is closely tied to the company's social media presence, mobile app and website, and Starbucks has built an audience of very engaged customers.