Unlocking the Secrets of Effective Content Marketing with Charlotte Laing, The Content Emporium.
In this episode, I chatted with the lovely Charlotte Laing, founder of The Content Emporium, a Bristol-based marketing agency.
Their 46-strong team works for many clients, including 20 shopping centres across the UK.
Who’s This Episode For?
If you create content for businesses, especially those in the visitor economy (think shopping centres, town or city centres), this one’s for you.
“I think it’s just quite a big job if you’re going to do it really well, and it involves quite a few different skill sets as well. So if you’ve got maybe one marketing manager in an organisation, or even two or three, the chances are you might not have all of those skills covered off.”
> Charlotte’s journey from economics to journalism, leading to the creation of The Content Emporium.
> The Importance of Content Marketing and how it has evolved, balancing sales-driving content with building brand awareness. The value of human-touch content in a world filled with AI-generated material.
> Content Planning and Strategy, exploring content pillars to ensure comprehensive topic coverage.
>The Content Emporium’s focus on brand building, community engagement, and measuring success in the visitor economy.
> Emerging Trends in Content Marketing include the rise of TikTok, the corporate shift toward trend-led content, the increasing relevance of Creator content, and the adaptation of platforms to new, fresher formats. For example, Facebook moving its content to become more like Instagram, and Instagram is moving toward TikTok.
Charlotte talks about using gamification and a recorded giveaway challenge of a time-limited £500 gift card challenge (think Super Market Sweep) to boost footfall and engagement.
Charlotte’s five tips for effective content marketing:
- Show, don’t tell: Make sure to capture visuals and video to show your audience, rather than just telling them about it. This helps bring the content to life.
- Have a solid content strategy: Sit down and plan out your content strategy first, aligning it with your overall business goals and objectives. Don’t just create content blindly.
- Be consistent: Post content on a regular, consistent schedule so your audience knows when to expect new updates from you. Avoid sporadic posting.
- Focus on community management: Respond promptly and authentically to comments and interactions from your audience. This helps build stronger relationships.
- Maintain a cohesive brand voice: Ensure your content has a consistent tone and style across all your channels, even if the format varies (e.g. TikTok vs website).
This episode is sponsored by Hello Starling.
Hello Starling is an award-winning Media Planning and Buying agency that specialises in delivering advertising campaigns with great results for visitor attractions and destinations. They’ve work with brands such as Bristol Zoo Project, Visit Shropshire, Visit Conwy, Visit Herefordshire and the National Tourism Office for Poland. If you want to be the centre of attention, visit hellostarling.com today.
