The Soap Opera of Content Marketing

Content Marketing is a strategy to communicate with audiences through storytelling. Rather than putting all the efforts through the advertising, companies create compelling and emotional contents to get into the mindset of the audiences.

Content marketing is nothing new. We could track back the realization of content marketing since around 1920’s.

It was the time when swing and jazz are the dominant ear-pleasing musics. The radio was like the present time internet which everybody listened to. It was when life seems to be in black and white. And it was when soap opera began.

Now do you know why soap opera is being called soap opera?

Since radio was where everybody gathered for entertainment, it was filled with serials targeted to women, mostly housewives. Companies and brands look at it as a gold-mine where they can push out information.

Household and soap manufactures Procter & Gamble was the pioneer to develop their marketing strategy in the radio shows. The first soap opera was a series of radio drama that featured the company’s brand, Ivory soap. The show was broadcasted five days a week.

As it was getting popular, other companies began to look at the opportunities and became sponsors of various shows.

The fact is, many sponsors of the shows were soap manufacturers. This eventually lead to the term “soap opera”.

The rise of television might be the golden days of soap operas. Instead of just listening, audiences were able to watch motion pictures, that were played in black and white. Soap manufactures made their moves to aired their soap commercials during the breaks.

Ain’t we got fun?

Now, some of you might have a bit of confusions what is the relation between soap operas and content marketing. The best reason above all is they are all about storytelling.

Storytelling is an art to interact with listeners’ imagination by sharing a story using words, voices and pictures. Story is content. The way brands use story to market their product is content marketing.

What is the advantages of using storytelling in marketing?

Reflections of brand personality

Storytelling has the power to convey brand personality. It takes the audiences on (mostly) fictitious journey with many different personalities and situations within the story. Audiences could intentionally or unintentionally reflect their true selves to the characters.

And when brand involved in the story, audiences may develop a mindset to associate it with certain characters or situations.

That’s why it is suggested that brand has to go through tight selections in choosing the right story and its association.

Develop emotional connection

Story creates emotion. When a brand connect to the story, it builds up emotional sense. The benefit is, it leaves a long lasting impression and sticks to the mind of the audiences.

It eventually increase brand awareness and develop brand image.

Creates excitement

Who agree with me if advertisement is boring? Look at the world of advertising, most of them are all about hard-selling. They run the advertisement over and over again on variety of channels hoping everybody watch them.

Seriously?

Do you watch TV commercials or quickly grab the remote to skip them?
Do you watch those video ads on Youtube or waiting impatiently to click the skip button as well?

There’s absolutely no excitement in this type of advertisement, unless they tell stories.

There’s much more creativity in storytelling. It creates emotions, attractiveness and interactivity. There’s much more excitement in there.