The Trope FactoryKelvin Newman @ Search Leeds 2016

Who is this guy?Kelvin Newman - Founder of BrightonSEO

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kelvin@brightonseo.com

http://www.slideshare.net/kelvinnewman

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What this presentation isn’t?

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You know what, content marketing is amazing…

You should do some of that stuff

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I’m going to assume your already doing some type of content marketing and want to do it better

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Who produces great content?

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The Jar-Jar Binks Hypothesis

But they often do…

Nobody sets out to make something shit

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This is IMDB Reviews

http://blog.moertel.com/posts/2006-01-17-mining-gold-from-the-internet-movie-database-part-1.html

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This is a normal distribution “bell curve”

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Most content is average

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But the rewards go to the excellent not the average.

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Quality

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Rewards

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The Problem…

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Three approaches to content

Play in the tail Die in the middle Swing for the fences

High Frequency Low FrequencyMedium Frequency

Low Cost High CostMedium Cost

Low Marginal Return High Marginal ReturnLow Marginal Return

High Aggregate Value Low Aggregate ValueLow Aggregate Value

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So what’s this presentation about?

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Quality

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Quality

Peanuts Flop

BlockbusterCult Hit

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Quality

Peanuts Flop

BlockbusterCult Hit

ICONOGRAPHY/SIGNAGE 8ICONOGRAPHY/SIGNAGE 8

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Tropes are one way of doing that

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So we start hereICONOGRAPHY/SIGNAGE8

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Rather than here,

ICONOGRAPHY/SIGNAGE8

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trope noun

a significant or recurrent theme; a motif.

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There are motifs and patterns in all works of art that appeal to something innate in us all

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Understanding these patterns shorten the odds of our content success

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but won’t that just make my content same-y and derivative

Sceptical Audience Member

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Beauty and the BeastThe beast is usually a monster physically, capable of great rage

and destruction.

The beauty is kind, smart, and emotional.

The Beauty sees the good in the Beast and the world;

The Beauty brings out the best in Beast.

This often leads to Love Redeems (Another Trope)

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You probably recognise that one, but some are more subtle.

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Twenty Minutes in the Future

The Future, but not so far into it that you'd notice it’d feel alien.

This is often a linear extrapolation of national malaise or existing crises, so American works of the 1970s have endlessly

skyrocketing crime and inner urban decay.

While the 1980s brought the notion that Mega Corps and Japan would rule the world.

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Bumbling SidekickAn annoying, incompetent sidekick for another character — who

barely tolerates him.

Some Bumbling Sidekicks are delusional and think they are appreciated.

Others are just too desperate for friendship and/or money to leave.

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The MacGuffin

A plot device in the form of some goal, desired object, or other motivator that the protagonist pursues, often with little or no

narrative explanation.

The specific nature of a MacGuffin is typically unimportant to the overall plot.

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I point these out not to belittle these films;

but rather to point out the huge variety films can have with

shared elements.

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Think of them as building blocks for you to construct

things with.

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But what has this got to do with content marketing?

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We must understand

the Tropes in our sector’s

content

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We want to discover subtle lessons.

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Top Ten Kim Kardashian Selfies with Kittens that will blow your

mindThat’s the Jar-Jar Binks Lesson

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Our audience is risk averse, so prefer articles about avoiding

disaster than achieving success.

We want things more like

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Our readers like to show-off in front of their friends.

These are insights you can act upon

Things you can do when you get back to the office…

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Cover all the sensible

suggestions from

answerthepublic.com

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Word-cloud the most socially

popular pages and look for the

tropes.

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Have a play with my Google Doc “The Trope Factory”

http://www.brightonSEO.com/tropes

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Use the “Seven Whys” to examine content success.

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Why is Nomad List such as successful website?

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Because it helps people decide where is a good place to remote

work.

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Why?

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Because it has comprehensive information about different

places suited to remote working.

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Why?

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Because lots of people want to work remotely and overseas

but aren’t sure where.

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Why?

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Because although the idea of remote working is appealing

but reality is daunting.

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Why?

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Because working in a country where you’ve never visited is

scary.

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Why?

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Because we wouldn’t know what to expect from those

places.

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Why?

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Because change is appealing but also scary.

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“Because change is appealing but also scary”

is a much more useful content prompt than

“information about remote working is popular”

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Also check out

But be prepared to lose a whole evening in the rabbit hole.

Thanks for listeningKelvin Newman - Founder of BrightonSEO

@kelvinnewman

kelvin@brightonseo.com

http://www.slideshare.net/kelvinnewman