Cascading Content: Let it Reign

The old adage, “content is king” still rings true- perhaps moreso than ever in today’s social era.  As marketers spend a great deal of energy developing compelling content, it is critical for them to maximize this content through content cascading.

Definition: content cascading is the art of diffusing your content in as many public environs and media channels as possible to ensure that you achieve the widest possible reach and provide audiences with the highest level of engagement.

Like a waterfall that cascades down a slope, breaking into smaller streams, content cascading entails the distribution of content through various communications platforms.

The process begins by developing a compelling campaign that builds an emotional brand connection with target audiences through the creation of engaging, compelling content. This content may manifest itself in the form of video, imagery, market research and studies, white-papers, articles, contests and promotions, etc. Start by publishing your campaign and associated content on your company website (your brand hub). Continue to cascade your content through a company newsletter, direct mail and other ‘push marketing’ vehicles. Using the same content, you can also publish it on your social media sites and generate Facebook posts, Twitter tweets and LinkedIn updates.

Cascading Benefits:

You deserve to obtain a high level of return on investment (ROI) on your content and the biggest bang for your buck. You will want to diffuse this content through several channels, including the Internet. In doing so, you will be making your content available for search engines. As your content becomes indexed and archived online, you will be extending the shelf-life and longevity indefinitely. Provided that your content contains keywords, tags and meta data, you will improve your content’s ‘findability,’ and increase its ROI .

Find your beach!

Corona Extra, the number one imported beer in the U.S., is a prime example of a brand-leveraging content cascading as a marketing strategy. In 2010, Corona launched its ‘Find your Beach’ campaign, which encourages consumers to connect the physical beach with the beach ‘state of mind.’ Corona depicts various ‘beaches’ including an urban rooftop, a city bar and a snowy mountaintop. Essentially, it encourages consumers to experience Corona in different physical settings.

Corona extended this emotional connection to marketing settings by launching a ‘Win Your Beach’ sweepstakes that offered consumers the chance to win a custom ‘beach’ experience of their choice. Corona diffuses this campaign and cascades its content through numerous channels including its website, Facebook, Twitter, retailers, bars and traveling sites.

As a marketer, we encourage you to ‘find your beach’ as well, by realizing your marketing objectives through content cascading. Let the river flow!