Delicious storytelling – Disclosure; I am a food lover myself. I love to eat. I prefer going to restaurants every evening. You could say wining and dining are my hobbies and on a good day I even like to cook.

And even so, nothing could prepare me for the real power of food content that I discovered while being the editor in chief of Libelle and Femmes d’Aujourd’hui. Both known as the reference magazines for households for generations of women in Belgium.

With this question, a search for valuable content starts.

One seeks for inspiration ‘My god, what will I cook?!”-  the other variation: “Spaghetti and it won’t be Bolognese”. Some want healthy alternatives: “Spelt spaghetti anyone?” or even cost cutting information “Promos on minced meat anywhere?”. Everyone has their own personal criteria: “How would chef x cook it?”, “What if I’m on a diet”…

And the beauty of it; as a brand you can claim your spot in this customer journey. You’re right, it is a crowded place out there, but, with the right content, at the right moment, on the right channel, with the right purpose; you can create value for your customer and your prospect. And I assure you, there still are a lot of stories left untold. Get ready to start with storytelling.

Let’s dive into some storytelling possibilities:

Food Content on the ‘HYGIENE’ level aka Always On – Evergreens

Goal: Pull your core, Touch your Prospects

At Libelle Lekker, the database of splendid, self created recipes, is the best traffic driver ever. Combine key search words with creativity in the kitchen and you have a winning recipe (excuse me for the pun made).

Hygiene content is created around the core interests relevant to the ideal prospect or target consumer.  This content is specifically created to capture surfers searching key terms related to the brand.

Interested in our ‘Hygiene-package’; please contact us!

Food Content on the ‘HUB’ level aka Key Moments & Campaigns

Goal: Push (& Pull) your core, Hit your Prime Prospect

In my former role as editor in chief, the meal and monthly planning of Belgian households were my guiding principles. Many of these moments can be very lucrative to claim in your marketing planning. I’m sure you will see the same trend in your revenue streams. So the trick is to just be there.

With great, relevant, spot-on creative content that fulfills the need of your target audience, tapping into their passion points. In every sense.

Hub content is meant to entertain and keep an audience coming back. It should tap into your consumers’ passion points. According to YouTube, this content should be “regularly updated,” “valuable and engaging,” and should incentivize people to “subscribe – like – follow”.

Food Content on the ‘HERO’ level aka Huge awareness (and bigger budgets)

Goal: Hit the KPI’s

According to YouTube, Hero content is something that’s done on average 1-2 times a year for a brand and will entertain and inspire the viewers with emotional storytelling.

Because food equals love, you can really touch hearts. Focus on the stories packed with love (in any disguise – that’s the creative, fun part) instead of the product features. If you communicate the ‘message of love’, on a multichannel strategy, included POS, increase in sales is sure to follow.

In need for a hero? You know the way!

How to distribute great content – Get it in front of the audiences, keep the attention & conversation going – storytelling

#1 SOCIAL MEDIA

You can excel in your digital strategy by optimizing your content with a sensible channel plan. Food news & recipes focused towards SEO, entertainment and how to’s for Facebook, visuals made for Pinterest and a video edited for Instagram stories… Your audience will love every bite of it.

Posting on social media is key to amplifying your brand’s reach and delivering your content to the customers where we know they’re spending their time.

Make use of your blogposts, video’s and SEO insights to drive traffic and engage with our community. And please, while you are at it, boost great content with a clever use of budget.

Want to make a reservation? mie@mmbsy.com

#2 INFLUENCER MARKETING

As a content creator myself, I know a good creator by looking at them. Content creation is all about passion, creativity, finding a way to express yourself in a manner that an audience wants to see/hear/know what you are doing.

In the domain of ‘food’, the content creation talent of influencers is worth exploring. While it might be different from what you expected, they create quality content for their followers. Which is your target audience in the end.

And they deliver your message the way they are susceptible to believe it. Important, considering the fact that many young people aren’t getting messages from other media sources than social media.

Hey, what’s cooking?

#3 PR for your product, service, brand

Okay, you can focus on spreading the message on your own channels. You build on your own empire and you will create value for your audience. But to empower your empire, it’s recommended to include a descent PR strategy. PR is all about connecting your messages and your brand stories to the trusted sources for your audience.

PR experts identify the best media, channels and influencers to spread your message to the right people. Maximize your reach with press releases, social media and influencer connections, with events, launches, activations… These are some of the tools that we apply to strengthen your brand awareness, engagement, product knowledge and increase profitability on the long term.

Hungry for more? mie@mmbsy.com

Written by Mie Van der Auwera – Managing Partner at MMBSY

P.S.: Not quiet into the whole Hygiene – Hub – Hero theory?  – Read this blogpost