Content Is King. . . And So Is LeBron James

Back in 2014 I wrote an article that expressed how I’m always trying to convince people that Cleveland really IS a great city and that it’s on the brink of something awesome. Well shoot, I was right. Now, I’d be remiss if I didn’t credit that to the World Champs and our very own King James, because let’s be real - the past month in Cleveland has been one we’ll remember for the rest of our lives. Being a digital marketer, it goes without saying that i’m also going to have to give some of this credit to content marketing.

In the last 20 months, things have really changed.  I mentioned in my last post:

“These days, I am always finding myself attempting to convince people I encounter – whether it be friends from college or people I meet on airplanes – that Cleveland really is a great city and is undergoing something awesome.”

Well, I’m here to tell you that times are changing, my friends. To be honest…I’m getting a little nervous that the secret’s out: my hidden gem of a wonderful city is becoming a hot spot that people want to be a part of. Because who doesn’t want to be part of something great?

Content Marketing Keeps the Commotion Going

I watched ESPN on repeat once the Cavs won for days to come. I could not get enough of rewatching “the block,” “the shot,” and then seeing LeBron James collapse to the floor once the game clock actually hit 0.00 (let me tell you, as a Clevelander, it felt like those last seconds were never going to actually end). Victory never tasted sweeter than when LeBron screamed into the mic during his post game interview: “CLEVELAND, THIS IS FOR YOU!”

I watched and read just about any article or video I came across in the days following the game. The Internet was booming with content about this history making comeback, and there was quite a variety of what people everywhere could consume:

• Grown men admitted to the number of times they cried, in writing - sharing in their own personal articles so they could come back to reference these feelings years down the road, to remember what it felt like: “In Our Lifetimes.”
• The Chicago Tribune wrote about the history of Cleveland from the Rust Belt days to the now booming Championship city, with its great eats, craft beers, colorful neighborhoods and more: “Cleveland, A City on the Rebound.”
• The Wall Street Journal featured an article about a family from Pittsburgh who made an impromptu trip in for the celebratory parade for their 10 year old Cavs superfan son. When making the trek back home, he rated the day as a 20 on a scale from 1-10: “The Rewards of a Spontaneous Family Adventure.”
• NBC Sports took a stroll down memory lane and described the test of faith Clevelanders have experienced over the years, all the while staying true fans to teams that never brought the city a championship...until now: “Titles and Tears.”
• A recent graduate of Oklahoma State produced his own game 6 hype video that went completely viral, and continues: “#DefendTheLand” (the SyncShow team gathered to watch in our conference room (below) on the Friday afternoon before heading into game 7).

Those are just a few of hundreds of thousands of articles that were created once the Cavs won...and add this one to the bunch! What a perfect segue into social media….share this article so it makes its way up the pack of the thousands that are out there :)

How the Cavs Utilized Social Media During the Playoffs

For those that don’t know the “Lil’ Kev” story, here’s the shortened version: Cavs forward, Richard Jefferson found a Tommy Bahama ad that looked very similar to fellow teammate, Kevin Love. He ripped the ad out and basically treated this Lil’ Kev as a Flat Stanley - take a read.

Jefferson took to Snapchat and Instagram with Lil’ Kev. He posted pictures and videos of Lil’ Kev doing his pregame rituals, hanging out with the team at dinners at various players houses, among many other hilarious encounters he experienced. As a “rjeff24” Snapchat follower myself, it really gave a different insight into what happens behind the scenes with these famous athletes. To me, they seemed like real people now. They like to hang out, have team dinners, joke around on the team plane or bus. Sure they’re competing to become World Champions for a city that hasn’t seen one in over 50 years, but they’re also just normal guys, having a good time.

Sidenote: As the SyncShow team was also gearing up for these games, our very own “Lil’ Bron” made an appearance at a client meeting and got his own chair. Thank you to the Ericson team for not writing me off as a crazy person after this first meeting encounter (unless that is still TBD).

At SyncShow, we often present to various manufacturing companies about content creation and social media. If you’ve heard the line: “Content is king,” i’m here to tell you, it’s really true. Content becomes a key, lead generating piece of the entire digital marketing strategy. Companies are able to share their expertise and become thought leaders in their industry. Now when people are doing a Google search for a very specific need they have, they’re finding these thought leadership articles. Just think, if you aren’t currently producing content for your company, your competitor likely is. And if the end user has a need they’re searching for online, they’re going to find them and not you. In the famous words of Ricky Bobby, “If you ain’t first, you’re last.”

Just like Richard Jefferson was able to make their team relatable and personable through the Lil’ Kev outlet on social media, thought leaders should also give the reader someone they can relate to. This can be very easily accomplished by adding a picture and a quick author bio to the article. Someone reading the article is more likely to reach out with a question or need they have if they can see this is a real person writing the article.

Richard Jefferson took to his own content creation when he wrote an article about how this wave of Snapchat that started as a joke with Lil’ Kev turned into something bigger. It showed the world who they were as a team and possibly muted some of the haters who questioned their team chemistry all season long. The article he wrote got picked up by The Players Tribune and was shared all over the Internet. I’m sure he has more followers than he ever anticipated after this article was published!

Nearly 2 weeks later, the SyncShow team is still celebrating the win with a Cavs themed paddle brew boat experience with Brew Boat CLE.

Are you creating content for your company? If not, it’s never too late to start! Feel free to reach out in the comment field below if you have any questions on what type of content is best for you!