Visual networks are a matter of the heart for him: at a cozy after-work chat at contentbird's Berlin headquarters, content manager Philipp Schütte and Content marketing consultant Ulrich Löser about content seeding via:

• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Youtube
• Facebook
• E-mail

A conversation that we naturally don't want to deprive you of.

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In the beginning was the picture?

Philipp:
Hello Uli, nice to have you here.

Uli:
Hi Philipp, thanks for the opportunity to participate in this format.

Philipp:
How did you get into online marketing? Outline your story briefly for our readers.

Uli:
I actually came to online marketing in a roundabout way. In the first place, I studied German language and literature, followed by painting. Both, however, only in the basic studies, because I changed wildly.

After my first years at university, I then started training as a graphic designer and gradually discovered photography for myself. A passion that I used to finance my third and final degree, in media communications, in the years that followed.

As you can see, there were a few detours, but I wouldn't necessarily call them detours. So you can always see a common thread in the development: from graphic layout to photography to communication in the media sector, through which I then naturally also came into contact with content marketing.

Philipp:
Aha, exciting. Also transferred to other speakers: Björn Tantau recently reported something similar to me. Different experiences let you think outside the box.

Uli:
Yes, I see it the same way. I benefit from it every day.

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"Content seeding via LinkedIn has enormous potential"

Philipp:
On your website you recently published a checklist for better LinkedIn marketing. What's your take on LinkedIn as a seeding channel for content?

Uli:
LinkedIn is in the process of overtaking Xing, which I honestly don't like to see. Simply because with Xing, a German company has finally managed to play at the top.

However, it must be said, of course, that there is a reason for this. LinkedIn is an incredibly powerful channel for seeding content. And that in more ways than one, because you can not only share posts there, but also publish them directly there.

Of course, you also have to consider the functionality. Everything works completely intuitively and the fact that you have a higher organic reach on LinkedIn than on Facebook is also a plus point that should not be underestimated.

In my opinion, direct seeding of content to promising contacts has a lot of potential. As a rule, there are like-minded colleagues in your network, and your content usually fits in perfectly with their interests. LinkedIn is currently very trendy. We'll see how long it stays that way.

Philipp:
The social networks are always so back and forth anyway. It's amazing which networks have come and gone in recent years. The topic alone could fill entire blog parades.

Uli:
We should start one of those!

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Instagram: "Use the link in the bio sent!"

Philipp:
I'd love to... after the interview, haha. Visual networks like Instagram and Co. are currently experiencing enormous hype. The former in particular promises rapid growth for companies. How would you do content marketing on Instagram? Briefly outline how you would go about it.

Uli:
Anyone doing content marketing on Instagram should be clear about one thing: Instagram is not a conversion-strong channel! At least not if you as a company have less than 10,000 followers. This magic number is the condition for activating the swipe function and thus enabling multiple links.

If you can't do that, your only option is the link in the bio. Sure, there are new features like tagging products. But overall, I see Instagram as a branding channel and not as a channel to increase conversion.

It's important to remember that Instagram was originally a picture-sharing network, and despite the Facebook takeover, this idea is still deeply rooted. If your goal is to present your company or yourself as personal and approachable, Instagram is probably one of the most important channels.

Philipp:
Interesting, but is there really no way to use Instagram to increase conversions? That is, without breaking the 10,000-follower mark?

Uli:
Well, that depends, as so often, on various factors. A good way to get more traffic to your own website via the organic link is Linktree.

With Linktree you can create a kind of link directory. When a user clicks on your bio link, this tool will show them a list of links to click on. This way you can distribute the traffic from Insta to several pages. Especially for publishers, this is an incredibly powerful tool.

Philipp:
It's good that you mention branding. If I'm honest, I find it very difficult to gain anything from today's influencers. Especially because you can never say without a doubt whether Influencer X has real followers or whether they are just fake followers in the form of bots or purchased profiles. Thomas Hertkorn from A&O Hostels is similarly critical of the whole thing. What's your take on this?

Uli:
Influencer marketing is always a bit of a cliché. When we hear the word influencer, we automatically have a certain image in our heads. But I'd rather not mention any names.

Basically, however, there is a great basic idea behind every influencer. Let's just swap the terms and turn the influencer into a multiplier. You always need them for seeding, although it's usually not about seeding content, but about spreading advertising messages.

In itself, there is nothing objectionable about any of this. After all, it's a channel that has been proven to work. In certain age groups, that is. What I find problematic in this field of business are the black sheep among the influencer agencies that don't do much quality management and simply hire any influencer. Which brings us back to the example of A&O hostels.

Philipp:
Thomas Hertkorn noted in his article that influencers in the DACH region did not want to be paid on a commission basis. Influencers thus received certain sums or free accommodations without having to have successes in return.

I still don't understand why companies get involved in such models. Apart from the fact that payment on a commission basis has long since become the norm in the USA. I'm well aware that influencers have become enormously important in the fashion and lifestyle sector. However, I think it also has to be profitable and measurable.

Uli:
Yes, I absolutely agree.

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More video = more personality?

Philipp:
Your own video workshop on YouTube also adorns your website. What do you think about the statement that we should all rely more on the medium of video?

Uli:
A resounding yes to that! Similar to the pictures on Instagram, videos on YouTube or other platforms are extremely important for branding. If you only rely on texts, you present yourself very one-dimensionally and can only intersperse personal elements to a limited extent.

With a video, people have an image directly in their head. You can work with your voice, you can gesticulate, use facial expressions and gestures, and of course you can dress up. You simply communicate better, depending on the goal you want to achieve.

Especially for course creators like me, the video format offers many possibilities for content recycling. I can also simply provide excerpts from my courses as additional input in a blog post. These are all small synergy effects for which you don't have to be a YouTube expert.

Philipp:
I immediately agree that the video medium gives you a completely different impression. However, one should perhaps add that there are certainly possibilities in the text area to put one's own personality appropriately in the limelight.

Particularly good examples of a unique and reader-friendly writing style are the Affenblog and selbstständig-im-netz.de. Both blogs are incredibly successful and both rely on a similar style: short blocks of text that make it very easy for you as a reader to grasp the content. Nevertheless, I am of course also curious to see how visual the Internet will become in the future.

Uli:
We are currently seeing on Pinterest how strong the visual needs of users are. That's why I advise every company to visualize their products or services. But of course only if it can be visualized. Trying to be visual by hook or by crook doesn't work.

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Facebook groups as a seeding booster

Philipp:
Instead of creating their own Facebook fan pages, as was usually done in the past, Content Marketing Club members such as Björn Tantau advise people to create groups and build up a community through them. Do you think this strategy makes sense, or do you hold opposing views on this point?

Uli:
As far as organic reach is concerned, that's definitely true. Groups don't experience such hype for nothing. However, I have the suspicion that this will decline very strongly. At the latest when Facebook starts to monetize the whole thing.

Philipp:
So do you think Facebook will monetize groups in the future?

Uli:
Yes, that's why I always recommend alternative platforms. If you don't think and act agilely, you lose your reach after a certain point.

A good example of the right approach are the guys from Social Media Examiner. They recently said we're turning our backs on Facebook and publishing livestreams and the like on YouTube in the future. And why are they doing that?

Philipp:
I assume because user engagement is much higher.

Uli:
Yes, exactly. Because people engage with YouTube content in depth and are much more click-happy than on Facebook. There, you mostly just scroll through and rarely click on content, especially on links. From an organic point of view, Facebook has therefore become an extremely difficult place.

Philipp:
Do you still need a Facebook account as a publisher?

Uli:
Absolutely! The motto "If you're not on Facebook, you don't exist." still applies. If a potential customer is looking for you on Facebook, you must at least have your own company page there.

However, I think you can still build some reach with Facebook ... if you include your profile more.

Philipp:
Which brings us to the next point. Because that's actually the question you have to ask yourself: Which function could Facebook commercialize the least? I'm thinking directly of my own profile, because Facebook can't commercialize anything there. And if they did, they would be cutting into their own flesh.

Uli:
Yes, although there are of course black sheep with this method as well. I myself get several friend requests every day from complete strangers who just want to flush their advertising down my timeline. These people are not stupid. They look for and find ways and means.

Philipp:
If it's just pure advertising without any concrete added value, it's actually quite annoying. After all, I don't want to be spammed from all sides, especially since it's my private profile. However, if I'm linked to the people who really interest me and provide me with useful content with added value, it's a legitimate publishing channel.

Uli:
I don't really see it critically either. Precisely because it is the personal aspect that resonates. You can approach people openly and say: Hey, I have a solution to your problem. That's the big advantage of this method.

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Email marketing: dead or alive?

Philipp:
What has been the most exciting, but perhaps also the most challenging campaign you've been able to realize with a client in terms of content distribution?

Uli:
So far, all the projects I've been able to realize have been exciting. Precisely because I draw a lot of energy from discussions with customers. It is therefore very difficult for me to commit to a specific project.

However, some projects were challenging. Especially those in which the KPIs to be achieved were set extremely high. At the beginning of a project, adrenaline can run through you from time to time.

Philipp:
It's great that you're so passionate about this area. Content seeding in particular is still an underestimated area in content marketing. In my last conversation with Klaus Eck, he told me, that most of the money still goes into content creation. and only to a limited extent in the other areas of the content marketing workflow.

Unfortunately, this lack of knowledge means that many channels are underestimated. Or what do you think about the statement that email marketing is dead?

Uli:
Who says that!?

Philipp:
I'm just sticking to various news from my bubble here, haha.

Uli:
Anyone who says that is guaranteed to want to sell you a course on Facebook Messenger marketing. However, there is hardly any substance behind it. In my opinion, emails are still a strong channel because they are a very personal medium.

Of course, the open rates are no longer as high as they were at the end of the 90s. But it's still a great channel because you can communicate very directly with people and reach them that way. If you're smart about it, you can have great success with coordinated email sequences.

However, like any campaign, these must have a specific purpose. Do you want to build trust in your target group? Do you want to build customer loyalty? And so on and so forth.

That's why I like to emphasize it once again: Email marketing is not dead! Absolutely not!

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The widest-reaching content format and final tips

Philipp:
Nothing to add to that. Let's move on to the penultimate question: What do you think are the formats with the widest reach in content marketing?

Uli:
I would turn the question around and ask what characteristics a content format must have in order for it to have reach. It doesn't matter if it's a photo, video, text or all of the above: If there's an emotional trigger that gets people to click, you've done something right.

And this trigger can refer to hundreds of properties. A good example is the question you just asked: email marketing is dead. If I came across an article like that while scrolling on Facebook, I'd probably click on it out of interest.

However, emotionality is only one aspect that you have to consider. Overall, it's very difficult to make a clear statement here, because theoretically you could simply tweet a short sentence. If it is controversial enough, this can also go viral. Without any special format like picture or video. I hope this answer is not too unsatisfactory.

Philipp:
Well, maybe it was exactly the answer I wanted, haha.

Uli:
Haha, you make it exciting. I like that.

Philipp:
Okay, last question: What final tips would you give our users in the area of content distribution?

Uli:
The Affenblog defined a great rule back then that I would like to quote here. Simply because it has lost none of its relevance: 80/20.

Translated, it simply means: don't sleep on it when the blog article is written. If you do, it will gather dust. Invest time in distribution and ask yourself the following questions before you do:

1. What's your goal in seeding your posts?
2. Who is eligible for seeding as a multiplier?
3. How can you best target these multipliers?

I think the third question in particular is very important. Because once you have approached a multiplier, you have to reach them on a personal level in order to get into a conversation with them at all.

As soon as you approach him with a standardized request that you have sent to 20 other potential candidates on the side, he will rarely respond to you.

Philipp:
Thanks for the interview, Uli.

Uli:
Da not for.

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The quote of the day from online marketing expert Ulrich Löser

LinkedIn is an incredibly powerful channel for seeding content. And that in more ways than one, because you can not only share posts there, but also publish them directly there.

That's right, Uli! And because LinkedIn is such a powerful channel, we've integrated it into our platform as a connector. Automate your content seeding and save valuable resources with our software. Here you can test it for free.