Living is easy, marketing is hard.
One of the first articles I read this year was about the challenges of marketing for the year ahead. It’s cliché content, but one that resonates with my needs.
In the classic list format, the author described some of the biggest pains in the industry. I revisited that article and a few others. After 10-15 similar stories, the pattern was clear.
The majority of pieces would highlight these challenges as the most recurring:
- Time
- Generating Ideas
- Positioning
- Distribution
The story I’m about to tell should be completely unrelated to content marketing. However, it’s a perfect example of how it can work efficiently and effectively.
Meet Michel Teló
You might know him from worldwide hits like “Ai Se Eu Te Pego” and “Bará Berê” and their combined 1 billion Youtube Views.
Michel is a Sertanejo singer. For those unaware of the genre, Sertanejo is arguably the most popular music style in Brazil, along with Funk. Men have historically dominated the genre, which reflects in the majority of songs targeting women.
With love-driven lyrics, these songs often become anthems for Brazilian women, in several experiences in their lives: first partner, marriage, breaking up, having children, etc.
So, when Michel Teló wanted to get more fans (let’s translate that to reaching a bigger audience) what did he do?
Time
Michel is a busy artist, with dozens of social events, concerts, and tours every year. Whatever he does, it has to be super time efficient. For conveying a message, he had to find replicable and scalable ways to generate content that suits his target audience.
Generating Ideas
Creating a piece of content for each persona might do the trick when you’re working in a software company like us. But Michel’s huge audience is actually pretty narrow: regardless of your age, social status, education or Brazilian state, if you like the genre, it’s likely that you enjoy the guy.
As such, the best idea that Michel may have is not to create 10 new songs. He just needs to create a really good one.
Positioning
A very good way to test his message is through digital platforms. Spotify, where I found this story, is perfect. He can easily upload a new song and test for adherence and response from his fans. He can also repurpose each song to another format, say Video, say Youtube. And he did.
And that’s what happened with his song: “Adriana”
This song starts in classic Sertanejo style. A guitar and a few chords before a mellow male voice kicks in. Let me translate the lyrics for you:
Adriana, by Michel Teló
It’s hard to hide, what I feel for you.
I can not disguise it, it’s written in my eyes
You make me dizzy at your side, I miss my breath
My body shakes whole, my feet seem to float
When I’m with you, the world does not seem to turnAdriana, I want you
Your purity makes me love you
I wait for you night and dayAdriana, Adriana
I count the hours
till I find you again
Because my days without you
It’s like the moonless nightYou make me dizzy at your side, I miss my breath
My body shakes whole, my feet seem to float
When I’m with you, the world does not seem to turnAdriana, I want you
Your purity makes me love you
I wait for you night and dayAdriana, Adriana
Consistent, repeatable, you see the pattern.
Now, Michel has to make a very important decision: naming the song (in this case “Adriana”).
Brazil has 130 unique first names.
There are 11 Million Maria, 3 million Ana, 560.000 Adriana.
But there are only 16.000 Benedita.
Michel’s challenge becomes: “How can I create a beautiful love song for each of my listeners, at scale, with limited time?”
Which brings us to…
Distribution
What Michel does next is genius. He takes that one song and produces hundreds of versions of it. Check this:
That goes on for 262 different versions. And guess what, Benedita has her own song now (check #26).
But that’s not it. Go to YouTube and you’ll find a similar approach:
Better yet? It’s not Michel uploading these. It’s people, named after the song, who are generating content on his behalf. This is one of the most important goals of content marketing.
Your audience, interested and loyal to your content, referring it to others alike.
Michel Teló, with a simple yet brilliant approach, was able to give a quick lesson on how to engage an audience in these digital days we live in. And this was 5 years ago. Mogul.
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