You don’t always need to create all new content to publish something useful for your readers.
Scoutmob has been publishing articles called “What To Do This Week, [Dates]” or “What To Do This Weekend, [Dates]” for a while now, and includes them in their newsletters. It’s a simple concept, but it perfectly complements what they offer (local deals).
In these posts, they list events by day, with a link, and address, a couple sentences, and a nearby Scoutmob deal. Here’s an example from this weekend’s:
Thursday, November 28, 9 p.m.
Wowser Bowser, White Gold & Special Guests
The Earl, 488 Flat Shoals Rd. (East Atlanta Village)Need to flee your extended family? Shake off that tryptophan coma and head to the Earl, where old friends Wowser Bowser are once again alighting upon this town for a night of dancing away those Thanksgiving meat-sweats.
Deal nearby: The Graveyard Tavern
The magic is in the triumvirate of good content-writing techniques.
Useful, Trusted Content
The content is just plain useful already, but Scoutmob has established themselves as a trusted curator of local culture. Just by seeing an event on their list, you know you’ve got a good shot at a good time. It’s a trusted source giving you timely, useful information that helps you out—and with no trickery. You don’t have to give Scoutmob anything to get a link to that event. Be wary of adding friction.
Personality in Curation
If you’ve read or seen anything by Scoutmob, you know they’ve held steady on a certain personality in all their marketing. Suggesting events is no exception—even here, they offer two sentences that are not only brilliantly crafted (as usual), but also helpfully concise. Resist the urge to overdo it and detract from the value you’re giving the user. Besides, it wouldn’t be like Scoutmob to get in the way of the information itself—wouldn’t you like that reputation?
The Tie-in
Their call to action is fairly subtle, but it works better that way. They know that you’re likely to plan either a meal or drinks around an event, so they go ahead and recommend their nearest deal—that’s it. They don’t have to hit you over the head with it, because it’s contextualized and relevant.
Let Scoutmob inspire you if you’re looking to nail brand personality. Beyond that, though, they can teach us plenty about meeting people where they are and meeting their needs (aka offering services) when and how they need it.