The Hammock Blog

You'd be hard-pressed to find an outfit more devoted to tradition than the United States Marine Corps, but on the other hand, they didn't get through almost 235 years of existence by failing to innovate.

In that spirit, the 87-year-old Marine Corps League, the nation's only federally chartered Marine Corps-related veterans organization, came to Hammock Inc. four years ago seeking to reinvigorate their member magazine as part of a campaign to increase recruitment and retention.

As we reported a couple years ago, Semper Fi, the magazine of the Marine Corps League™, has been an essential tool for that campaign. It's also proved to be a versatile tool for Marine Corps League programs, and a casebook example of objective-based content. Here is how we've done it:

As kids, most of us loved listening to stories, and as adults, we're still suckers for a story well told. Since the beginning of time, people have used stories to entertain, educate and inspire. Stories that used to be carved into stone, written on parchment or recited around a campfire can now be shared through a podcast, told through a Tweet or portrayed through an interactive slideshow or video. All you need is one great story. If you have that, you can find dozens of different ways to tell it, depending on your audience and your outlet for sharing it.

Storytelling, at its most basic definition, is using words, images and sounds to convey events. In print, this often takes the form of telling or explaining; in video, showing; and in online media, demonstrating and engaging. But whether you're conveying your story through a simple blog post or a multimedia package complete with clickable graphics, live video streaming and Flash animation, you'll succeed at captivating your audience if you follow these five tried-and-true storytelling principles:

I'm going on vacation next week, and for the last few weeks, I've gone to TripAdvisor.com almost every day to see if there were any new reviews about the hotel where I'll be staying. Yesterday, I got lucky. There was a new review, and after I read it I may have closed my eyes for a few seconds imagining myself kayaking in sunny Mexico. Man, I love TripAdvisor.

It's not the lists of hotels or restaurants or the links to book your trip on Expedia.com that make TripAdvisor successful -- it's the traveler reviews offering first-hand knowledge and photos from people who have been where you want to go. It's unique, valuable content, and it's the reason I recommend the site to anyone telling me they're planning a vacation.

So what can your business learn from a site with monthly visits in the millions? It's simple: Content is king.

New focus, new name.

But as I've noted on this blog recently, the scope of our work, and that of our fellow custom publishers, has broadened to include a wide variety of media beyond magazines -- video, audio, all forms of online, digital, interactive and social media.

Your customers are busy. Preoccupied and stressed. They feel the strain of the economy. Despite the many distractions they face, you have to find a way to successfully connect with them. The key to that connection is content--but not just any content. By creating relevant, engaging and informational content you will find that not only will your prospects become customers, but also that you will build loyalty with your existing customers.

This morning, I ran across one that is not only interesting -- it's inspiring. It's inspiring because it underscores the dramatic opportunities that exist when a content company doesn't let its legacy get in the way of its opportunity.

Because marketers are discovering that the difference between success and failure is often the quality, strategy and measurement of an organization's content, we've decided to more clearly define our services by using the term "content marketing" to stress the solutions and support we can provide our clients.

In a salute to February's Black History Month, American Spirit's January/February issue features recently discovered information on Eunice Davis, recognized as the first and only known Real Daughter of color. More than a century after her death, DAR historians are delving into the life of this fascinating and passionate anti-slavery activist and community volunteer.

Davis--among the few women with the designation "Real" Daughter, or members of the DAR who were just a single generation removed from a Revolutionary War Patriot--was a founding member of the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society and helped catapult it to the forefront of women's abolition groups in the 1830s. Her home was even a station on the Underground Railroad.

Marines have always been amphibious warriors, usually striking from the sea onto dry land. At the 2010 Marine West Expo aboard Camp Pendleton, CA, a powerful winter storm did just that to the hundreds of vendors displaying the latest in military gear under a large tent. The storm swept ashore Jan. 26, the night before the show opened, and driving rain seeped into the carpeting under the exhibits.