58. Telling Stories Through Design to Connect With Your Audience with Brent Csutoras

Nov 30, 2016

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Brent Csutoras is an expert in social media and viral marketing, but is perhaps best known for the compelling, informative, and entertaining infographics that he creates with his company, Pixel Road Designs. He’s also a managing partner at Search Engine Journal.

In addition to his other work, Brent provides information through speaking at conferences (including SMX and Pubcon), giving interviews (such as for Entrepeneur.com), and writing articles. In this episode, we’re lucky enough to have him sharing his wisdom with Marketing Speak listeners! You’ll learn all about using images in marketing, and gain some great insight into various social media strategies and platforms.

Find Out More About Brent Here:

BrentCsutoras.com @brentcsutoras on Twitter Pixel Road Designs

In This Episode:

[02:23] - What does it take to become an influencer on social media? Brent says that it’s very important to understand the fine line between being a marketer and being a social media user. He explains how to do this.
[04:55] - Brent talks about his history in social media, and explains that it was easier when he began. Having other networks set up before Facebook came out allowed him to get started quickly on Facebook.
[07:17] - Early on, Brent learned to pay attention to the landscape of social media. He explains this using the example of Digg.
[10:26] - Brent isn’t personally a huge fan of Snapchat, and says that he finds Instagram to be more effective in just about every way except the filters. He and Stephan then discuss Snapchat and the younger generation’s trend toward using pictures.
[13:30] - What do marketers need to know about picture-oriented sites, such as Imgur, Giphy, and Meme Generator? Brent explains the importance of the fact that these sites rely on other social channels for their popularity (for example, traditionally Reddit users have used Imgur, but no longer need to due to changes on Reddit).
[17:16] - Brent discusses infographics on Imgur. The short answer is that this is the wrong audience for infographics.
[19:46] - Brent walks us through the process of creating an effective infographic. We learn about Pixel Road Design’s strategies and what Brent thinks one needs to think about when creating infographics, as well as the importance of communication and collaboration.
[25:54] - Pixel Road Design’s Sportfishing infographic is one of Brent’s favorites. He’s also proud of the infographic What Are the Top SEO Marketers Working On?
[27:39] - In the sportfishing infographic, for example, what are the intentions and reality of the impact? In Brent’s answer, he clarifies that Pixel Road Designs is a design firm, not a marketing firm.
[31:12] - In response to Stephan’s question about the keys to making something highly sharable, Brent lists a wide range of ideas and strategies.
[33:54] - Brent talks about how he finds and reaches out to influencers. He then talks about how he decides whether someone is a good influencer to pursue.
[37:40] - Brent shares that he isn’t into retargeting, and Pixel Road Design has only done it for one client. He describes that interaction in more depth and detail.
[40:20] - Interactivity in infographics is a great concept, Brent says, but it costs a lot more.
[46:28] - Design is only one part of creating a great infographic, and most of us aren’t capable of writing or creating a visual storytelling script, Brent says. This is why he isn’t a big fan of tools like Piktochart. He compares it to using Google Translate to compose articles in another language.
[48:33] - Brent gives his advice for images with quotes, particularly inspirational or motivational quotes. Finding the right quote -- and avoiding ones that have been used too many times before -- is important.
[52:43] - We hear Brent’s thoughts on where to post these pictures (Instagram) and how to make them stand out (hashtags). Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest all work as well. He and Stephan then talk about Pexels, which Stephan uses for free stock photos.
[54:34] - Using memes (rather than images) is much harder, Brent explains. You need to be really knowledgeable about them, and you need to be quick. If you can do that, and be creative, they can be very effective.
[55:44] - Reddit used to hate marketers, but it doesn’t any longer -- at least, no more than the rest of us do. Brent goes into more detail about this and explains how Reddit works.
[59:30] - Should you make your page social media ready before you post on Reddit?
[62:05] - Brent talks about StumbleUpon. He says using the paid version of StumbleUpon or using it for adult content can still be effective, but otherwise it’s not usually an effective choice.

Links and Resources:

BrentCsutoras.com @brentcsutoras on Twitter Pixel Road Designs Search Engine Journal Digg Imgur Giphy Meme Generator Reddit Pixel Road Designs: What Are the Top SEO Marketers Working On?Pixel Road Designs: Sportfishing in the United States Klout Entrepreneur: 14 Amazingly Free Stock Photo Websites Fiverr Piktochart Canva Reddit: Quoteporn Pexels StumbleUpon