Did Dropbox integrate their content marketing strategy in its business strategy?
Not even the greatest product sells all by itself. It takes marketing investment in order to attract and engage customers. From this point of view, Dropbox was lucky.
It was mostly because of its product idea. As Markus Rex, CEO of ownCloud said: “Dropbox created a market for something we didn’t really know that we needed. Now that it’s out there, it’s hard to be without it”. That does not mean Dropbox shouldn’t be aware of its staying on market, especially when it has to face competitors such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft.
Usually, entrepreneurs don’t realize the fact that users need more than a good product. Finding a strategy that helps you handle your competition is not easy at all and it involves constant marketing effort. Throughout various types of content, people can receive useful information such as: blog posts, white papers and downloadable guides, infographics and videos.
Dropbox might not be that perfect example, but if we take a look at their marketing evolution, we can notice the following strategies:
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Dropbox encouraged word of mouth.
Their strategy was based on the quality of the product and on users’ needs. Their message was built on this theory: people need the product and they are going to recommend it to their friends. The only questions is: How are they going to convince them to spread the word? Besides the fact that Dropbox gives away 2GB of storage space, it also has the following offer: users can get 50GB of storage space for $10 a month, and if they want 100GB of space, then it’s $20 a month. Moreover, they give incentives to those who refer them to their friends. For example, if a Dropbox user recommends the product to one of his friends, both of them will get 500MB extra space.
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The company targeted its audience very well and provided different types of content for each category.
There are three blogs that contain specific information according to each segment’ diverse interests: Dropbox Blog, Dropbox for Business Blog, Dropbox Tech Blog and Carousel Blog.
Dropbox Blog
On this blog, you’ll find content written to share information with users. It is more about Dropbox evolution, about how their users help the company grow. They also present all the events they went to, new products, new cities, stuff about their entire team and different statistics from their business strategy.
Why are they doing this? We think transparency is a good way to engage users and clients. Sharing relevant information from your company builds trust.
Dropbox for Business Blog
Knowing whom to talk to is kind of a big deal for a business. Some big companies have many buyer personas and their strategy should be adapted to a special segment of people. Dropbox realized that they need to find a way to discuss with users and clients differently. Why is that? First of all, they have different kinds of interests and problems. They will not use Dropbox for similar reasons and their profiles are totally distinctive.
Dropbox Tech Blog
There are people who look for technical information and they want to find out how Dropbox developed some things, what their strategy was and so on. That is why, in this blog area, the company provides content that explains all this stuff. For example, in a recent article, they presented how they created Carousel, what issues they faced, how the product works (from functionality to business strategy). This is always a good way to promote their new products, but at the same time, they continue to engage users that are interested in this kind of information.
Carousel Blog
The blog doesn’t have many articles so far. From our analysis, it seems to have a precise aim: it promotes Dropbox’s new product, Carousel, a gallery for all the photos and videos from someone’s life. It combines the photos in Dropbox with the photos on users’ phone, and automatically backs up new ones as they take them. People who are interested in finding out more about this product have this particular place where they can find all the information needed.
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Dropbox used Social Media and their base to get the word out about its product.
What Dropbox did through Social Media was really cool. They didn’t use the same strategy as most of the companies: using call-to-action buttons in order to get more followers – “Like us on Facebook” or “Follow us on Twitter”.
Dropbox did something a little different. With each follow on Twitter, Dropbox gives the user a 125 MB increase.
At this moment, Dropbox has 3,6 M followers on Twitter.
Where else can you find them on Social Media?
- LinkedIn: https://home/beagleca/public_html.linkedin.com/company/dropbox
- Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/+Dropbox/about
- Pinterest: http://home/beagleca/public_html.pinterest.com/bonniewolf/dropbox/
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/dropbox
- VIne: http://vinebox.co/tag/dropbox
- Quora: http://home/beagleca/public_html.quora.com/Dropbox
Conclusion:
1. You need online presence. A strong business strategy is not always enough. Dropbox mostly wrote content for the customers’ benefit and promoted its product.
2. Use a distinctive approach. If you do something different, people will notice and they will appreciate it by following your brand.
3. Define your personas and adapt your strategy according to their needs and wishes.
4. Write content on your blog. People like to know everything about you, especially when they are your clients.
5. Always look for ways to engage users. Offer them something in return so they remember you.
6. Social Media is always a good choice. It’s where your users are.
