The popularity of content marketing is growing and is being reached by large companies in the field of energy. Why is this the case and through what channels do they spread their outputs among people?

Striving to attract naturally

Stredoslovenská energetika, s. r. o., is the second largest supplier of electricity with almost a quarter share on the market. The company wishes to present its services to a growing circle of potential customers, and at the same time uses native articles as marketing support for its products.

„At present, we perceive a glut of display advertising, non-skippable formats and we are aware of the impact of banner blindness … Our goal for the advertising of SSE products and services was to make it seem natural, not disturbing and to provide information about the main benefits of our products and services,” explains Silvia Uríčková from the SSE marketing department.

Topic preparation is a complex process 

We have been preparing the written content in cooperation with Zenith agency for SSE for three years. The basic building block is the proposal of topics for the next twelve months, which is prepared in December or January. At least five editors are involved in this process who are brainstorming the proposals. We will ensure a variety of views on the issue, as well as understanding of the client for future processing of articles.

At the same time, we find inspiration not only in previous experience, but also by watching interesting foreign content or through some analytical tools, such as Ubersuggest, Answearthepublic or Semor. We always try to come up with something new, to look at things from a different angle, so that we do not repeat ourselves in topics. The best proposals are then submitted to our client.

Two types of articles

The proposed topics can be divided into two basic groups regarding their types. The first type is directly related to energy and households. It advises readers on how and what to save on, charger or how to reduce cost on running your fridge. Each article includes links to related SSE products.

The second type of content introduces readers to various interesting things from the world of energy. They will learn where electricity is produced from cheese or which space technologies are part of our daily lives today. However, these articles also contain a non-violent link to the client’s products.

Eye-catching content  

Approved topics are prepared on an ongoing basis throughout the year, with an emphasis on ensuring that the interconnected products are in line with the current SSE objectives. We propose at least three versions of possible headlines for each text, and at the same time we take into account whether it is a headline for a blog or content widgets. A selection of illustrative photography is a matter of course.

„We find the cooperation very positively, we value a professional and responsible approach, attractive processing of topics, which are beneficial not only for our customers, but also for ourselves. The article on electricity in nature, but also  about the life of Nikola Tesla a transmission of electricity across the ocean captured our attention,“  says Silvia Uríčková.And what about the distribution?

As important as the creation of the articles themselves is their distribution, which is provided by the Zenith agency. „In the event of more general articles intended for the general public, we support content primarily through Strossle or Nativio widgets. We track individual clicks-through and later evaluate what the clicked-through users do next on the web, whether they read other blog articles, bounce rate, etc.“ explains Daniela Gáborová from the Zenith agency and adds that the Strossle platform has proved its worth so far.

Interesting content can be created in any segment

Even the more difficult segment, such as energy, can be covered by interesting articles and thus expand the reach of the target group. Quality content also has the potential to build a positive relationship with a brand that takes into consideration the reader’s interests and communicates differently than just in a purely product-related way.