The Flo Rida Guide to Content Marketing

Flo Rida (aka Tramar Dillard), the popular rapper from, of all places, Florida, understands the importance of spreading content. Marketers can learn a lot from Flo Rida when it comes to content marketing.

During his breakout year in 2008, he launched onto the scene with “Low“, hitting #1 on nearly every chart in the free world.  Most recently, Flo Rida hit big with his song “Right Round“, reaching #1 on the US Billboard chart.

Now you can ask the question:  How do I know all this?  Simple. Flo Rida’s music is literally everywhere…which is all part of his plan.

The concept: get the music in front of the right buyers. How? “Low” was featured on the soundtrack of Step Up 2, which grossed more than $100 million worldwide.  ”Right Round” could be found not only on the comedy hit, The Ugly Truth, but was the closing song on the biggest R-rated comedy hit of all-time, The Hangover. It was also smart repackaging, playing off the success of the original song by Dead or Alive, “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)” from 1985 (and yes, I had that album).

And this is just the start.  Flo Rida’s music is featured on video games, in iTunes special packages, and yes, social media.  Flo Rida communicates regularly on Twitter with his almost 50k followers. 300k friends on MySpace and over 30 million views on an impressive YouTube page.

What can we learn from Flo Rida?

• Understand who your customers really are. Flo Rida might think that the majority of his customers were teens and young adults.  With some research, I’m sure Flo Rida and team quickly realized that many of the fans that purchased “Low” were 30 and 40 something white men, which looks a lot like the demographic for the Hangover (where “Right Round” was placed).
• Spread the love. Are you doing guest articles where your customers are at?  Are you sharing presentations? Are you consistently communicating with your target? Are you adding helpful comments on key blogs?
• Don’t rely on one channel, but focus on what works.  There are a thousand social media outlets, but Flo Rida focuses his resources on the key ones where most of his customers are at – MySpace, YouTube and now Twitter (remember the 30 to 40 year olds…that’s Twitter).
• Collaborate: Flo Rida consistently partners with some of the greatest hip hop artists in the world, even when he has to play second fiddle.  Are you partnering with other organizations and individuals in your market to create great content marketing?
• Consistently create great content: Flo Rida has put out over 50 songs and collaborations over the past two years, and has another record on the way this year.  No breaks.  Keep creating and delivering great content.
• Repackage and reuse: The best stories may be old ones that need a new take.

Flo Rida understands his niche, who his audience is, and how to effectively reach and connect with them.  Hey, that’s one heck of a content marketing strategy.