By Vivek Merani
Content is the cornerstone of all marketing efforts. A lot has been talked about the reign of content. It has been represented as a connection-establisher, brand-builder, and identity developer countless times. But what has not been spoken about much is how to navigate this maze in the most systematic manner. Why does one need to develop content? What kind of content appeals to the consumers? How do I develop that content? Which content publishing platforms should be used? Answering these basic questions could guide the quest for perfect communication.
Why should we care about content?
While treading the path of content, the very first milestone is – Why? A lot has been spoken about this but simply put, there are three pillars to the probe – curiosity, credibility, and conversions. Content is the base of all marketing efforts, be it the need to bring in awareness, drive consideration or nudge to make a purchase. It plays a pivotal role in building brand identity, establishing trust among consumers, and often driving revenue metrics.
But what kind of content claims the throne?
The parameters of good content are the various factors that contribute to the quality, relevance, and effectiveness of the content. Here’s when a certain method to the madness needs to come in. As people explore, evaluate, and weigh their options online, cognitive biases shape their shopping behaviour and influence their choice. Google’s analysts have narrowed them down to six cognitive biases in their report ‘Decoding Decisions- Making sense of the messy middle’. Category Heuristics, Scarcity Bias, Power of Now, Social Proof, Authority Bias, and the Power of Free affect conversions and buying decisions. There is no magical formula for devising content that wins hearts, but to create a standard model one could leverage a mix of these biases to deliver impactful content.
How to develop content which speaks louder than words?
The Big Idea
Original content has the power to capture the audience’s attention, make an impact, and leave a lasting impression. The big idea makes all the difference in the world where the competition for consumer attention is cut-throat. The post-pandemic world is more connected than before. With the rise of digital technology and social media, people from all over the world can now connect and share their cultural experiences with each other. This provides a perfect base to go all out with creativity and ideas. The rise of streaming services inspires marketers to be more creative with their advertising strategies to gain traction and visibility. Tentpole marketing is one such avenue that captures the moment and buzz with relevant content strategies.
Content Strategy to Extend the Idea
Leveraging the big idea and creating a long tail of content that includes social posts, emailers, point-of-sale content, and many more is a part of the content strategy. Here’s where a certain level of creativity comes in to supercharge the strategy with six cognitive biases. Traditional content has served its term to the fullest, and now is the time to challenge the status quo with more refined and researched content ideas.
Personalisation
To create content that connects with the segmented audience precisely, it’s important to understand their unique interests, preferences, and needs. Mapping consumers’ pain points to simulate hundreds of user journeys is an essential part of a strong messaging architecture. It is very important to ensure zero creative fatigue by refreshing the messaging across awareness, consideration, and adoption stages while retargeting. Therefore, be it social media, e-commerce or video/OTT, customised consumer buckets are recipes for success.
User Generated Content
Shifting endorsement value from celebrities to influencers is also a trend that should be considered while creating a content strategy. According to the Influencer Marketing report published by Influencer.in, the industry is estimated to witness an annual growth rate of 25%. PUGC or Professional User Generated Content as we call it at Magnon, is the most cost-effective and organic way to connect and engage with consumers. The idea is to influence human behaviour by ‘social proof’ as a bias. In situations like these, platforms like Fivver, Talentrack and similar talent management specialists come into play who leverage talent from different levels of the influencer funnel to suit the communication objectives of brands. These platforms allow brands to devise content for regional, niche as well as mass target audiences.
How to choose the right content platform?
So how do you prepare to tell stories that remain relevant to multiple audience segments across multiple user journeys? The multiplicity of platforms and formats requires a careful understanding of the mediums. It is, hence, very important to understand what works best for different objectives. There are video formats that are skippable and muted. Therefore, to grab the attention of the audience within seconds, the content needs to be carefully executed with intelligent adaptations. To elaborate with a simple example, running a TVC is not the best thing to do for skippable video formats. The brand or hero shots are usually missing in the first few seconds and of course, it is not developed for a vertical mobile screen, where it will be mostly consumed. Thus, by evaluating the brand’s individual needs, platform’s features, user interface, design, and cost of different content platforms, marketers can find the right platform for their communication needs.
The author is the managing director of Magnon eg+