Marketing in a digital economy is more difficult now than it was in
the days of mass media. Then, big budgets and strong messages were enough to
get consumers to remember you. Today, not only have audiences fragmented,
requiring a more targeted approach, but digital activity is tracked — so
even if you succeed in building brand awareness, your rivals retarget those consumers with competing offers.
That’s why many brands have turned to content. Rather than paying to be
sandwiched within ad breaks and between editorial pages, content marketing lets
brands communicate directly with consumers. Unfortunately though, the result is
all too often a longer-form version of the same old ads. Marketers need to
change their approach. Here are four questions that will help you create a
viable strategy:
1. Why do you need content? In an overview of the subject, the Content
Marketing Institute explains that marketers need content because,
“traditional marketing is becoming less and less effective by the minute.” That
may be true, but it doesn’t explain why content is the answer. In fact, it is
exactly that line of thinking which makes it difficult for marketers to
succeed.
Traditional marketing, which was heavily skewed to broadcast media,
worked because it allowed marketers to reach a lot of people in a short amount
of time at very low cost. Content does neither, so it’s hard to see how anyone
could possibly replace a traditional broadcast strategy with a content
strategy.
On the other hand, today’s digital environment does allow marketers to
communicate directly with customers, partners, and the general public in a way
that wasn’t possible before. It reaches fewer people and takes more time than a
traditional broadcast strategy, but it also opens up exciting new possibilities
to create greater engagement.
Clearly, the solution to an ineffective 30-second TV spot is not
ineffective 10-minute videos. So don’t treat content as a long-form version of
an ad campaign. Think seriously about what it is you expect to achieve. If the
only reason that you are doing content is to replace traditional marketing
efforts, you are almost certain to fail.
2. What value are you
offering for exchange? The main
advantage of content is that, when done effectively, people see it as an exchange of value rather than an interruption. It offers the
resources and expertise of an enterprise to customers and partners in a way
that holds their attention and builds an ongoing relationship.
For example, Nike leverages its relationship with top athletes to create compelling videos that millions love to watch and share with their friends. American
Express offers its customers expert business advice on its Open Forum. The Institute For Advanced Study invites
some of the world’s top scholars to give personal accounts of their
groundbreaking work.
So the first principle of any effective content strategy is to be clear
on what value you are offering. Are there relationships you can leverage like
Nike does? Are you offering advice, like American Express? Can you offer access
to world-class experts, like The Institute For Advanced Study?
Notice how this approach is diametrically opposed to a traditional
marketing campaign. Marketers have been trained to be consumer focused. But successful producers and publishers are mission focused and that makes all the difference.
3. What’s your anchor? A traditional ad campaign has a defined
beginning and an end. When it’s over, you compare the results to your initial
goals to determine whether it’s successful or not. Successful content efforts,
on the other hand, are open ended and often run for years. They must transcend
changes in the marketplace, the audience and even the personnel who initiate
it.
That’s why it’s important to anchor your concept. In Made to Stick,
Chip and Dan Heath note that Hollywood films anchor through “high concept
schemas,” like “Diehard on a
bus” for the hit film Speed,
or “Jaws on a spaceship” for Alien. In much the same way, Lifemagazine was the “showbook of the world” and Cosmopolitan is “fun, fearless and female.”
Notice how the consumer target is implied—you certainly wouldn’t market
“Jaws on a spaceship” to toddlers—but
not a primary focus. What’s essential is the editorial and creative mission.
“Diehard on a bus,” seeks to be exciting. A “showbook for the world” conveys
understanding through pictures. “Fun, fearless and female” inspires confidence.
It is only through anchoring a concept that you can create a consistent
experience that your audience can relate to. That’s how you hold their
attention.
4. What type of experience do you want to
deliver? Traditional
marketing campaigns rely on popular programing to build an audience. Brand
publishers, on the other hand, need to hold the audience’s attention by their
own merits. To create material that people will want to read or watch,
marketers need to shift their emphasis from crafting messages to creating
experiences..
Most marketers have become aware of the importance of user experience in
products and websites, but ignore it when it comes to publishing and producing.
Instead, they fall back on traditional marketing conventions such as targeting
and messaging. That may work for a 30-second spot or half-page ad, but is less
effective for creating a compelling experience.
Successful publishers pay close attention to their things like format,
structure, and voice. It goes without saying that you write a different article
for a daily newspaper than you would for a feature in a magazine, just as you
would approach a TV pilot differently than you would a full length film.
Delivering a consistent experience matters, and successful content
efforts put significant effort into creating and documenting standards.
Magazines have “brand bibles” that clearly
define architecture, voice, and pacing. Radio stations run on clocks.
TV shows have clearly defined story structures, character arcs, and so
on. These rules not only set audience expectations and make content
easier to take in and enjoy, but also form the crucial constraints in which
creativity can thrive.
So instead of thinking about content as just another marketing ploy,
think seriously about the experience you want to deliver, almost as if you were
inviting customers into your operation. The experience you create for them will
be what they remember — and determine whether they ever want to come back
again.
