Wake up in the morning to the TV turned on, the morning music show plays along in the background. It switches to the news channel while breakfast is consumed. Billboards, radio shows, and Twitter catch attention during drive-time. There is Facebook, Pinterest, emailers and all the other websites browsed during the day. Towards the evening, it’s Instagram, Snapchat and Twitter again. Throw in a good amount of YouTube during the day and more TV at night.
Marketing content reaches out to us every day through one medium or another.
We are living in an era where our options of consuming content are increasing by the day and we do not hesitate even for a second to switch from our ‘real’ environment to our ‘mobile’ environment. With limited attention span, even a micro-second to catch a consumer’s attention can make a difference in the ROI of the campaign the marketing team runs.
So how can we make our content smarter to speak more intelligently?
To start with, getting the foundation steps right will help.
1. Know your audience.
Where do they hang out? What do they like talking about? Where do they like eating? Where do they go shopping? What do they aspire towards?
Use data. Use research. Go out there. Get to observe them, know them.
Know them not just as the 163472 likes on your page but as people with personalities.
2. Have clarity. Have a plan.
Never under-estimate the power of a good brief.
Write it. Re-write it.
Have clarity. Build on it.
Have a strategy plan in place outlining clearly the following as articulately as possible:
- Business objective – this could range from launching a new product to driving sales of their latest Teddy Bear ‘Fluffy’.
- Marketing objective – Build awareness, increase brand recall, increase preference, communicate new positioning etc.
- Communication objective – What is the single most important thing you want people to remember or take away or do as a result of the campaign? This is important and needs to be thought through.
- Media objectives – Think beyond the number of likes and followers generated and have objectives attuned to the kind of consumers to be reached, conversations and content on the respective platforms.
3. Create intelligent content.
Tap into the audience personality, have your own brand voice.
Customize content on each platform to appeal to the audience you are talking to.
Build a story, be consistent. You can talk about
You can talk about yourself on the traditional media but on social, you need to engage, tell a story and have a conversation.
This means, having a content strategy becomes critical and investing in it becomes high priority. Vice media is a perfect example and brands like Samsung and HBO are collaborating with them to create exclusive content to talk to millennials.
4. Take risks
The rush is to create the next viral video but that intention gets off-set by budgets and inability to take risks. Some of the best advertising ideas end up in the recycle folder or its equivalent trash bin. We will never know what may click or be interesting unless we try. If we don’t try, another brand or marketer will.
5. Data and analytics
Have a balance between innovative ideas and consistent campaigns. Use data to build synergy. Share the data amongst stakeholders. The digital agency needs to be involved in mainstream campaigns and the mainstream agency needs to cross-link to the digital platforms. Disruption is as important as synergy.
Most marketing concepts, theories, and ideas get lost in process and execution. They also need to be connected with the everyday reality of the people we are talking to. Having an open mind-set, constantly learning and unlearning thus become key to evolving in a complex marketing environment and connect to audiences.
Ramblings of Anusha 