Not too long ago, product reputations were cast in stone. So, whether it was a preference among families with children for Happy Meals at McDonalds, or for officegoers to pick a sturdy Nokia phone, consumers stuck to brands because they made expected experiences possible.
In the digital world, this is no longer true.
Customer loyalty to brands is not static. Instead, it is created and remade in dynamic ways according to shifts in peer-group opinion, product experience, and online reputation.
So, how are content marketers, set with the task of creating compelling web content for organizations in today’s fickle and distinctly fast-paced, digital age, to go about their work?
Marketing content in the digital age
In our view, by keeping two things in mind. Firstly, content marketers must always have the broad canvas of customer requirements in clear and plain sight. Secondly, with this in mind, they must craft and deploy a combination of content assets most suited to match the stage of their customer’s journey. Which means that not only should content marketers focus on setting up a comprehensive brand website. They must also actively drive traffic to it by deploying other content elements. This could include social media posts, traditional communication means, emails, and powerful visual feeds, such as Instagram.
Let us consider a few examples.
Galvanizing customer interest with on-site, real-time photography
Better known among consumers for its electronic household products including washer dryers, American multinational conglomerate General Electric or GE succeeded in creating a buzz around its wind turbines, jet engines, and locomotives business recently by running an unusual content marketing campaign. The campaign offered viewers an inside view of GE’s various aviation engine testing and test operation facilities by allowing six Instagram influencers to walk around these sites and upload rare pictures in real time. The result? eight million views of GE’s Instagram account; three million reach per tour, and 3000 new followers.
Leveraging an integrated approach to content assets
Next, consider The AARP Magazine—America’s largest consumer magazine by base rate— that has won awards for its content quality, design, and photography. Targeted at the age group of 50+, it takes an integrated approach to content marketing by combining responses it gets from its readers on email, letters, and social media to determine the topics they will cover in forthcoming issues. The magazine that goes to 22 million households boasts of having more than half of its 37 million readers having read three of its last four issues.
Bolstering customer interest in the enduring legacy
And, finally, consider high-end luxury watch brand, Rolex. In having been founded in 1920, the company has had to deal with the challenge of reinventing itself as an aspirational brand patronized by some of the world’s most iconic leaders and actors. Rolex has addressed this challenge fittingly by leveraging great copy in its social media posts, superb visuals in its print ads, and dramatic video footage on YouTube to showcase its eternal value.
In today’s digital era, consumers change their loyalty to products according to how they meet their ethical, practical, and cultural needs. It is imperative for web content marketers in such a scenario to create strategies for brands that not only focus on building more webpages but also on driving traffic to the website through other content assets.
Although brands still need to tell compelling stories to turn engaged customers into advocates, how they tell them requires more than reliance on one content form. Click here to access a detailed, comprehensive e-book we have put together to learn more about what you can do to tell your brand’s tale powerfully. After all, no matter how crowded and chaotic today’s marketplace gets, as content marketers, you know all you need is a relevant strategy to get your brand to stand out.
