Content marketing has become important to companies in recent years. But, in 2013, there are content marketing wars taking place on two fronts.
THE TWO BATTLES
Firstly, there’s the battle between companies trying to capture hearts and minds by aiming to be THE definitive source of news and information, and, ultimately, product and services. The second battle is that of the actual content producers. Some content is produced in a traditional, manual way by teams of copywriters, photographers, editors and producers. The other way content is produced is by automatic means, and through robots.
THE IMPORTANCE OF BELIEVABLE CONTENT
Companies have realised more and more the importance of good content, as it’s a subtle way of grabbing the attention of a prospective customer. The likes of Amazon picked up on this very quickly. It’s one thing to have lots of good products, but how do you sell it without beating people over the head? The answer is to provide lots of good content, and use customer reviews, which are freely provided. The content then becomes believable by being an honest appraisal of a product. This also reflects well on the company, because even very negative reviews are included. Companies that actively encourage feedback can then utilize that feedback to create relevant and interesting content. As the public normally appreciate their opinions being sought, this becomes doubly beneficial to companies.
GOOD CONTENT CREATES A FAVOURABLE IMPRESSION
Any prospective customer who feels that he or she has been given interesting information, and in an entertaining way, will often have a favourable impression of the company – and before they’ve even purchased anything. Though selling a product or service is obviously the goal, companies are increasingly aware that potential customers are not going to be so swayed by the hard sell as they were in the past.
CONTENT INFORMATION WARS ARE INTENSIFYING
Content marketing wars are intensifying, with personalized messages tailored to our likes being fired at us from all directions. But, business is business. We have been listened to, and we are only being given information about stuff we have said that we’re interested in. So, companies attempt to outdo each other competing for our attention with great content.
THE SHIFT FROM SEO
Google’s Panda has also put pressure on website owners and bloggers to come up with unique and good content. Previously, SEO had been king, which often irked, ironically, some good content producers. So, companies now need to provide good and new content to appear high on Google – or risk losing out to competitors they may have been previously comfortably outselling.
ROBOT v HUMAN
Content is also being produced automatically by robots, as people’s likes are becoming recognised, and then similar material is offered mirroring individual tastes. Using robots, with an ability to produce content very quickly and with a specific target audience in mind, will appeal to many companies. Using humans only to create content may be a slower process, but it will result in being able to create content that is truly individual.
SOCIAL MEDIA A KEY BATTLEGROUND
There are many ways that a company can engage prospective customers with its content. Recently, infographics have been one way of doing so, as they provide illuminating information in a way that is easy to digest. Video is an effective medium when it comes to grabbing attention, and social media is a good way of getting information out to a massive amount of people very quickly. Using video and social media can be particularly effective, and gaining favour with social media users is a key battleground when it comes to content marketing wars.
HOW GOOD CONTENT IMPROVES CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
The definition of good content for any company is content that is both impactive and relevant. If an audience feels that it can relate to the content, then the chances of sales are greatly enhanced. Good customer experience will also help to develop a sense of loyalty between brand and customer.