Marketers should really use content to engage prospects and customers. Pushing a product into the market no longer works. It’s the product that has to pull the market in, through channels such as social media. And that is much more complicated than it sounds.
A relatively small group of marketers are using part of their media budgets to commission and create engaging programs and stories through YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter and Facebook. However, marketing content must serve a purpose. And as content creation takes up a greater part of the marketer’s role, they will need to understand its applications.
For example, ads that create a narrative will have viewers follow. Polling viewers to know what direction they want the narrative to take will give the audience a certain level of control over what happens next. Suggestions can come in through Facebook, Twitter, and even old e-mail. Opening up a story to the public to develop its next stage is a calculated risk, given that people could suggest any outcome imaginable, but case stories suggest most ideas will be in tune with the brand message.
Of course, content needs to be good. There is very little point making content if it is not very good or engaging, or if it does not deliver on communication objectives. Good content will generate a deep commitment, and this in turn can increase prospects’ as well as customers’ depth of engagement.
By turning a brand into a valued source of information (or entertainment), consumers are more likely to visit by their own desire, and each time they do, be reminded of that brand’s values and characteristics.
