People have always had a misconception about content marketing campaigns that they were built on ideas coming from huddling around a whiteboard as a team, working in isolation, or staring at a screen for hours upon end. However, the actual scenario is entirely different- It has several nuances to it, most of which no one really talks about.
The Era of Content Marketing When someone asks you what do you do, and you say I am a content marketer. Do you find that quizzical look on their face when they aren’t satisfied with your answer? It often happens to me! So I simply explain them; it’s like working for some kind of newsletter where you have to look forward each day to receive insights regarding the financial market. Of course, the newsletter has nothing to do with the funds the broker was selling, but the information provided is quite valuable and useful for investments made by the reader. This is what content marketing is all about. It is to inform, educate the target audience but not regarding products the company sells but relevant information in such a way that you become loyal to the brand.
Considering content marketing as a collection of blogs, Tweets and web pages has become a little passé. From a marketer’s point of view, it has been around far longer than the Internet. In contrast to one-off advertising, content marketing is a long term strategy that mainly focuses on building strong relationships. More importantly, it shows that you care about your customer. For example- a U.S. chain of DIY auto-recycling yards named Pull-A-Part came up with this intimidating concept of creating a one-of-a-kind video series that features how to convert an undrivable vehicle into a pickup worthy of a tailgate.
Unlike traditional product marketing efforts that featured sales collateral, product-based info, content marketing incorporates educational articles, e-books, videos, entertainment, and webinars.
How to Strategize Effectively?
Like it or not, content marketing mediums and methods came into existence than ever before. This means it’s high time that you must revise your strategy and come up with something intuitive.
Follow these steps:
- Map the content to the pain point
- Use the appropriate content
- Map the content keeping buying cycle in mind of those people who have that problem.
Lastly, establish a specific direction for your content. I mean if you wish to outreach think of Facebook ads, landing page, explainer videos, and infographics. If you wish to increase conversions consider social media, informational blog posts, case studies, quizzes. In case of retention provide some exclusive offers, whitepapers, e-mails, contests, surveys.
Overall, content marketing is not rocket science, but it takes some patience, creativity, and an analytical outlook. Speaking of which it has been observed that disruptive technologies like big data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning have started influencing your content marketing efforts to a great extent. Let’s find out how?
Big Data in Content Marketing
Unfortunately, while creating content marketing plan businesses fail to realize who their target audience is and what are they looking for and more importantly, which content will offer the best results regarding new customers. What actually happens is in the rush of doing more with less, brands often end up creating a diverse content marketing plan and hope that it will stick with their target audience.
On the other hand, big data is no longer a buzzword; it has become a new way of doing business. As a result, several brands have started harnessing some of that Big Data, although, it’s changing the way they approach the content creation process.
#1 The type of content seems to be changed- There was a time when brands used to create online content in a vacuum during which they might be able to track key performance indicators but not in an appropriate manner. I mean they weren’t able to have a detailed view of how each specific piece of new content impacted that final KPI number. With big data, marketers can now have a better perspective into the performance of each new piece of content. Due to which brands can fine-tune and tweak the type of content that they create on the fly. And this can happen without the need of having to wait until a new content marketing campaign ends.
#2 Converting from an “art” into a “science”- As you as think of bringing data analysts to analyze performance, it means you are automatically going to change the way that content is perceived within your organization. Content marketing is slowly and steadily transforming from art to science.
Content that used to be created a few years ago is a thing of past. There was a time when long editorial meetings were conducted to decide which stories we should run, themes or concepts to highlight, What can be best for users and What we should not use. Today, the game has entirely changed- all thanks to big data technology. With the help of analytical tools, we can know what’s in and where with what demographic. After that, you will know exactly what type of content to create, how long or short it has to be, when to post it, and of course, how to optimize fan engagement.
#3 Give a competitive edge to brands- Big data is delivering a huge competitive advantage for brands featuring a well-developed content ecosystem. In simple words, you are optimizing the reach of each post for in regards to audiences. One thing is for sure; if you’re running a content marketing campaign, you cannot have too much data. Gone are the days when brands used to pump out a lot of content around the clock. In the present scenario, it has become imperative to understand the performance of that content. Brands striking right to heart are the ones who can create the right content at the right time for the right audience.
The Takeaway
I hope I have made a point that big data can give you better insights into your audience. Although, I can’t necessarily guarantee anything concerning services or buying their products. That’s where big data and content marketing strategies come into play. Let me explain you via an example, being a manager you can look at the company’s specific analytics with the help of Facebook insights to build an informed strategy. Depending on the popularity of past posts, the times fans of the page are on Facebook, and demographics such as gender, location; you can come up with what type of content to share on the social network.
On and all, big data serves a significant and useful purpose in driving content strategies. And this is probably the time when you understand your target audience as well the market. The possibilities of how data being used for content marketing are simply endless and exciting- all it needs is a bunch of some intuitiveness and creativity.