Today’s consumers access content from a myriad of digital and traditional sources and make their buying decisions based on a pattern that doesn’t even slightly resemble the old “purchase funnel” graphic. Neither does it match the neatly linear way in which many companies (and agencies!) like to sell their products and services. Consumers control how they research, how they interact with brands (and other consumers), how they buy.
To succeed, a brand must be where its prospects are – everywhere they are – in the online and offline world, and ensure its relevant and valuable messaging surrounds them at every stage of their exploration and decision-making process. In addition, it must tangibly help them in terms of increasing their knowledge and confidence and in completing the tasks they’ve set themselves.
How does a brand achieve this objective? By developing an overarching content strategy based on the company’s business and marketing goals as well as the needs and habits of consumers: how they research the category, what they say and think about the brand, the words they use to describe what they’re looking for, the social and experiential context of their lives, and ultimately, how and where seek that information.
The disciplines needed to deliver the insight that will define this content strategy include a combination of social media and organic search strategy, ethnographic research, persona development and the relentless analysis of previous activity.
Once the consumer’s behavior and life context are understood, content and channels can be defined. Consumers must be able to access content that helps them complete the tasks they’ve set themselves however and wherever makes the most sense for them. Only then can a brand deliver the relevance, value and utility necessary to consistently impact the decision-making process. Call it Enterprise Customer Experience.
At Next Engine we believe the integration of digital, social media, search, and publishing skills are essential to delivering on this promise. Integration enables us to convey and participate in an audience-appropriate narrative across an array of media forms.
Content powers web 2.0…but print remains relevant
The success of custom magazines over the course of many years has been largely driven by their ability to engage audiences with compelling long-form content. Ironically (at least to those of us who have evangelized publishing over the years), the web has created a demand and opportunity for exactly this kind of content, created by writers and editors steeped in journalistic skills. Magazines remain relevant – but now as a critical component within a larger content and media strategy which now includes the web and social marketing.
It’s content – whether branded, 3rd party or consumer generated - that powers the consumers’ web experience. Websites provide context and architecture, social media tools provide the means of distribution, but at its core the web is a democratized publishing platform.
People are creating, connecting, sharing and helping each other on a scale never seen before. Many prefer the dynamic of personally directed research on the web as preferable to more traditional brand –to-consumer communication. It depends on the consumer and what they’re trying to do.
Whichever channel is chosen, the decision is best made based on an overarching understanding of consumer behavior. The only way to achieve that is through the integration of channel and discipline responsibilities.
