Content is everywhere. The way we absorb and digest it, be that through TV, streaming, podcasts, printed or social media differs for everyone but content is what draws us in.
According to research carried out by the Content Marketing Institute, in 1984 the average person saw 2000 ads per day. By 2014, that had leapt to 5000. How have we as consumers of content responded to that sensory overload? Well we’ve learned to home in on the content that intrigues and inspires us, whilst disregarding very quickly the content that doesn’t.
A study on Facebook users found that the average time spent on viewing content on mobile devices was just 1.7 seconds and on desktop, 2.5 seconds. The attention span of younger audiences was even lower. Now whilst this doesn’t tell the whole story, it does demonstrate that in 2018 we have a very limited attention span for content in general unless we’re intrigued enough to find out more.
In this blog, we’ll be looking at the importance of your content and exactly why it should dominate your thought processes and strategies when it comes to marketing your brand or business.
What is content marketing?
According to the Content Marketing Institute, content marketing is:
A strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action.
Rather than a direct plug for your services or products, the aim of content marketing is to serve relevant and useful content to your target audience. The key is making your content both unique and intriguing, whilst also being informative and reliable. If you can establish yourself as the number 1 source for information in your industry, your content will be resonating exactly as you’d want it to with your target audience.
Some interesting stats
Thanks to Newscred Insights and others mentioned, the below stats really highlight the importance of focusing on your content:
- According to the ‘missing the mark’ report carried out by the Economist Group, 71% of readers say they were turned off by content that seemed like a sales pitch
- The ‘meaningful brands study put together by Havas Group found 84% of people studied expected brands to create content
- The average person will consume 11.4 pieces of content before making a purchasing decision, according to Forrester
- Recent research has shown that 74% of companies have indicated content marketing has increased their lead quantity and quality
- 95% of B2B buyers consider content as trustworthy when evaluating a company, research by DemandGen showed.
Content Marketing & Direct Mail
Amalgamating Direct mail with digital media is proven to produce results. Although they may seem two very contrasting mediums, utilising the two channels in tandem creates a richer and multi layered engagement experience for the end user. By incorporating direct mail into your content marketing strategy, you can run digital & social media campaigns alongside your DM campaigns to take the consumer on a journey from offline to online seamlessly. The impact Direct Mail has on a consumer is often unrivalled when compared to digital channels, and the impressions they leave last a lot longer. Being able to get in front of your target audience with a Direct Mail piece that allows them to physically interact with it gives you an opportunity to then drive them towards other campaigns you may be running online, perhaps a QR barcode that takes them to a PURL (personalised landing page) promoting an offer or service that is specifically relevant to them given their past buying behaviours.
Be specific and target your audience
Your content has to be targeted and resonate with your target audience if it’s to be successful. As always with any form of marketing, it’s about delivering the right message at the right time, to the right people. Serving an article on pet products to a household who have no pets is a waste of everyone’s time. As always, it starts with the data. By scrutinising your databases you can identify trends and patterns based on past purchase behaviours and really drill down on specific demographics such as age, gender and location to ensure your content is as targeted as possible. It’s also important to remember that attention spans are shortening and so it’s vital your content is engaging and has an immediate impact that leaves the recipient wanting to consume more. Although Direct Mail is always a good place to start when looking to initially engage, giving some real thought to where the journey takes your recipients next is crucial. A younger audience will engage better with an online touchpoint such as a PURL or a piece of social media content on platforms such as instagram or snapchat, but will that have the same effect on the baby boomer generation? That’s not to say the baby boomer generation aren’t au fait with social media channels, but giving some thought to the specific points along the journey your content will lead them on is paramount. It’s a much more detailed approach but how well your content resonates with the people you put it in front of will determine your success.
The opportunities for utilising Direct Mail within your content marketing strategies are endless. A successful marketing campaign is usually based around a cumulative approach, engaging your target audience across various channels that hopefully will lead them to making a purchase or signing up to use your services. Your content can be informative or just visually engaging with an impactful message about your brand or values, but it needs to be captivating and most importantly it needs to resonate.Staying on top of industry and wider social trends will serve you well at the development stage when strategising your campaigns, and once paired with the intel you will have sourced from your database, you’ll be able to produce a content marketing campaign that delivers real results, hopefully with Direct Mail being it’s centre piece 🙂
Thanks for taking the time to read this blog piece, if you need any further info or would like to discuss your direct mail requirements, feel free to contact us on the office number: 0118 474 888 or email us at: enquiries@heraldchase.com
