In 1996, Bill Gates said those famous words, “content is king.” Content is the essence of marketing. It drives awareness and sales when done right.
Over the years, content marketing strategies have changed, evolved with the shifting time. The overwhelming impact of digital content has re-evaluated the way content marketing agencies use media.
Content marketing isn’t stagnant. It changes with the landscape. Online media has taken over traditional media in terms of success, quantity, and popularity as it doesn’t have boundaries. This caused a shift in the focus and purpose of content marketing.
Google’s shift in orientation
The ultimate goal of content marketing is the same—create relevant content to get your product or service page at the top of SERPs. But the route is much different than it was ten years ago.
In 2011, Google, with its ZMOT (Zero Moment of Truth) study, pointed out the context of content marketing. In this study, they found that 88% of users go through a discovery and awareness stage before buying a product.
As a result of this remarkable study, the focus on sound SEO was highlighted. Relevant content with keywords gained a prime focus. Poor content practices like keyword surfing were eliminated.
From 2011, the entire focus has been to improve user experience. This factor has completely changed the purpose of content marketing.
User experience and customer-centric approach
With this massive change in the dynamic, content marketing services quickly adapted to these new approaches. Blatant self-promotion without quality content wasn’t going to do it anymore.
Content had to more shareable, attention-grabbing with a specific significance to be ‘viral’ across media channels. The customer-centric approach involves strategizing content according to customer’s needs and preferences. Personalised tailor-made content became imperative that could not only promote a product/ service but also promote brand value.
The popularity of video content
By 2017, more than 50% of consumers on social media preferred to see videos over images. In general, blogs are informative, but videos are engaging.
Don’t get us wrong. We love a good newsletter, an eloquent blog, as it provides a strong perspective on things.
However, videos are quick and easy to follow. And since YouTube, all social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok are producing appealing videos for everyone.
If figures are to be believed, 85% of businesses are using video as their primary marketing tool, and the number will rise more.
So, if you need engagement, emphasise on enriching, well-crafted video content for your audience. Google loves videos and tends to feature them higher on the SERP than written content.
Rise of value-driven content
Content is produced at an accelerating rate, and customers have the option to choose from a huge palette.
Nowadays, customers don’t engage with the product or service anymore. They engage with the brand, its values, and its approaches.
People refuse to share their time and energy on mediocre promotional content. So, brands need to participate with them personally. Create content that is suggestions or explain how you can help them.
While predicting algorithm change is impossible, Google makes sure to stick to its preference on purposeful and empathetic content. So put some effort into understanding your customers and produce content that caters to them.
This is precisely why research and statistics are becoming so popular with content marketing as well as social media marketing agencies.
How do data-driven strategies help brands?
A customer-centric data-driven approach always gives a positive outcome to the brand:
- It improves brand value by providing value-oriented content to its customers. It helps to strengthen their market dominance and reputation.
- Tailor-made content generates quality leads.
- Quality leads, in turn, boost conversion rates by six times more.
- Positive user experience is an essential factor in achieving a high Google ranking.
- Being a source of credible information leaves trust and a positive impact on your customers. This helps to gain brand loyalty.
What to do?
With everything we discussed, it is evident that content is still the primary driver behind all aspects of digital marketing.
New trends and challenges are emerging every day, so getting too comfortable might not give you the best result. To consistently keep track of the changing marketing trends and producing content it can get overwhelming. As the emphasis on customer habits and quality content rises, so does the intense competition.
It is getting harder and harder to stay relevant all the time. To avoid the effects of oversaturation, it is best to get professionals involved. Involve a holistic digital marketing agency like KOL Limited with an array of SEO services, content marketing services, and social media marketing.
