The Benefits of Marketing Content Over Product
How Americans acquire content has changed drastically in the past ten years. This is most noticeable in the entertainment industry, where physical media such as CDs and DVDs have given way to online streaming services like Spotify and Netflix. Yet many businesses remain mired in outdated tactics. Traditional advertising is no longer effective; in order to thrive, marketing professionals must begin investing in content over product, or risk losing traction to competitors who have already embraced this idea.
Generating Brand Loyalty Through Binge-Worthy Content
Advertising techniques that worked in the past—namely, brief video ads that offer no opportunity for audience engagement—simply won’t cut it today. For starters, they are very costly, and any impression they make is likely to be fleeting. Even worse, many consumers view these ads as interruptions, and immediately reach for the remote (or keyboard) in order to skip past them. How many times have you visited YouTube and become annoyed when an ad delays the start of your video? Once those 15 seconds have passed, few people are even going to remember your ad…if they were even paying attention in the first place.
Organizations that want to succeed must opt for a creative approach that offers opportunities for engagement with the target audience. Forget about metrics such as reach and impression and focus your energy instead on building brand loyalty through the development of original, interactive content.
- Instead of advertising during a show, why not create the show instead? Resist the urge to tie it to a specific product; consumers will immediately recognize this as just another ad. Instead, create content aimed at the interests of a specific segment of your target market in order to encourage word-of-mouth. A manufacturer of snowboards, for example, could create a documentary about extreme snowboard enthusiasts rather than a series about the actual snowboard. Those who are passionate about the sport will find it much easier to relate to people over the product.
- Develop longer content that audiences will perceive as binge-worthy. Those traditional 15- or 30-second ads fail at establishing a lasting connection with your brand. Alternatively, if you focus your efforts on creating an entertaining half-hour special or series of 10-minute segments revolving around your audience’s interests, you’ll have much better luck grabbing their attention and fostering engagement.
- Flip the script and market your content like it’s a product rather than marketing your product within your content. Don’t embed a product pitch inside that show you have created; instead, use ads to encourage consumers to watch your content. This is an excellent way to develop brand loyalty.
- Focus less on data and more on emotions. Remember all those metrics we advised you to ignore? We meant it! Forget about conversion rates; what’s most important is understanding how people feel about your brand…something that can be measured through time invested in your content.