Evolving content strategy for a better consumer experience

“We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the changes that will occur in the next ten.” — Bill Gates

These words by the Microsoft founder from his book, "The Road Ahead," published in 1996, stand so true. While we all see the immediate changes happening around us, smartphones, the Internet and Internet of Things (IoT) are changing some fundamental human behaviours, which may not be too apparent in the short run. With technological advancements, the way we communicate and consume content has also evolved. As a result, some of the fundamentals of communication and marketing are going through a paradigm change.

Let’s take a look at the classic communication model that we all swore by — the funnel of Awareness-Consideration-Purchase-Loyalty; this is changing completely. The enormous amount of information unlocked by smartphones and the internet is changing the way consumers engage with brands and companies. An active evaluation is made on the basis of the information, and that makes it pertinent for brands to be present in myriad ways and formats to seamlessly weave the brand communication into the fabric of the consumers’ lives. The way in which a brand engages with consumers varies based on many dynamic factors, thereby necessitating a dynamic communication approach and content strategies.

In today’s day and age, changing consumptions patterns are leading to short-attention time span and crunched decision-making time among other parameters. From viewing/consuming the information to taking action, the time taken by the consumer could just be a matter of minutes. Brands need to ensure that the right information is provided and a right impression is created in the short ‘opportunity window’ provided to them.

As users are distancing themselves from consuming content and media via a single platform and heading towards a more diverse approach, it has become the need of the hour to provide them with a more holistic strategy.

What we see when it comes to a popular brand like Flipkart is their belief in connecting to their consumers through platform-agnostic content. Despite being a mainstream e-commerce platform, they strive to promote their content across all mediums. It can be noted that their films that do well on social media platforms are then adapted as television commercials, to reach out to a wider demographic. While doing so, they have maintained a high level of consistency through their messaging.

Another brand successfully implementing a platform-agnostic content strategy is OnePlus. The success of this mobile phone giant in the Indian market has been due to its relentless focus on delivering content across various platforms and e-commerce websites as a part of their promotions. These promotions carried out via different mediums have led to the brand creating an extremely loyal band of users. These consumers don’t just stay updated with the latest technologies about their OnePlus phone, but their content strategy ensures that they communicate their vital feedback back to the brand so that the products improve. Case in point being the feedback received from these users helped avoid a repeat of the criticism faced by the OnePlus X.

Lastly, there exist few brands other than Maggi that have exemplified the potential that a platform-agnostic brand can achieve. Especially overcoming a major setback that saw them being banned from the Indian market for six months. With a major hit to its reputation and sales, Maggi bounced back through its emotional branding and re-conquered the market share. Attaching themselves to the sentiments of the Indian consumer was done across all platforms during the course of the ban.

A "Miss You" campaign was used before the re-launch of the product where all videos were tailored to garner goodwill from the viewers. A brand that has been in the Indian market for more than 25 years, Maggi is now an emotion to its consumers in the country. To achieve so much in such a tenure could not have been possible without reaching out across platforms to the vast number of Indians who love the noodles.

A few key tenets that will hold all content strategies in good stead with the consumers would be ensuring that:

• it provides real, tangible value
• it is interactive and engaging
• it is easy to discover through searches, referrals or social media
• it either educates, entertains, engages or inspires them

It is pertinent that we are aware of the changes that are happening in the world of the consumers, and ensure that our content strategies keep pace with their dynamic world.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of www.buzzincontent.com and we do not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)