This has compelled brands to make their content marketing approach based more on visuals. Today, even product information needs to adopt an approach of storytelling so that customers can relate to its existence within their lives. Products need to be publicized for their wide-reaching and engaging qualities. This transformation has encouraged the growth of innovative web designs, which feature several visual effects and complex interactions. They help in creating design for content that not only connects but also evolve with the target audience. With marketing being data-driven today, there are several tools for easy performance measurement like shares, engagement, channel analysis, and more. By tracking the performance of content, marketers can effectively optimize the content that works and do away with formats and topics that do not work in order to maximize the results. Distributing content through multiple channels Multichannel marketing helps brand content reach where prospective customers are expected to be. Location data makes content connect in real time Effective content is one that is backed by consumer insights and data. It is then that marketers need to publish the content multiple times and vary the message too based on the consumer profile and the platform through which it is being shared.
Over the last two decades, content marketing has changed formats, added multiple channels to reach its target audience, tested UX and design to attract readers – done all of this in a bid to market their brand optimally.
However, at the base of all this, content marketing, since its advent, has always been about storytelling. The proliferation of online channels has not only made life easier for publishers in terms of distributing their content, it has also helped marketers connect with prospects easily on social networks. Till some time ago, only the moneyed businesses could think of audio and video content or sponsorships on radio and television or print their own publications. But with the coming of new and innovative technologies like platforms for video sharing, photo uploading, and blogging, more companies across several sectors can now engage in creating a unique brand identity of their own.
The recent years have seen a paradigm shift in the kind of content that is being generated and the way in which it is being made public. The transformation can be measured in two broad categories – design and technology.
DESIGN
Design has become an integral aspect of content culture in the recent years. Design provides the rather black words on a white page with a visual appeal, thereby making the content more effective and welcoming. For any content to fulfill the purpose it’s meant for, design becomes a key element to infuse appeal and attraction to the end target. Content marketers are aware of this and are skillfully making use of design in every content post they produce.
See rather than ‘C’ for content
While visual appeal in any form of publishing is a known fact, today, content is all about pictures, infographics, charts. Consumers increasingly communicate through pictures, be it using emojis or sharing a story on Snapchat. This has compelled brands to make their content marketing approach based more on visuals. Visual channels are not only redefining how consumers find out, associate, and engage with their favorite brands, but they are also affecting the kind of images that customers relate to. For example, Domino’s launched a food ordering system whereby tweeting a pizza emoji is all that a customer needs to order one. Although long-form content is still around, graphic content bytes like short videos and infographics are trending.
Get creative with your visuals
Now that we have established that images are the hook that attract visitors to your content, it’s important that you work on the creatives for a piece of content. If your content is being created for specific audiences, understand that stock visuals need to be worked upon instead of using sterile photos sourced online. In today’s time where editorial-style creative is the standard being followed, stock photos on social channels, emails, and product pages will only affect your brand image in a negative way.
Content needs to connect and not just inform
Earlier, most of the content focused on informing prospects on all aspects of the business, product or a group of products. Today, even product information needs to adopt an approach of storytelling so that customers can relate to its existence within their lives. Products need to be publicized for their wide-reaching and engaging qualities. This factor has led to the widespread growth of native advertising. When product information is disbursed through articles, images, and social posts, it becomes more shareable and when content comes through peers or contacts, it has more impact on the target audience.
Using new visual formats and Internet capabilities to make creative content
Users these days spend more time on smartphones and tablets. This transformation has encouraged the growth of innovative web designs, which feature several visual effects and complex interactions. This has been possible with new technologies like CSS3 and HTML5. Sliding and fading visuals, parallax effect on scrollable sites, elements of augmented reality, and interactive buttons are a few that can be named.
Web developers are creating responsive websites that can ensure a constant user experience across devices be it desktop, tablets or mobiles. The design is such that it adjusts automatically to the screen choice of the viewer. So, users viewing a content on a desktop get full experience, while the one using mobile gets minimal design and task-oriented content.
How to use color, shape, and space for effective content
Designers with a thorough knowledge of core designing methods and consumer psyche are much in demand these days, as they ensure a brand connect with both existing customers and potential prospects. They help…
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