Changes in marketing technology can have a rough effect on businesses trying to get their messaging out.
Take ad blocking, for example. More than a quarter of Internet users employ ad blocking software, which forces organizations to rethink their user experience. Similarly, Google’s shift to a mobile-first index has required publishers to prioritize how content appears on smartphones, rather than desktops or laptops. Then there’s Facebook, which inflated viewer numbers to make its video platform look more successful than it was, greatly affecting publishers that fell for the “pivot to video.”
These sudden technological shifts are the reality in the marketing space, which must course-correct and re-strategize entire campaigns in case someone at one of the big companies flips a switch and upends an entire algorithm that could render mountains of content unusable.
Fortunately, there are plenty of evergreen ways content marketing can stem the tide of these changes, and ensure you stay on top of your messaging and content creation without resorting to flashing pop-up ads or ill-conceived pivots. Here’s how to stay on top when marketing technology goes awry:
Don’t Forget Data Analytics
First, let’s assume you already know valuable information, delivered via tangible, high-quality content, is the most evergreen solution to rapidly advancing tech. But how can you continue to refine your message and improve your customer experience over time? What about your content pages—how are people finding them and what do they enjoy viewing?
A data-driven approach to content marketing takes the guesswork out. Monitor the time spent on each page, the number of shares, and segment traffic numbers and sources by time periods that you can compare to one another. Analyzing this data will help identify trending topics, target audiences, audience responses, and chart the map for your future content creation. It’s technology you can count on.
Read the Room via Social Conversation
Want to learn more about your customer’s emotions? Unless they suddenly ban comments and tweets, Facebook and Twitter have made it incredibly easy to swap opinions back and forth at record speed. Do a search of your brand name and see what people are saying outside of your owned community channels (your own Facebook page or Twitter timeline, for example). If you’re really daring, give Reddit a shot. Get a read of the emotional temperature. Are customers happy? Great, continue to produce content that they love. Are they frustrated? Then it’s time for a check-up.
Of course, you should be commenting, tweeting, and addressing concerns within these communities, too. Building rapport with customers increases brand loyalty and can generate leads. It also helps amplify your content in a more active way, rather than sitting back and waiting for organic search traffic. No screaming, flashing ads necessary.
Attend In-Person Events
Don’t just focus on the virtual world. 56 percent of organizations use in-person events to distribute content because conferences, conventions, and industry panels are all real-life locations you can easily leverage to get your message out. Sure, people can just read websites, but to form a real human connection a handshake and eye contact also helps. Plus, getting to know potential partners in-person helps build trust and relationships faster.
Speaking at events also gives you the chance to share your brand history with people face-to-face, and it can builds strong thought leadership within your industry. They also give you the chance to discuss your solutions with customers and find out their problems, quickly, in real-time—no need to wait for feedback survey results. Then follow-up afterwards, create content about the event, and offer your past content in email newsletters to keep the discussions going online and to nurture qualified leads.
Staying on top of technologic changes can be challenging, but these tried-and-true tactics will get you through the next algorithm alteration without relying on disruptive ad practices. Still have questions? Let us answer them for you.