Whether social media, influencers or newsletters and online magazines: The world and the unofficial rules of content marketing are constantly changing. There is no 'big player' who sets the course here and says, "This is now a trend!". Rather, it is about the fact that the great attention to the topic of online marketing generally provides for many participants in the market. A large number of participants means first and foremost: many different tests, many different approaches and, above all, many different results. And that's exactly what it's all about: the consensus of these many results are ever-changing trends about the user's behavior or acceptance of certain advertising content and formats. And it is precisely the consensus of this lively market participation that matters today. The following article will provide you with useful content marketing "rules" that you will not be able to avoid in 2019.
1) Content is king? Video is king!
"We should do videos? Yes, sounds good ... let's see ... "- That should be over, but why? Videos or even small 'spots' bring great advantages. Roughly, of course, this is because a video has a much higher 'traction' than a photo or, above all, a text. This means that a user is watching my 30 second video rather than lingering in front of a still image for 30 seconds. An interesting fact: If you turn on an ad on Social Media, which consists of a video, recognizes the algorithm of the corresponding social channel that this is a video and thus rather users on the platform retains, than that one they - for example, with a boring text or image ad - scared off. The platform benefits from the video so that the user usually stays longer on the page and rewards this with favorable terms for the advertiser. Correspondingly the other way round it looks, if I build an ad, which consists only of a text and a link - here the advertisement costs me correspondingly much money.
Furthermore, a person's perception of a video is a lot higher. While videos on more complex topics - such as SaaS or B2B - are very well suited to explaining complicated issues, you can benefit from the fact that the user understands the gestures and facial expressions of a person speaking in a video, especially on very personal topics. much easier to memorize and then recognize, as if he would look at only one picture of this person. In concrete terms, this means: YouTube, but most of all, IGTV Instagram stories are coming to the fore when it comes to content marketing. However, not only the social media channels should be considered here. Much more interesting are the places where videos can be placed where you really stand out: For example, in the individually designed Novamag magazine, which approved in comparison to the classic PDF newsletter, the inclusion of active content.
A nice anecdote: Imagine, as a user, you are currently reading an ad: you read it yourself in the head with a fictitious voice - a large part of the character of the advertising company is lost. This whole variable ("How does the person sound?", "How does it affect me in the video?") Is completely eliminated by publishing a video.
2) Authenticity > Professionalism
Online marketing is progressing. We are no longer in the time of "Come on, we'll try this out on the side!", And we also do not currently experience a Goldgräberstimmung. Corporations, but also many SMEs and small businesses have recognized the relevance of online marketing for several years and turn diligent advertising, invest in training or shift their budgets more and more in the Internet. However, many forget one of the most important principles, which at the same time is the title of this section.
And many forget that it is more important to be "real" than to be truly professional. This can also be observed very well, if you yourself occasionally on various public forums or on social media is traveling: advertising on advertising. The bad part is not that advertising is switched. The bad thing is that you immediately realize that it is advertising. Storytelling and native advertising serve as keywords. Nobody should be incited to make surreptitious advertising. That's not necessary. It is important to stand behind what you do and also act as a real person or with real promises, real stories and genuine sympathy. Specifically, this means, for example, that the time is up when you work on LinkedIn with chatbots to generate loads of leads for your own webinar. Rather, the following applies here: class instead of mass, concretely: no spam, but an authentic and as individual as possible approach.
"The favor of the customer wins the one who is closest to him!" - And it is precisely this proximity is mass news and lack of individuality in a kilometer-long route. This section is somewhat related to the previous and following. Authenticity should become the absolute maxim of each campaign by 2019 at the latest.
3) Interaction with the user as content source
To be honest, when do we as consumers really feel integrated and addressed by a brand? Almost certainly, one of the factors that favors this is 'interacting with your own customer'. At this point, let's start with the buzzword of 'UGC' (User Generated Content), which is crucial for this topic.
Basically, 'mouth propaganda' should always be an effect of a good product. The logic behind it is quite simple: My customers are satisfied, so they tell their friends about my products. But now let's ask ourselves why they should only tell their friends and not just my entire community. Why should not my clients themselves have the opportunity to present themselves to my contacts and followers if they have had good experiences with my products? Right! There is no good reason to speak against it. Specifically, 'UGC' means that I allow the user to participate in my content marketing.
This could be expressed concretely in the following examples:
- Revenue from users who link to me in their Instagram story.
- Conduct interviews or participate in blog posts with my client.
- Reposting good and appropriate social media posts (for example: The user posts a recipe that has to do with my product, the user experiences something through my product and wants to share that with the outside world).
The 'Social Proof' is also relevant here. This term has been around for quite some time, but was only really influenced by the first advertisements on various fitness programs. It is about the fact that we see in the ad (at that time actually still on television ...) a person, which has the same age and sex in the optimal case, like me. This person proudly reports that she has lost more than 10 pounds in the last two weeks. At that moment you look at yourself in the mirror and think, "Wow! The person from the advertising could be me. I want to do that too! "- So you create the scope for identification.
