Marketing Content During the Customer Lifecycle

Lee Odden on Nov 23rd, 2010  

We’ve established the value of content marketing here through many different posts. Most of the focus has been on creating value from content at the top of the funnel in a buying cycle. That’s where a lot of marketing dollars are focused and it’s an area of focus for the consulting offered by many online marketing agencies.

Content is the source of why search engines exist and therefore, essential for any discussion of SEO. Content is also the means through which brands engage customers on the social web through helpful information, resources, advertorial and even entertainment.

Another perspective to consider is that when brands and individuals share information on social networks and media sharing sites the outcome is content. There are many ways to be more effective with social content creation, sharing and engagement that marketers are not taking advantage of.

From an overall marketing and customer engagement perspective, all content is not created equal. Any kind of content isn’t appropriate in any kind of situation despite what recent content advocates would have you believe.  Since much of the focus of online marketing is on customer acquisition, many SEO efforts emphasize transaction or lead generation outcomes. That’s what they’re held accountable for. Unfortunately, search to purchase or social to purchase are not the only ways people interact with information online. Research before purchase as well as education and support afterwards are also important.

Being in the “brand as publisher” business is better than not creating any content at all, but it’s a much more effective thing to be purposeful in content creation & marketing according to the full customer experience. Seeing content engagement opportunities holistically can provide a company more ways to initiate, maintain and enhance customer relationships.

For example, in the context of online marketing, there are many different touch points during the customer relationship. Using the Buying Cycle model of: Awareness, Consideration, Purchase, Service and Loyalty, marketers can best plan what kind of content may be most appropriate to engage customers according to their needs.

For a holistic editorial plan, here are a few types of content and methods of communication to consider:

Awareness:

• Public Relations
• Advertising
• Word of Mouth
• Social Media

Consideration:

• Search Marketing
• Advertising
• Social Media
• Webinars
• Product/Service Reviews
• Blogs
• Direct Response

Purchase:

• Website
• Social Commerce

Service:

• Social Media (ASB Virtual Branch is a great example)
• Social CRM
• Online Messaging (LivePerson)
• Email
• Search – After the sale queries on FAQ, Knowledge-base content

Loyalty:

• Email Newsletter
• Webinars
• Blog
• Social Network, Forum – community

In the development of a content marketing strategy, there are numerous opportunities to be more relevant and effective. Planning content that’s meaningful to the customers you’re trying to engage according to where they are in the buying cycle and overall customer relationship provides for more efficiency in content creation as well as the repurposing of content.

Holistic content marketing and editorial planning also helps make better use of tactics that transcend the relationship timeline like SEO and Social Media.  It’s especially the case with holistic SEO that content producers can extend their reach and visibility to customers that are looking – not just to buy, but to engage with brands in other ways.

By considering the content needs across the customer lifecycle, not just acquisition or conversion, companies can become significantly more effective and efficient in their ability to connect relevant messages and stories with customers that are interested. The result: shorter sales cycles, better customer relationships and more word of mouth.

How is your company leveraging content throughout the customer relationship? Are you coordinating a content marketing strategy that integrates SEO and social media? Does it make sense that the business of content strategy and promotion of content extends beyond marketing?

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Moms Place Trust in Other Consumers

FEBRUARY 10, 2010

Influencing one another

Consumer reviews are significantly more trusted than descriptions that come from manufacturers, according to a survey of US mom Internet users by online video review site EXPO.

Online moms doing product research put their faith in descriptions from consumers nearly 12 times more.

Traditional channels such as in-store promotions and newspaper inserts still have significant influence on the purchase decisions of online moms, but word-of-mouth and consumer information sites and magazines also scored highly. About one-fifth of respondents were influenced by text or video reviews.

The power of video reviews was growing, with nearly one-quarter of moms saying they had an increasing influence on their purchase decisions.

Nearly 64% of respondents had watched a user-generated video review, and more than three-quarters of that group said it helped them make a purchase decision—either for or against a product or brand. Far and away consumers’ favorite thing about video reviews was the ability to see the product in action, cited by more 81.3%.

Respondents expressed a marked desire to see user-generated video reviews on a variety of sites, with 40% to 50% seeking them on shopping comparison sites, brand sites, e-commerce sites, Facebook and YouTube.

About one-half of respondents had ever uploaded user-generated videos, and 35.9% of those had uploaded videos about products or brands. Among those who hadn’t, nearly 90% said they would do so.

Keep up on the latest digital trends. Learn more about an eMarketerTotal Access subscription today.

Check out today’s other article, “Why You Need a Strategy for Social Media.”   

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What Consumers Look for in New Tech

JANUARY 28, 2010 

Most feel marketers don’t understand their needs

A majority of consumers think technology has made life better in every area except personal relationships, according to the Philips Center for Health and Well-being.

Communication, information and medical treatments topped the areas of their lives that consumers felt were improved by technology. In addition, 64% of respondents said the Internet in particular had made life better, but only 26% said the same of social networking services such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.

Consumers’ biggest concern was that technology be built to last, followed by good quality and the best price. Women were more interested than men in tech that could make life easier, save them time and let them express themselves through personalized features.

Just under one-half of consumers reported that technology was easy to use, and a further 32% felt it had a good mix of advanced features and basic functions. In 2004, only 13% of respondents thought technology was easy to use, indicating a dramatic increase in users’ comfort level.

Respondents ages 18 to 24 found technology easiest to deal with, while those ages 55 and up were most likely to say it was too complex to operate. Men also reported more ease of use than women.

Growing comfort with technology has come hand in hand with an increase in respondents who believe tech companies understand their needs (37%). Still, a majority of consumers said companies make what they think will sell, and 39% thought manufacturers simply fell in love with their own ideas.

One-third of respondents reported a substantial disconnect with tech marketers, saying companies had no idea what their lives were like or what they would use. Notably, women were 7 percentage points more likely to say so than men.

Keep up on the latest digital trends. Learn more about an eMarketerTotal Access subscription today.

Check out today’s other article, “Baby Boomers Get Connected with Social Media.”   

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Consumers Take to Shopping by Smartphone

Android users willing to spend the most on mobile

JANUARY 11, 2010

Q3 2009 data from Compete lends support to the hope that 2010 is—finally—the year m-commerce will take off.

Nearly two-fifths of smartphone owners reported having bought something nonmobile over their mobile phone in the past six months, though many still report frustration with mobile site functionality. And the top shopping-related smartphone activities are still research-based.

More than one-half of smartphone users checked out product descriptions, and many looks for reviews, coupons or better prices. About one-third even bought the item on the mobile channel after seeing it in a store. eMarketer senior analyst Jeffrey Grau warned of this danger on the eMarketer blog.

“A retailer’s best defense for maintaining customer loyalty is to develop a mobile offering that allows in-store shoppers access to customer reviews and other product information on its Website,” he advised. “By providing mobile access to their extensive online product information, they help customers feel more comfortable about making a purchase.”

Android users said they would spend the most via mobile, followed by iPhone owners. Smartphone users with Windows, BlackBerry or Palm devices had similar, lower spending thresholds.

Usage of m-commerce features among smartphone users is higher than among all mobile subscribers. Deloitte found that 15% of US mobile users purchased products via mobile at least occasionally in 2009. The researcher also found that about one-fifth of mobile users planned to use their phone for shopping activities this past holiday season.

Keep up on the latest digital trends. Learn more about an eMarketerTotal Access subscription, today.

Check out today’s other article, “Harnessing Active Brand Advocates.”

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Consumers Positive About Tech Changes

JANUARY 6, 2010

Mobile phone is greatest change for the better

Americans looking back at the end of a decade have little love for trends such as reality TV, they are generally positive when evaluating the most basic technological and communications advances that have affected their lives, according to the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.

Respondents had the overall best view of cellphones, which 69% claimed were a change for the better. Sixty-five percent said the same of both e-mail and the Internet.

Other, more advanced handheld devices, such as BlackBerrys and iPhones, were also relatively popular, though one-quarter of respondents thought they were a change for the worse. Unsurprisingly, younger adults were more likely to be positive about the rise of smartphones, while users over 65 were more evenly split.

Online shopping was slightly less likely to be seen as a good development, at 54% of total respondents. But when it came to e-commerce, 24% of consumers said it made no difference—and younger adults disliked it at more than twice the rate of seniors.

“No difference” was also a major factor in consumer views of the marketing darling, social networking sites. Adults of all ages were notably ambivalent about the sites, though nearly one-half of those under 50 had a positive impression. Despite wide uptake in recent years, the largest group of respondents over 65 did not know enough to say whether social networks were good or bad.

Even active users of social media have registered mixed feelings of the medium with other researchers, however. Crowd Sciencereported that more than one-half of female users ages 12 to 21, for example, thought they spent too much time with social media.

Keep up on the latest digital trends. Learn more about an eMarketerTotal Access subscription, today.

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