Content strategy and what to aim for

I scroll through social media with increasing boredom and frustration. What I see is a series of announcements and photos of people and events, but little that engages me. People are performing content-generation tasks in the workplace, but they are not going out of their way to engage me. The problem is a lack of interest on the part of the industry or understanding of content marketing and its creative potential.

The tools of content marketing are primarily social media (posts and reels), websites and newsletters, but may also extend to blogs and articles such as this one, infographics and podcasts (not yet popular in Namibia). These must interest and engage the audience enough for them to stop scrolling and go through the content.

There is a fine distinction in the definition. The aim of content marketing is firstly to market the content and secondly to market the product or service. If the content is not marketed, neither is the product. Think of it as selling the tool that builds the relationship. You can’t make the sale by boring people into submission, so the content must be relevant and arrest the scroll.

But it is more than relevance. I am increasingly hearing the term ‘content saturation’. Part of my frustration with social media is my inability to fix on one thing and develop an interest and engagement. I now find myself scrolling through reels and pressing ‘like’ to influence the algorithm. Content really is saturated. I press ‘like’ or ‘follow’ on stuff that is extraordinary.

Targeting is critical. The content must be aligned with the interests and needs of the target audience. Audience research, including demographic data, online behaviour, and customer feedback are means to tailor content effectively. The more relevant the content is to the audience, the greater the chance of it being viewed and shared.

For example, I mostly use social search to make buying decisions. I live in Hochland Park, so I am more likely to buy close to home. I also get deliveries. These options populate my search bar. My feed or timeline is populated with junk, however. I am very unlikely to buy backlinks or dubious courses. The social media managers obviously don’t do targeting or keyword searches.

Don’t waste time with the idea of organic virality. Boost posts to make the best of keyword searches.

But above all else, have empathy for the audience. The viewer will spend a significant amount of time scrolling through feeds on a daily basis. The scrolling will include items that engage and items that have absolutely no value whatsoever. The attention has value. If you are posting items that do not engage the audience, you are dismissing the value of the attention and wasting their precious resources.

Don’t read yourself into the audience. It will have different interests and motivations to you.

There are several routes to follow to gain and hold attention.

Firstly, entertain. A viewer is more likely to engage with content that entertains, be it humour, horror or plucking at heartstrings. It may be possible to do quantitative in this regard, observe scrolling behaviour.

Secondly, illuminate. Offer insights and knowledge that enrich the audience.

Thirdly, solve problems and reflect the customer journey. By doing this, you will not only enrich usage but will also likely gain insights into products or services, their marketing and evolution.

Treat content marketing as a type of product marketing. Content is the product. The price is the consumer’s willingness to pay with attention. The place is wherever the consumer is exposed to content. Promotion is the value of the content to the consumer.