Content marketing must be conducted with clearly defined objectives.
In content marketing, "measuring results" and "establishing evaluation criteria for content" are difficult.
These concerns are still frequently heard today. This may stem from the fact that designing the underlying content strategy—the very foundation for measuring results and evaluation—is actually far more difficult than imagined.
For example, some mistakenly consider only "who to communicate what to" as the "strategy." This approach often leads to a process where multiple messages are set for multiple targets, multiple pieces of content are created to match, and then the content is organized by funnel stage.
In such cases, the purpose of implementing content marketing is unclear, and the desired outcomes are vague. Consequently, the approach often becomes "let's just track metrics like PV, UU, or conversion rates for each piece of content." However, simply tracking these data points rarely reveals the true picture of consumers or customers, nor the insights needed to inform future content planning.
Amidst this, we constantly ponder whether there isn't a better way to design optimal content strategies that take a broader view of marketing activities. This time, we'll share one such approach.
Needless to say, before formulating a content strategy, you must first identify the marketing challenges. Is the product or company known to consumers? Is it a new product or an established staple? How will you address customer base challenges like an aging population?
These challenges define the "purpose," narrowing the direction of various marketing initiatives needed to achieve it. Within this framework, the role and goals of content marketing are also determined. Inevitably, marketing challenges influence content strategy.
In other words, content marketing cannot be viewed merely as "disseminating information" or "operating company media." To solve marketing challenges, it must be designed based on hypotheses formed from the perspective of "what actions do we want people who engage with our content to take toward our business?"
Approaches to Engaging Customers: "Announcement-Based," "Moment-Based," "Conversational"
Amidst this, as channels beyond mass media have proliferated, the ways companies approach consumers and customers—their "methods of communication"—have also evolved.
Based on various examples we observe in the field, these approaches from companies to consumers can be broadly categorized into three types:
● Informational Approach
This is a one-way information dissemination approach. Examples include advertising across both mass and digital media, as well as campaign announcements via social media accounts.
● Moment-Based
This method involves timing information delivery to coincide with moments when user interest peaks. Typical examples include digital targeting ads and retargeting. Email delivery via marketing automation, content segmentation through recommendations, replies on social media, and SEO (search engine optimization) also fall under this category.
●Interactive
This approach involves companies becoming part of the community or customer base, engaging in dialogue while providing information. It primarily occurs through account posts and interactions on social media, chats, and communities within membership-based sites.
And we now believe that "these approaches to reaching consumers should be integrated with marketing strategy."
For example, whether a product is new or existing changes the desired consumer action—from "learning about and purchasing a new product" to "continuing to buy an existing product." Consequently, the information and approach needed to drive the desired action also change.
For new products, first, product information and benefit announcements are essential. We want the target audience to learn about the new product, consider it, and ultimately purchase it. Achieving this requires an "announcement-based" approach.
For existing products, however, there are cases where new purchase reasons are created—such as "enhanced functionality," "expanded usage occasions," or "refreshed packaging"—and cases where no such new information exists.
First, when new purchase reasons exist, a "moment-based" approach is viable. Target individuals likely to have these newly established purchase reasons by approaching them at moments when they might be interested in such information. Sometimes, create buzz and moments in the market to uncover and approach potential buyers who might have these purchase reasons.
Next, for existing products without new information, it's crucial to prevent brand switching among loyal customers. The ideal is to turn them into passionate brand advocates.
For existing products, especially low-priced, frequently purchased items, a "moment-based" approach is necessary. This involves creating situations where the product becomes a topic of conversation or gains buzz every time a purchase is made.
Conversely, for high-priced items purchased only once every few years, maintaining the relationship with the customer throughout the period between purchases becomes crucial. In this case, the approach primarily involves utilizing a "dialogue-based" strategy, aiming to maintain a gentle, ongoing connection.
Keep the desired outcomes from content operations as simple and clear as possible.
When developing a content strategy, reconnect it to your core marketing challenges. First, broadly outline the "approach" that matches these challenges. Then proceed with persona development, insight gathering, customer journey mapping, and touchpoint design. Only after this should you dive into individual content planning.
Designing with a slightly broader perspective will likely enable more effective utilization of content marketing.
Finally, a brief note on content evaluation.
As mentioned at the beginning, evaluating content often leads us to focus on "which content is being viewed the most," inevitably resulting in chasing metrics like page views (PV) and unique users (UU).
However, from a marketing utilization perspective, the scope of data that can be tracked and analyzed throughout a content marketing project is extensive.
[Examples of insights gained by leveraging data from content marketing projects]
- Understanding and analyzing how many people viewed the content itself
- Understanding and analyzing the audience: Who is visiting?
- Understanding and analyzing the information consumers and customers acquired and the sequence in which they acquired it, to inform future initiatives
- Analyzing whether the content marketing project contributes to marketing goals (e.g., maintaining brand relationships)
The above are just examples. In today's era, the volume of data available and the insights it provides have exploded. Therefore, you must first organize and carefully select the "results you want to gain through analysis" before proceeding with the work. Otherwise, you risk spending an enormous amount of time.
Problems can also arise, such as being overwhelmed by diverse analysis results, making it harder to decide on the next steps, or having too many tasks to handle effectively.
For all members involved in content operations to truly feel the impact of their "results," I believe the key is to align everyone toward a single purpose aligned with the marketing goal and proceed only after clearly defining the "results we want to achieve through analysis."
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