Today, brands know how to best interact with their target consumers. This primarily involves using social media platforms. Through them, brands are able to speak directly to their community members and create stronger bonds. There is, however, an important first step for attracting consumers’ attention. Brands must first share a great deal of content on their profiles in order to grow their communities.
This method is called content strategy and consists in reaching your target audience through your posts on social media. Such posts can have several goals. They can, for instance, focus on the company’s expertise, showcase a new product or even introduce a new employee. By using these digital tools, brands ensure they have an active presence on social media and can best interact with their communities.
Content strategies are often part of the editorial strategy. Marketing teams reflect on what the company’s social media messaging should convey and how to go about it. They weigh the pros and cons of the different formats whether photo or video. They also get to choose which tools they’d like to use – Reels or Stories for instance – and plan photoshoots if needed. Over the year, their content calendar should be filled with a variety of posts that have the potential to interest as many people as possible. Above all, content must reflect a company’s primary objectives e.g. to sell more products, increase brand awareness, grow the community on the brand’s profile, etc.
Digital content creation – a strategy adopted by companies
It’s safe to say that today, content marketing is an essential strategy. Companies now know how important online marketing channels are. They allow them to interact with consumers, strengthen their relationships with them and focus on brand storytelling. In addition, social media platforms open new horizons for companies. Thanks to the tools made available on businesses’ profiles, brands can monitor their results. Indeed, a range of data is available to help them better understand followers’ profiles including where they live and how old they are.
With so many benefits, companies didn’t think twice before planning their own content strategies. According to a study by HubSpot, 82% of marketers actively invest in content marketing. 70% seriously invest in this type of strategy in order to reach a new audience and 24% plan to increase their content marketing budgets. Lastly, nearly 40% of marketers say that content marketing is a very important part of their overall marketing strategy.
Brands leverage content marketing to fulfil specific goals, namely:
- Strengthen the brand and its image (85% for B2B, 81% for B2C),
- Acquire more customers (82% for B2B, 77% for B2C),
- Build consumer loyalty (62% for B2B, 73% for B2C),
- Strengthen employer brand image and recruitment (21% for B2B, 13% for B2C),
- Nurture investor relations (12% for B2B, 6% for B2C).
Content marketing strategies tend to be long-term. It is indeed rare to see results in just a few days. To make meaningful social connections with their community, brands must be patient and stay on top of their editorial plan. Regular posting is key on social media. If we insist on this, it’s because a very small number of companies still fail to keep up or to find their voice on social media. According to a study conducted by Statista, only 1% of B2B companies and 3% of B2C companies don’t follow a well-defined content marketing strategy.
Influencers are the answer to successful content strategies
What can companies do when they’re lost? Who can they turn to? A majority of them will hire digital agencies for the management of their social media. But are there any other experts that can also help them?
If you’re wondering, the answer is of course yes. Here we’re talking about content creators or “influencers”. They earn their living thanks to social media platforms. Every day, they share a piece of their life with thousands of strangers who take their recommendations seriously. These accounts are full of inspiration for businesses looking to get started.
Beside inspiration, brands also have the chance collaborate directly with them. Product placement is far from being the only option brands have when it comes to influencer marketing. When they work hand in hand, influencers and brands can make a winning team and post great quality content that stands out. Influencers know exactly what brands should post on social.
Fast fashion brands really get this idea. When they partner with content creators, they ensure that they can use the content afterwards. For example, Asos does this really well. After partnering with an influencer, the brand makes sure to repost the photo. It blends in perfectly with the editorial line created internally. This way, the brand has new content on a regular basis, which meets the expectations of the platform’s users and is of good quality.
Conclusion
As you can see, everyone can come up with a digital content strategy, but getting good results is a little more difficult. Making sure your posts are seen among the millions of pieces of content shared every day can be tricky. Brands also need to have a good understanding of what users expect from each tool, feature and platform. Popular content on Instagram won’t necessarily work well on TikTok, for example.
To ensure good results, brands can run influencer marketing campaigns. By collaborating with content creators who have great communities and real expertise, they ensure that their visibility will increase and that their posts remain relevant.
This type of partnership is increasingly popular among companies, as it offers an answer to many problems. Ready to give it a try?
To learn more about this topic, check out our other dedicated articles such as ‘Why You Should Include Influencer Marketing in Your Annual Marketing Plan’.
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