Content experience is the future of content marketing

Before I start, let me paint two scenarios for you.

Scenario 1: You are drinking coffee on-the-way to work. You’re late, and as you whizz across the pandemonium to reach on time, you’re distracted by the loud siren down the street.

Scenario 2: It’s wintertime and 7 degrees. You are in a snow-cabin that overlooks the Himalayas, snuggled-up under a blanket, sipping your hot cuppa coffee and basking in the glory of the view.

Even though it’s the same cup of coffee, one can safely assume that you are more likely to enjoy it in scenario 2.

The environment has an incredible impact on human behaviour. Whether you’re a metro-dweller or a small-towner, your environment plays a crucial role in moulding your taste. Therefore, it’s imperative to create experiences that resonate and influence you.

The definition of “content experience” is simple.

But your content experience is more than just your environment. It’s the place where all the action takes place. One where your customers consume your content and you can control and measure effectiveness at every stage of the buyer journey.

But, really is content experience really the future of content marketing? Let’s dive right in!

In our most recent investor education campaign ’Kya Plan Hai’, our main goal was to stand-out from a crowd of equally competent mutual fund players —whose main aim was investor education.

But how did we cut through the noise?

A well-optimized content experience allows you to effectively manage content, that meets your organization’s goals, is consistent across mediums, so that the audience never feels disjointed from the brand.

In the case of #KPH, the objective was simple. We wanted a hero space that wasn’t tapped into an extremely relatable across socio-economic genres. So, we focused all our efforts in amplifying the message of ‘upgrading your lifestyle’, in a manner that was colloquial and relatable on an emotional level. For us, that meant increasing brand awareness by making #KyaPlanHai a part of conversations. And we did that by creating a 360-degree experience. Our audience could feel our message through print, television and digital (Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, HotStar, iAvatarz, Google search, MoneyControl, Indian Express and Aaj Tak).

By ensuring that a central thought gets showcased, you create an unforgettable content experience in the mind of the user.

In the case of #KPH, we were 100% sure that television and digital were our most penetrable mediums. So, most of our content was released and amplified there. A well-optimized content experience involves the merger of content for both the content manager and the end-user.

Additionally, it allows your users to continue their journey by easily following an engagement path. Engagement means establishing a meaningful connection and relationship with your end-user. While interactive assets can certainly help build these kinds of connections, it’s important to think of your content on a macro level and focus on building an engagement path.

But one of the biggest errors in building engagement is that many organizations forget to streamline their communication and the end-user is left to hunt for relevant information.

With our investor education campaign, #KyaPlanHai, we created an experience where all our communication and engagement was concentrated. We ensured that ‘upgrade’ became the reason and emotion of our message that our audience couldn’t just relate to, but also feel and convert to a whole new level.

As a result, our campaign reached the right people, at the right place and at the right time.

The concept of content experience isn’t new. Organizations should ensure that they put forward the amount of resources required to properly optimize their content experiences.

Whether you’re leveraging content for marketing, sales, or success, your goal should always be to provide value to your desired end-user.

Because at the end, the experience is an integral part of the process which impacts your user’s behaviour and ultimately your content’s performance.

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of www.buzzincontent.com and we do not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)

(The views expressed are author’s own views and not necessarily those of HDFC Asset Management Company Limited (HDFC AMC). The views are based on publicly available information and other sources believed to be reliable. Past performance may or may not be sustained in future. HDFC Mutual Fund/HDFC AMC is not guaranteeing returns on any investments. The views are not an investment advice. Investors should obtain their own independent advice before taking a decision to invest in any securities.)