Way back in 1996, George R.R Martin published Game of Thrones and Bill Gates wrote an essay titled Content is King. Yet unlike Jon Snow, content still reigns supreme in 2022. Although it’s fair to say that in the 26 years since Gates coined the term, there have been some changes.
Fast forward to 2016. While many were watching Games of Thrones’ final season, Gary Vaynerchuk penned the phrase “Content is king, but context is God.”
Context is your ability to serve the right message to your customers on the right channel, at the right time. And in doing so, creating the strategic setting your story needs to shine. Let’s take a closer look at why content is still king in 2022, and why context is omnipotent.
Creating Valuable Content for Your Customers’ Journey
What’s hot in content mirrors current digital marketing trends. And as technology grows, context shifts with it. But creating content that speaks to every stage of your customer’s journey remains relevant. After all, content is how your business connects to and builds trust with your audience.
Today, the top four formats marketers leverage in their content strategy are videos, blogs, images and infographics. Creating content with user intent in mind is key. Wistia found short-form videos have the highest engagement rates, so expect further video content unveiling throughout 2022. In fact, 89% of marketers plan to continue investing the same amount or more in their video channel of choice this year.
Infographics are another top content performer for 2022. 56% of marketers who use it say it is their most effective marketing content. Using graphics to explain a concept or providing a visual piece of data is not only visibly appealing, but it’s informative too. Plus, infographics illustrate the context in a shareable way too.
Meet Your Customers Where They Are
According to Vaynerchuk, respecting the platform and your audience is vital. Crafting a witty one-liner for Twitter is different from filming live videos on TikTok. Yet each approach appreciates not only your audience but their chosen platform.
And since more Americans listen to podcasts each week than have Netflix accounts, leveraging audio content is set to rise. Indeed, the medium is so popular that a Nielson report found that podcast ads generate up to 4.4x better brand recall than display ads.
On that note, while optimal platform choice can vary according to your industry, creating brand awareness with your content has one thing in common - no matter your field.
Story-Driven Content
Savvy customers today demand honesty and integrity. So even if you’ve picked all the right platforms, the best content strategy in the world will be rendered moot without engagement. At its core, storytelling is the gateway and the bridge to audience connection.
As the heroes of the customer journey, your audience connects with each buyer stage via the content you provide. Infusing that content with story separates clickbait from quality and helps to build a loyal, genuine community around your product or brand.
Not only that, but a good story compels customers to action. And creating trust and engagement leads to a quality user experience, something Google knows and loves.
Understand Your Audience…and SEO
Because Google’s algorithms prioritise the user experience, content that ranks high on search engine results pages (SERPs) always provide customer value. Already by understanding your audience, you’ve helped improve your SEO. However, understanding the evolution of SEO is vital to effective brand communication.
With all the talk of interactive content, you might be wondering where a strong blog fits into your content plan. After all, gone are the days of bloated blog posts full of overdone keywords. Yet, while keyword stuffing is out, long-tail keywords are in. Particularly as voice search becomes more relevant. After all, Siri is a household name.
Because the way people search the internet has changed, structuring your blog around topic clusters that link to a central pillar page helps give searchers better answers. Creating your site with a strong SEO strategy in place will help you to organise your website architecture in a clear way that makes your blog stand out.
By now you’ve grasped the holistic nature of content marketing. And while content is still king in 2022, context, the setting where you place your content, is crucial. Content plus context equals strategy and, by its very nature, storytelling ties it all together to create long-lasting connections with your audience.
Ultimately, even if you know nothing Jon Snow, you’re aware of Game of Thrones. So if you’re looking for help in bringing your brand to life with a successful content and marketing strategy, drop us a line. We’re passionate about creating quality content with your audience, and SEO best practices, in mind.
Right now we are offering a free half-day customer journey mapping session to just one selected business per month. Complete the form to register your interest.
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DIRECTOR - Road Ninja
