Constant noise is the biggest marketing problem we face today and in the future. Our current methods and systems are not adapting to the environments so we must change or innovate to rise above the noise.
We are in a limitless world. However, we’re still using the marketing methods and systems that were developed during the time of limited access to information.
We need new methods that consider the new environment, not just the iterations of old ones.
You might say that “What? But I use social media, marketing automation, content marketing, and many more!”
Those are actually new tools and channels. Yet, we still use the same methods and systems, just on new channels.
By 2018, there are over 200 channels and each channel has multiple tools. The number will keep on increasing because we are living in a world of limitless media consumption.
There are 200,000 posts waiting for you on Facebook in one day. On average, you will check your Facebook timeline 15 to 20 times per day. You also have 6 more channels that you try to be active on.
Aside from the multiple channels, there are more noise, more businesses, and ideas. Then the idea of ‘more is not more, but different’ arises.
Because reaching anyone is easier and cheaper today, all social media channels compete to have the best marketing tactics.
So, how do you make your content stand out among this limitless crowd?
Understand what consumers want
Human desires have changed and have been shaped according to the environment. To make your content rise above this noise, you must understand that desires drive behaviors and decision-making.
Below are the ways consumers turn to when they want to fulfill their inner desires.
Honest Experiences
The truth is more content doesn’t mean more traffic.
Experiences are made of content. However, this doesn’t mean you need to create a lot of content. Keep in mind that people want authentic experiences. Use content to create ‘value’ and trade it with permission.
Publishing often does not correlate with the influence the content has on the relationship you have with your consumers.
People do not buy goods and services. They buy relations, stories, and magic.
– Seth Godin
Google’s work and research proved that giving a linear journey to consumers no longer work. Instead, brands should help consumers in meeting their purpose.
Honest experiences can help them fulfill their desires and discover their purpose.
24-hour news reports, infographics, and white papers. Everyone is overloaded with information so you can use effective storytelling to cut through the nose and prioritize what you want your customer to care about.
Fight Boredom
Consumers use the internet to fight boredom and thus, leads to other desires like wanting to escape.
Escape
People who want to escape will try to lean on discoveries and social channels. They want to look for ways to escape their work, life, job and take a short break.
Yet, the escape must happen honestly and naturally. It cannot be manipulated by a business or brand but must be discovered by the person.
Discover
This one of the most useful gifts of the internet, especially the social media.
- Self-discovery. This means finding things on your own. Just like when you don’t like a person’s attitude until you think it is your own attitude. Unlike mass publishing that provides linear experience to customers, self-discovery is the highest form of value the internet gives to humans. The moment you want to fulfill a desire or purpose, your instant nature to find kicks in. The internet is the quickest way to get that desire or purpose.
- Active discovery. This is when consumers actively look, seek, or find a specific item or information online.
- Passive or guided discovery. Brands can use this in attracting customers. This requires you to know each person, demands, and its relevance to your business. By doing this, you will put customer success platform at the center of your marketing efforts. It allows expansions to other social media channels with dynamic and predictive personalization. Just like when Amazon hires data scientists to study their conversions. They analyze the reasons for purchase and apply their findings in making their website an e-commerce brands where consumers can find and discover anything they want to buy, consciously or not.
Instead of making more content, you should focus on building relationships with consumers’ inner desires. After understanding the desires of modern humans, give them valuable experiences.
Stay connected
Mediate relationships
Everyone wants to have an active social media presence. This is the content consumers make about themselves to validate the mediated self that they want to project.
By simply engaging with this, you can help consumers fulfill their purpose. Moreover, you won’t need more content.
People engage in an average of 7 social media channels and they project a different self on each channel. They do this to express their feelings and desires and receive the validation of other people. The power of like comes in here.
Because modern media engagement is all about the release of dopamine, you can use mediated relationships to keep your customers.
More people have access to mobile phones than drinkable water or electricity they want to have conversations, interactions, and reaffirmations.
Dynamic Content
Dynamic automation can provide a contextual and instant experience to consumers. Also known as ‘adaptive content’, this refers to web content that changes based on behavior, preferences, interests of users. It is the website and email content that can be generated by users requests.
In short, dynamic content is personalized and adaptable based on the data you get about the user and access time.
The best example is Facebook’s personalized posting area.
Create Mindset
Most of the noise is not from businesses but from consumers. To manage this, you must have a proactive mindset.
You must keep in mind—and everyone in your company or organization—that everything you do will end up online. Services will be reviewed through tweets, products will be showcased and analyzed, sales and results will be talked about. You must understand the effects of your actions, especially the net positive effects.
In creating a mindset, answer the following questions:
- What does your company value in an employee?
- What does your company value in a customer?
- How do you and your company define success?
Everyone in your company must understand and remember this so they can manage and lessen the possible bad experiences of customers to ensure a net positive experience.
At the same time, having a uniform and clear mindset will help you sustain and protect your brand from the content that will be published about you.
Finally, small and frequent adjustments and experimentations is a great way to a successful operation of dynamic environments.
Your marketing tactics should be dynamic since your consumers and channels are constantly changing. We are now in a place where instant adaptation and experimentation is possible.
So, feel free to try new things and don’t be afraid to fail. Once you find the method that is most suitable for your business, it will be easier for you to rise above this infinite noise.