Conventional wisdom holds that emulating successful people is the key to success. While this may hold true in many domains, when it comes to content marketing, breaking away from the norm can often lead to better outcomes and higher profits. Today’s competitive marketing landscape is inundated with content – even more so since ChatGPT reared its questionable head. There’s the matter of ensuring quality of course, but that may not be enough to stand out. Businesses now need to explore more innovative marketing approaches and embrace unconventional thinking.
In a world where many brands play it safe by doing what others have done before, counterintuitive marketing can be the antidote to unoriginal and uninspiring content that drowns out in the crowd. Here are three easy-to-implement content strategies that may defy common logic but will generate tremendous impact.
Cultivate a Community for Collaboration.
Old school marketers suggest that businesses must design and control a consistent marketing message to maintain brand identity. To some degree, this remains true – especially with regard to the overall values and vision of your company. However, beyond that, while building a body of content to cater to your target groups, this approach can come off as inauthentic.
In today’s market, consumers crave transparency, honesty, and a sense of connection. Moreover, “traditional persona-based marketing is no longer relevant” as the consumer decision-making journey has “veered from its predictable linear path.” As far back as 2017, experts were noting the unique attributes that differentiate “individual customers and prospects from the mass of other similar customers and prospects.” To connect authentically to your brand’s customer base, it is important to partner with consumers and relevant creators to generate more authentic and engaging content. This can involve collaborating with influencers or hosting online communities where members can share their experiences with the brand.
Since this approach is not exactly scalable, marketers may instinctively raise eyebrows at it. But it is precisely the unscalable honesty of this approach that makes it a truly disruptive strategy – helping your brand stand out from the crowd. So, let customers make you smarter. By allowing consumers to have more control over the message, brands can demonstrate their commitment to transparency and foster deeper connections with their audience. The novelty of the approach will also create more buzz and generate more word-of-mouth marketing.
According to Citi’s Director of Digital Personalization Paul Andrukonis, “To keep pace in today’s highly personalized marketplace, it’s essential to empower customers with the ability to shape their individual marketing and service experience with your brand.”
Prioritize Meaningful Purpose.
If you look around, most brands are putting out content that focuses on promoting the features and benefits of their product or service. This is, of course, necessary. But where does one draw the line between modern marketing and good old advertising?
We draw it at empathy.
Have you heard of the “Blue Planet” effect? In the last few years, consumers have become increasingly mindful, wth a significant shift in global attitudes towards the world at large. Consumers are even willing to pay higher prices to companies that pay attention to purpose. Both individuals and businesses now tend to be more socially responsible and ethically conscious. In fact, B2B buyers are even more woke than consumers and are more likely to buy from companies performing well on social purpose.
To align business practices with these values of modern mindful consumption, brands must prioritize communicating a meaningful purpose or mission. Whether your brand or service directly deals with sustainability or not, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) activities can deliver huge value when incorporated in your content marketing strategy. Among B2B buyers, 72% are more likely to purchase from companies that pay attention to socio-political issues.
When developing messaging, consider the kind of impact your CSR or ESG strategy has on customers and how it informs the development of products and services. Tell the story of your brand — who you are, what you care about, and how you’re ensuring that you are more than just about profits.
Personalize with Plain Text.
This one is for email marketing. Many businesses unquestioningly believe that fancy, HTML-rich campaigns are the way to go and will capture more attention from subscribers. After all, plain text has none of that graphics, font, and colour swagger that we are all familiar with. While HTML emails have their value, they are not without pitfalls.
These emails are more likely to be flagged as spam and end up in the promotions folder, lowering the chance of being opened. This is especially the case with image-only emails, where the entirety of the text is integrated into the graphics. Since email clients cannot read images, spam filters will automatically send such emails to the spam folder due to unreadable content. Even when HTML emails manage to land in the inbox, the association of flashy emails with mass marketing, spammy content can lead them to get ignored – particularly if the recipient is not very familiar with your brand.
Intuitively, plain text emails may sound boring, but they offer a personal and authentic feel. They have a better chance of bypassing spam filters as well as cognitive bias. Despite consumer surveys recording responses that indicate the HTML emails are popular, during A/B tests, users have shown a clear preference for simpler-designed emails, with fewer HTML elements. In fact, the more HTML rich an email, the lower the open rate. Personalized messages with a friendly tone can also foster a stronger connection between the sender and the recipient. Plus, plain text emails are faster and easier to read for busy subscribers.
Finally, not only do plain text emails consume minimal bandwidth but they are also much more compatible with non-traditional devices such as smartwatches and voice assistants, making them more accessible for a wider range of people and more reliable across devices.
The Bottomline
Building a strong brand presence goes beyond checking off tasks on a to-do list. It’s about strategically positioning yourself, crafting a brand that resonates, and wholeheartedly engaging your audience. The thing is, the modern buyer’s journey isn’t a neat and tidy straight line. It’s more like a roller coaster ride with loops, twists, and surprises that challenge everything we assume. This means there’s no one-size-fits-all formula for success. We have to stay nimble, adaptable, and ready to explore uncharted territory in order to make our mark.
At Heltr Skeltr, we firmly believe that an effective content marketing plan is one that embraces a fusion of both conventional and unconventional approaches. While conventional strategies provide a solid foundation, it’s the unconventional, often counterintuitive tactics that can truly set a brand apart from its competitors. We understand the importance of tailoring these strategies specifically to each brand, taking into account its unique industry landscape and target audiences. By striking this balance between the expected and the unexpected, we can unlock new avenues of creativity that resonate deeply with your audience, without compromising on speed, scope, or quality.
If you’re a marketer, you might be wondering how it is possible to pursue these creative strategies without sacrificing crucial elements such as time or quality. Marketers are constantly under pressure to wrap up projects and campaigns in record time, which can make it seem impossible to unleash creativity and think outside the box. Those shrinking timelines can push content strategy and execution into their own little boxes, where you find yourself churning out content just to keep up with the calendar. This is where a dedicated content marketing agency can come in. Whether you want guidance for a specific campaign or your overall brand strategy, content marketing experts can optimize your efforts, ensuring that your brand’s story is told in the most compelling and efficient way possible.
Heltr Skeltr is dedicated to crafting engaging content that captures attention, drives conversions, and nurtures long-term relationships with your audience. Want to embark on a transformative content marketing journey that merges innovation with efficiency? Let’s chat.