You may know the saying, “Content is King”, which is very relevant and important with any inbound marketing strategy, but the context is just as important and helps marketing teams focus on the content that people are attracted to. Context Marketing has been the central topic of discussion at several marketing events held recently. Marketing is now dependent on the user’s context for its survival. It is also about paying attention to personalization, contextual responsiveness and focused targeting.
Why is context marketing important? It helps develop a marketing message that is distinct and customized for each user. It can help influence how and when users interact with your brand.
Context Marketing – What is the definition of context?
When we use the term ‘context’, we are actually talking about the tastes, preferences and behaviour of consumers. These could undergo a change over a period of time, but are crucial for precise contextual awareness. The needs, interests and behaviour of people can change in a day, week, month, year or several years.
A company has to keep a track of these key factors relating to the activity of the consumer, requirements at different points of time, interests etc. This is very important information and helps to develop or alter the marketing message. This information also offers proficient contextual knowledge.
Share to create content
Sharing content can also be viewed as a way of developing content, which needs context. On social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, where we post tweet or post content, we also get the opportunity to share information with consumers and receive responses or feedback. We get an idea about whether the consumer actually comprehends what we are trying to communicate.
Digital content, in other words, cannot be created single-handedly. It involves both the marketing team of the company and the consumer at the other end. This can be very beneficial for the brand/company as sharing enables them to interpret and add context to the existing content or develop improved content which is more relevant.
All companies should use the digital media platform as it is an opportunity to create better content through engagement and interaction with the users.
Importance of proper execution
When content is formulated in sync with context, the marketing effort or activity should be more effective because it is supported by accuracy of awareness. But with this contextual awareness also comes the need for proper execution. A badly executed marketing experience may have the opposite effect. For instance, an e-mail service, which showcases advertisements on the basis of the information in your e-mails, may just bring out totally irrelevant subjects. It could also lead to privacy violations and concerns.
Similarly, you might be using a fitness wristband which pops a reminder for exercise when you’re sitting in a meeting with an important client. Hence the objective of using a wearable digital device is completely lost. If you’re using a mobile application, which cannot change geographical settings during travel serves no purpose. On the other hand, an application that adapts itself to the requirements of the user provides more useful and relevant information and could become an important element of your daily life.
The role of content in digital marketing
Understanding and incorporating contextual awareness will soon become an unavoidable feature in branding and marketing on a higher scale. At such a high-profile level, understanding consumer behaviour is vital to successful marketing.
It is common for brands to generalize interests and consumer behaviour by looking at data analysis. This is a huge trap. It might never be possible for a system to gauge each and everything about the users. Every individual has unique and different experiences. However, if brands begin to create experiences in sync with consumers by interacting with them and willingly sharing content, they could be rewarded significantly for their efforts. Marketing could be elevated to a different level, which involves greater human experience. In fact as far as digital marketing is concerned, this might be the only possible future path.
McAllister Marketing is a full service firm that specializes in aligning consumers and market strategy to increase business growth. We are more than your average marketing Communications Company that limits itself to campaign suggestions. We work with you to identify your customers, uncover your competitive advantage and fine-tune your marketing strategy. Contact us, or call 250-380-2299 to learn more about how we can help you with your Context and Inbound Marketing strategies.
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