The ubiquity of the social web and the transformation of internet access is, and will continue to have an immeasurable impact on the way we live and work.
Of course, we all know that…
But whilst reflecting over the weekend on how to keep abreast of it all, it occurred to me that while I'm investing all this time in staying on top of the channels and how to use them, am I not overlooking the other, and perhaps more productive aspect of what influences, persuades and motivates us (consumers) all to use these channels in the first place?
As digital marketers, our job is to connect customers and brands, with mutual benefits (broadly speaking). But whether that's through optimizing content for discovery through search, social influence or awareness through media isn't as important anymore, as knowing the difference between the vehicle and the outcome. And the 'why'?
What brands are in need of most today, is greater understanding of the persuasion and motivations behind social technology adoption, knowledge transfer, community behavior and collaboration. We can be tactical and scientific about SEO signals, social technologies or information distribution platforms but in the end isn't it an understanding of our customers and what influences them that helps most with the process of persuading them to do what we want them to do?
A lot of channel specific marketers over-focus on how communication platforms work vs how customers understand those platforms, or even why they use them. Whether we're reacting to customers, anticipating their needs or leading them - an understanding of what persuades them is essential, to the point of perhaps being more important. Especially today, where choice anxiety and the balance of power makes share of mind, heart and wallet much harder to attain.
So, despite looking for keywords and social platforms being used, shouldn't we also wonder why a customer uses search/social/apps etc..and what influences them to use both and in what situations? And what kind of content is most persuasive and in what contexts?
All these curiosities can be summarized in 2 questions (that I am currently developing a consulting tool around)
1) "How can brands better understand the influences that motivate customers to act in the digital and social space?
2) "What content and signals of credibility do we need to create, when and why?"
The short hand to this solution is simply to approach each and every digital marketing opportunity, challenge or campaign by asking 6 power questions about the customer groups, (note, any brand communication adventure must fundamentally start with clearly grouping the source of your success…..the customers) within the context of the task.
These questions are:
1) what do they currently belive to be true?
2) what are their objections to doing what you'll be persuading them to do?
3) what/who are their primary influences?
4) what motivates their behavior?
5) what outcomes are most attractive to them?
6) what would limit acceptance of your intended persuasion?
Profiling the information that comes from this, together with creatively translating it into a digital content plan can then be easily transformed into a holistic approach involving a mix of paid, owned, earned and shared media.
Better still, finding 'stories' that represent examples of your customer segments that have made the transition from the old to the new, desired behaviors and outcomes is a powerful starting point. Making sure the narrative follows the classic sales technique of empathizing with the current situation - or pain points as I like to call them - reassurance that the new behavior will make things better; provide practical steps to overcoming the pain, as well as clear steps to making the changes.
Once this type of content and narrative is agreed, the format of the content should then match what media you know the customer is using and wants. In other words, we flip back to what we already do vey well. The 'how' and 'what'.
Of course then there's the amplification. Whenever there's 'content', there's a need to Optimize and Socialize to facilitate the attraction, engagement and sharing. So make sure you map out how content will move customers through attraction to achieved persuasion via:
discovery
engagement
comprehension
internalization
enhancement
engagement
conclusion
sharing
In summary, there seems to be a big opportunity right now to bring insight and brand story telling into digital and social media marketing. I believe that by digging more into 'why' customers are motivated and influenced as well as 'why' they use search and social technologies, will significantly help digital marketers and brand owners to better understand how to use content and persuasive storytelling to attract, engage and inspire customers to buy.
For now, be well.
C73 is a brand communication consultancy, specializing at the convergence of traditional and digital media. We make it our business to keep you up to date with the media, content and communication essentials you 'should' be thinking about in todays multi channel world.
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