Fifteen years ago, if you
were looking for a car, your first stop may have been the right-bottom corner
of the grocery store newsstand. You’d scan Car and Driver, Luxury Auto and a slew of publications
offering vehicle reviews and advice. Then you would visit dealerships with
little to no information about your desired make, model or payment plan. You
had no cohesive way to compare the prices and features of your final choices,
or hear the opinions of current customers. After a few weeks of research, you’d
make your decision, hand over the money, grab the keys and drive away.
In the age of the social
customer, where the average
shopper consumes 10.4 sources of information before handing over
their money, this buying process has changed radically. Social media, search
technology and tools for publishing content on the Web are giving brands the
ability to bypass the press and bring their message directly to customers. No
need for Ford to wait for the Fiesta model
to be featured on the cover of Car and Driver. With more than 1 million fans on Facebook, 150,000 followers on Twitter and multiple
Web properties, Ford can get the word out themselves. And thanks to
communities such as AutoTrader.com,
which allows customers to buy and sell their car online, buyers can now
complete all of their research in one place with access to buying and selling
tips, reviews, videos, photos and more. This example illustrates the
fundamental power shift between brands and media and the challenge that both
sides have to reach and engage with today’s social customer.
There are several reasons
for this shift, the biggest one being the emergence of the Internet and technology
that allow just about anyone the ability publish content that a wide audience
can consume and share. In turn, social media and search technology give
customers access to more information than ever, complicating the
decision-making process. Instead of young women waiting for the prom edition of
Seventeen magazine to come out to decide
what eye shadow would match with their dress, they can search “makeup tips” on
Google and call up pages of Web results. (It’s important to note that Cover Girl, an affordable cosmetic brand,
ranks higher than Seventeen and Cosmopolitan
— both go-to beauty magazines.)
This shift in power has
enabled enterprise brands to small businesses to engage their audiences like a
newspaper would — with compelling stories that address their challenges and
speak to their interests. According to an annual survey
report published by MarketingProfs
and the Content
Marketing Institute, 9 in 10 organizations market with content —
regardless of their industry. Brands are investing in journalist talent to
ensure that they are moving in the right direction. According Hanson Dodge Creative, the top-level
reporters from Business Week, PC Magazine and The Economist are filling
content-production roles at IBM, AOL and JWT and other big brands.
On the flipside, publishers such as Forbes
have adjusted their editorial models by inviting influential executives at
Fortune 500 companies, startups, and top consulting firms to contribute byline
articles. In order to compete with the sheer amount of content, publishers must
be producing more than ever — and they need a sizable team of quality writers
with diverse perspectives to keep up.
With change comes
opportunity. Red Bull is a brand that has made the most of this opportunity.
The energy-drink giant launched its own media house in 2007, which
ranked 29
in Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2012. CEO Dietrich
Mateschitz explained that its branded content (focused on extreme
sports) provides customers with an “invitation to be active,
performance-oriented, alert and to take challenges.” Just like its beverages —
Red Bull Media House’s films, magazines, blog, newsletters and social media
postings aim to help customers recognize their ultimate potential.
On the B2B side, it’s hard
to differentiate IBM’s General Business division’s Midsize Insider content-marketing program
from media publications focused on the needs of small to mid-sized business
owners and technology professionals. Since 2010, the site has published more
than 1,100 articles on virtualization, security, analytics and other relevant
topics, written by 38 regular expert industry contributors. The Midsize Insider
is also a member of the Google News program — which highlights breaking news
from the top sources above all search results.
For publishers, in order
to compete with the billions of pieces of content published daily, reach new
audiences and ensure that articles are accessible across social channels, they
need to expand their reach and develop content at scale. This requires more
content providers and a wider range of perspectives. The Wall Street Journal MarketWatch does this
through the Trading Deck,
a community of money managers, brokers, analysts, financial advisers and other
professionals knee deep in the trading industry. Multiple articles are published
per day thanks to its growing community of expert contributors. By taking on
the role of content curators and developing a system for “expert-sourcing,” the
WSJ is not only a resource but also a dynamic community that readers feel
compelled to go back to and participate in.
We see this movement as a
chance for brands and publishers to deepen the way that they tell stories,
create communities and live out the organization’s mission. What have you noticed about the
changing landscape? What brands and publications do you think are leading the
charge? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter.
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