5 Ways Content Marketing Communicates Including Social Media & Mobile

6 Point Content Marketing Communications Framework

Content marketing and communication are intertwined since communication is any process by which information is exchanged. It can be non-verbal, oral or written. According to Wikipedia, communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender’s intentions at the point he creates and sends the communication.

5 Types of content marketing communications

With expanded information consumption, snacking, time-shifting and concurrent usage, marketers must deliver content marketing via a variety of channels to ensure that their message is received and consumed. Here are the five main communications channels to engage with prospects, customers and the public.

  1. Email. While accessible via a variety of devices, it’s the number one activity on smartphones. Email is best known for effectively distributing a broad range of content marketing, notably promotional, behaviorally triggered, and newsletter communications. But don’t underestimate its role as social media’s lifeblood since it drives activity with its alerts. Email also provides an alternate means of delivering and sharing content, especially where registration is needed. While email communications tend to move from businesses to individuals, ensure that your recipients can respond to your content.
  2. Social media. Social media enables real-time and elapsed time exchanges. Depending on the social media platform, participants communicate in concise exchanges such as Twitter’s 140 characters or longer formats such as blog posts. Often, these conversations are public forums where anyone can see the information. Additionally, participants can distribute a variety of content formats including video, photographs, audio and presentations enabling broader forms of communication, some of which aren’t verbal. Further, through social sharing, the content marketing can be distributed more broadly and via comments there can be an exchange that’s multi-directional.
  3. Mobile. While mobile phones, especially smartphones, emulate many computer functions, from a content marketing perspective, SMS text messages deliver short, targeted information cost effectively. Of course, it’s critical to build a mobile list or have a short code to enable consumers to text your firm. As a content marketer, don’t overlook the range of other forms of content such as apps, photos, video and voice. Mobile also facilitates immediate responses from consumers. It’s particularly useful for reaching teens.
  4. Chat. Provides short format, quick turn-around communications. From a content marketing perspective, it can also be used to distribute or transfer other forms content beyond short text messages (depending on the platform). It also delivers cost-effective one-to-one support to answer customer questions. It’s a great way to augment content where users may be confused.
  5. RSS. RSS is an alternative content distribution format, especially for time-sensitive information in a user-controlled environment. It’s useful for giving recipients short blurbs of information.

6 Point content marketing communications framework

Plan your content marketing communications to ensure that they’re integrated and consistent with the rest of your marketing and to ensure that your content marketing gets communicated to your prospects, customers and the public. This allows you to build relationships over time, provide support when needed and drive sales. Here are six major points to consider:

  1. Determine your goals. Most content marketing campaigns focus on acquiring new customers and leads, building brand awareness, increasing revenues, improving profitability, or all four.
  2. Define your target market. Describe your audience as granularly as possible in terms of demographic descriptions, psychographic insights, and past behaviors to craft relevant messaging.
  3. Select your communications vehicle. Decide which of the five digital formats listed above you’ll use. When making your selection, consider what’s best for your users and whether they need more than one option.
  4. Craft your message. When creating your content, consider the format’s space constraints, how you can incorporate your branding into the communication, and whether different messages are needed for various formats. Think about how, when and where your content will be received. Plan for responses across multiple devices and ensure your database can integrate new input from the responses.
  5. Provide related content where needed. Ensure that you integrate your content marketing with the rest of your program. Among the types of content marketing needed are tailored landing pages relevant to your products and content highlighted in your messages, links to deeper information on related products and topics on your website and blogs, and the actual product and packaging information regarding how to find and communicate with your firm.
  6. Track your metrics. While indicators can vary based on communications channel, at a macro-level track the following. Remember these metrics should relate back to your initial goals.
    • Messages. By communications format, monitor the total number of messages sent, the number of messages misaddressed or bounced, the number of messages read, and the number of messages where customers took actions. Track the response rate and conversion rate.
    • Revenues. Measure sales driven by each campaign by communications channel. Then calculate sales per message separately for each channel.
    • Expenses. Determine the fully loaded cost per campaign and calculate the cost per person contacted by communications format.
    • Attrition rate. Assess how many new registrants unsubscribe after receiving your first communication by source.
    • Churn. Monitor percentage of users who leave your list over a standardized time period.

In today’s always-on connected world, plan your content marketing cost-effectively. You what to deliver targeted information to those most interested, when it is most useful to them. To this end, communicate with prospects, customers and the public via their channel of choice.

Happy marketing,
Heidi Cohen


Here are some related articles on this topic that you may like.

Tags , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Comments are closed.