The website is usually the first point of contact for consumers to browse product range, make secure transactions or to contact customer services for returning customers, with consumers making a judgement on the brand based on their initial online digital experience. Creating a tailored, appropriate and suitable experience for your customers is an essential aspect of surviving online so the content on the website should be regularly updated to suit your audience (Frick, 2010). Valuable opportunities can arise from content planning which include higher engagement, frequent site visits from existing customers and driven online sales. Considering, marketers need to carefully consider the content on the website, so it is designed appropriately and so it is engaging for different users. Therefore, this blog post will consider areas of importance, and a starting point for content planning/marketing, tips and potential risks.
Digital content marketing is defined as “the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably” (Rowley, 2008) through the use of words, images and graphics. There are some areas to consider when content planning for the brand website which are as follows:
- What is our aim?
For example:
The aim for an international e-retailer : website customisation and development integrating a digital content plan will ensure that the website is suitable for different users, with the main aim to encourage engagement from new geographic users.
- Consider a content management system
In order to offer suitable promotional offers online to consumers in different countries at various times of the year, creating a content calendar with dates, holidays and celebrations for different geographic markets/users is key for an international brand to gain interest and engagement from their customers. For example, in Spain March 15-19 is the “Las Fallas de Valencia” celebration so brands could encourage Spanish users to purchase with a 20% off discount between those dates. Whereas, in Greece on the 28th October Greek citizens celebrate “Ochi Day”. Similarly, such celebrations are an opportunity for international brands to tailor content, with a result of increased traffic and online sales.
However, there a number of security issues and vulnerabilities with using content management systems and similar platforms. According IBM (2015), hackers target such platforms as it an efficient way to perform mass-scale attacks. Research 70% of word press attacks were targeted at retailers, so it is increasingly important for firms to consider security weaknesses and the potential threat of cyber-attacks.
- “What are the key factors of online service quality and site design that will help our goals of customer acquisition and retention?” (Chaffey and Chadwick, 2015).
Focusing on the website, it is common for brands to re-design and re-launch their website as customer needs and expectations considerably change over time, so brands need to act and respond to those changes. Therefore, website development and content marketing should be a continuous approach, with marketers following a step by step procedure. With consideration to the table produced by Chaffey and Chadwick (2015), the initial process starts when a set of marketing objectives and aims are developed.
Risks
According to Baack and Singh (2007), consumers prefer culturally adapted websites and as a result, consumers have a positive attitude towards culturally adapted content. However, it can be challenging for international brands to produce content that is suitable and engaging to all audiences, in different geographic locations, as consumers with different set of cultural values and beliefs which shape their online purchasing behaviour. Below are some risks that a brand should consider, in general:
Relevance:
Marketers understand the key to engagement is the creation of relevant content, however many do not consider the risks of irrelevant content. Relevancy requires close attention to your audience, their interest and needs at each stage of the customer’s journey and buyer’s cycle. As a result, content should be relevant to the marketing objectives in order to achieve the right things (Search Engine Journal, 2015). Furthermore, marketers should consider the impact of culturally determined content and the positive affects it will have on the user, by being sensitive to different audiences (Ergos, 2016). It should be relevant to the audience and revised to keep up with trends/patterns of behaviour. Trying new and different things will help understand the likes and dislikes of your audience.
https://searchenginewatch.com/2016/08/11/five-ways-to-quantify-relevance-in-content-marketing/
Consistency:
Producing content in a limited time and at the right times throughout the year to engage your audience is the number one challenge for marketers. As it a continuous approach and must be consistent, a lot of time needs to be dedicated to this area. For smaller brands, with a lack of resources (time, labour force, finances) will find it challenging to regularly develop content consistently.
References:
Baack,.D. and Singh, N., (2007). Culture and web communications. Journal of Business Research. Vol 60 (3) Pg 181-188.
Chaffey,.D. and Ellis-Chadwick,F. (2015). Digital marketing: strategy, implementation and practice. Fifth Ed. Harlow: Pearson Education
Daisyme,.P (2015). The risks of content marketing. Search Engine Journal. [Blog] Jan 24. Available at: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/risks-content-marketing/122201/. (Accessed: 28/02/2019).
Frick.,T. (2010). Return on Engagement: content, strategy, design techniques for digital marketing. Burlington: Local Press.
IBM, (2015). Understanding the risks of content management systems. IBM X-Force Research Report. New York: IBM Security.
Rowley,.J. (2008) Understanding digital content marketing. Journal of Marketing Management. Vol 24 (5-6).