Dove Direct Print and Marketing Blog, “Content Provides Real Audience Conversations”

Welcome to the Dove Direct Print and Marketing Blog. Today's post, "Content Provides Real Audience Conversations" reexamines the differences between bad content and good content, and moreover, how brands can better elevate their content to increase real audience conversations. Content marketing has been around for quite a while and is now entering a more mature phase.

Merely creating and having content available is tantamount to creating an entry-level ticket in the marketing mix. In short, and similar to technological advances, content marketing concepts have advanced with those technological gains and the overall perceived value of the content available.

Great Content Builds Trust

Any and all marketing considerations are now subject to sharing a common goal. In short, garner trust from the market segments that are the recipients of any marketing initiative. Prior to any consumer electing to support a brand or product, trust is the conduit by that consumers weigh heavily upon to differentiate which brands deserve their attention, all things being equal.

Imagine you are in a hotel or restaurant and an official in uniform interrupts the atmosphere by directing folks to leave the premises. Due to the presence of an individual whose attire represents an official uniform and badge, coupled with a coherent message, folks will generally comply with the directive. In short, the conversion rate tends to be quite high in this imaginary scenario.

Now imagine that your brand can convert a similarly high conversion rate from their content marketing deliveries. Conversely, in our imaginary tale, let's also consider that same official in uniform roaring at the top of his/her voice with disparate and confusing statements. It should come as no surprise that the outcome will be much different and the conversion rate will also drop precipitously.

For clarity's sake, let's be clear. Advertising is an invasion of space consumers have to grapple with 24/7. Most consumers, if left up to them, would opt to be immune from the vast array of marketing bombardments crowding their days. However, as many of us tell our children from time to time, "That's not going to happen." Content marketing has become ubiquitous and to the extent where the rubber meets the road, not all content is great content.

2019 is calling for brands and marketers to focus on creating quality content and not just content for the sake of content. A good rule of thumb is to take the founder of The Content Advisory, Robert Rose's quote to heart; "The content that's the easiest to make is the content that's least unique."

Content Must Provide Value

The value proposition that should be at the heart of any brand's offerings, must also be the impetus behind quality content creation. In the event that content quality is being supplanted with content quantity that ideology will inherently fail to garner any meaningful conversations with consumers. Content that is unfocused amounts to brands babbling and rambling which can harm the brand's trustworthiness.

The ideal solution for creating valuable content is the ability to merge content that serves the brand as well as the consumer. Keep in mind that content marketing should avoid being a substitute resource for other marketing collateral such as catalogs, brochures, and any advertising initiatives. The pitfall that many brands tend to succumb to results in their content creation representing the brand's perspective with little to no attention given to the consumers POV.

That said, consumers react more favorably when the content speaks to their needs and pain points. Thought leadership in the eyes of the consumer positions the brand as an industry expert, and therefore, inspires a level of trust with consumers.

The point where content results reach some level of consumer trust is when consumer engagement and real communications begin. Another value component necessary for successful content marketing is "helpfulness." Content created to help consumers is useful in convincing consumers that the brand has taken their needs seriously. When consumers feel that a brand is being helpful, a real connection happens!

Once a consumer connects with the brand, real conversations can begin, thus establishing the probability that those in the target audience are more prone to lift the brand to a higher level of comfort. People buy from brands they trust and are comfortable with.

The Red Ocean Blue Ocean Factor

A real challenge beyond creating consumer/brand content value propositions lies in the state of the competitive marketplace, regardless of industry sectors. Professors, Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne, turned authors penned a book entitled, "Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant."

These authors make the case that the competitive landscape breaks into two bodies of water, one being the red ocean, where the same organizations competing in the same area eat away an ever-shrinking pool of profit margins. Blue ocean strategies, on the other hand, creates a demand in an entirely different ocean, thus separating competitors from fighting over a common shrinking profit pool.

Rendering the Competition Irrelevant

Nicolaj Siggelknow, Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania states: "You want to enter a long-lasting connected relationship, that's how you create your own audience. In a truly connected customer relationship, your competition is irrelevant." Drawing on the Blue Ocean Strategy concepts, red oceans are thought to be an environment where the market variables are known.

These boundaries are not only known but also accepted, including the competitive rules of the game. The blue ocean territory is just the opposite. Competition is irrelevant due to the fact that the rules are not set. Blue ocean participants have the ability to define the rules on their terms, which leads to a new and multifarious exploration of market spaces.

At the end of the day, the Blue Ocean process creates and increases positive customer experience elements that differentiate the brand and the competition. That is the primary reason behind brands needing to create content that connects and educates consumers.

In order for brands to take advantage of relevant content creation for its target consumers and enter the Blue Ocean ideology, a great deal of listening and learning from consumers is the bedrock principle necessary to orchestrate real long-term audience conversations. We contend that this post is just the tip of the iceberg, as many other considerations play a role in the makeup of a brand's content direction.

The Net-Net

Content marketing is evolving at a rapid clip. Creative content solutions are the necessary marketing ingredients for attracting audiences, thus propelling brand-value conversations among target markets. Brands that can merge the Blue Ocean strategy with value-driven content that is helpful, including the idea that the consumer POV is the focal point, will reap long-term relationships with their audiences.

Let's have a conversation about content marketing, PUR binding, direct mail marketing strategies, printing, transactional documents, variable digital printing, brand equity and unified marketing collateral during our next Open House. We invite you to join us on Thursday, April 25, 2019, for an hour or two, anytime between 9:30 am to 4:30 pm. Let us show you how to improve your document processes to optimize your workflow, reduce your costs, and maximize your organization's printing, letter shop, and mailing capabilities. Dove Direct has an official USPS certified bureau located within our offices that will save you time and money. Moreover, if you bring us your files, we will create a demo file for you. For more information, call Carla Eubanks at 404-629-0122 or email Carla at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Dove Direct, your Atlanta based print and mail solutions provider offers organizations end-to-end data, printing, and mailing solutions: Data Management, Variable Digital Printing, LetterShop and Fulfillment, Fully Automated MLOCR Presort Bureau, Marketing and Production Management Support and Secure Data Life Cycle Management.

If you don't want to wait for the Open House, you can reach Dove Direct today by calling 404-629-0122 or use the contact form for Dove Direct.