Let’s face it: Technology buyers are a savvy group. To grab their attention, you must be quick, cunning and charismatic. Give your audience what they want, in the most fascinating way imaginable, while overcoming the challenges of content creation. Utilizing a content management system is essential for efficiently creating, managing, and delivering content to engage potential customers as part of comprehensive content marketing strategies. And of course, make it as short as you can to get them to stick with it to the end.
Dazzling your audience is no small feat, so how can you deliver your message in a new way? There is so much more to content marketing than just blogs. As a technology content marketer, it is up to you to get inside the minds of your audience and create (and deliver) a message that will resonate most with them.
Content management technology plays a significant role in optimizing organizational content, making it crucial to select the right tools to enhance your content strategies and maintain competitiveness.
Don’t be afraid to think outside the box; you may just find your efforts will drive more traffic to your website than ever before. Here are four ideas to get your creative juices flowing.
Micro Videos in Content Marketing Strategy
Creating content, especially large productions, costs both time and money, and may not always bring the results anticipated. Tech content marketers play a crucial role in leveraging micro videos to navigate the complexities of marketing sophisticated digital technology. To avoid making a huge and risky investment, create content that is engaging and tailored to your audience by looking at where the trends are headed and considering micro videos as a first step. Outlets like Vine present a whole new territory for your marketing strategy. With an estimated 40 million users, the platform features 6-second videos that play on a loop. While that might not seem like much time, it presents a creative challenge to marketers and audiences alike.
GE asked followers, “How much science can you fit into 6 seconds?” and was met with some amazing responses. The challenge to create and submit science projects as Vine videos made science fun to new audiences and fit in well with the company’s regular technology crowd. The campaign launched on Tumblr using the hashtag #6secondscience. This worked well for GE because it encouraged engagement and was not a direct commercial for its services, and yet it shed light on the cool, hip side of the tech industry.
While 6 seconds is not a lot of time, these short snippets can spark interest and conversations for your brand.
Content Marketing Success Stories
Everyone reads reviews these days before purchasing a product, and these reviews can be a key factor in content marketing success. Technology marketers play a crucial role in shaping content strategies across various formats and channels. Content marketers play a crucial role in creating and managing content that engages customers, so why not include customer success stories as part of your content marketing strategy?
Post these testimonials on your social media pages where engagement can be encouraged and others can also post positive experiences with your brand. These stories will undoubtedly include emotion and inspire others with similar experiences to share their stories and describe why your technology means so much to them and how it affected their lives.
Take it one step further to increase interaction with your followers by creating a campaign for the best success story. Have your customers send in a video or post a message on your wall illustrating how your software or technology helped them, and offer a prize for the best story. Then sit back and wait to be humbled by the impact your offering has on the world.
Outside the Box Social Media Posts
Outside the box here means beyond the major three—Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and exploring new formats for social media posts. Which one, however, will be determined by your target audience, including those working at a tech company. Understanding who the intended recipients of your content are is crucial for creating tailored messaging. Depending on what demographic you are targeting for a specific effort, try Snapchat, WhatsApp or tech industry favorite, Quora.
While not a traditional form of social media, Quora is a Q&A-style forum where brands can establish themselves as experts in their field by answering questions about their products and services. It is easy to see what others are saying about your technology products and take part in the conversation. Likewise, it also enables companies to view what their competitors are being asked, which helps you stay current on industry trends.
Google engineers frequently answer questions on the Google Quora page with full, high-quality answers, promoting the levels of knowledge and expertise Google is known for. The higher the quality of the answers, the greater the opportunity to increase your followers and your reach within the network. Reach the right audience by including tags with your questions. Interact with some of the industry’s best and get your questions answered.
4. Earned Media
Earned media—aka publicity, PR, word-of-mouth, or media relations—is an essential part of content management and involves the unpaid mention of your technology or software by a neutral third party. One type of beneficial earned media is an employee’s bylined article on a third-party site (think Mashable). This lends your knowledge and expertise on a subject to another source, making both your brand and the publisher shine.
Search engine optimization (SEO) is also crucial for achieving higher rankings in online search results, ensuring that your content reaches a wider audience.
You frequently see guest contributors to different outlets with credentials that qualify them as a trustworthy source (see my byline above?). This has proved to make a solid impact on buying decisions. According to a study by Nielsen and inPowered, 85 percent of consumers regularly or occasionally seek out trusted expert content when considering a purchase, especially in the technology field.
Get Your Name Out There with Earned Media
Tech companies are always on the cutting edge of the industry, utilizing innovative marketing strategies to stay ahead. Never be afraid to try something new to get your ideas out there. Your customers want to see you at the forefront with your content marketing efforts and will be more willing to take the plunge and buy your latest product if they see you, too, are taking the plunge into uncharted territory. At worst, it may not be a super successful effort, but none of these cost much more than time. At best, you will drive more traffic, attract new leads and gain more customers.
