On the 26th April, we held our Creative Content Marketing event in our office loft space, during which our Head of Innovation, Rowan Grace Evans, Content Marketing Manager, Kevin O'Connor and Copy Manager, Louise McFetridge, covered the importance of creative thinking and data-led insights to drive relevant content that sticks with core target audiences.
Why should brands care about a creative content marketing approach?
When it comes to branding, you need to consider every single touchpoint. Consumers are absorbed by a brand before you may even realise they're directly interacted with yours - this could be through conversations, online forums and reviews, or brand perceptions amongst different audiences. That being said, brands need to stay on top of what their target audiences are saying in arenas where you as a brand are in control and those where you aren't, so you can understand how opinions and audiences are evolving, and if anything needs to be mitigated. This can be done through activity such as social listening, constant audience and market research, and data analysis on how your audiences behave online before and after interacting with your brand, so you can identify which segments are most valuable to you and adjust your strategy accordingly. Furthermore, brand strength is solidified through consistent messaging and communications which stay true to brand tone of voice.
Today's landscape
The advent of social media paved the way for two-way brand conversations and made this dyadic strategy more important than ever when constructing creative content plans. The key here is to understand your core audience and make use of the right channels to reach them accordingly. Rowan Grace Evans noted her tips to do so:
- Speak to your audience in a creative and relevant way
- Make sure your message is heard amongst all the marketing noise; tailor your content to fit who you want to be speaking to and resonating with
- Consider the impact of all your communications; you should strive for them to be appropriate, valuable and relevant
The end goal of the above is for your core audience to feel like they're being directly spoken to, with targeted messaging through the channels which are most valuable to them.
Creativity isn't just about visuals
One of the key points that our experts wanted to get across on the day was that creativity, as it should be viewed from a content marketing perspective, is not simply limited to the visuals you create. Rather, it's everything you do and how it all weaves together across all your communications, branding, and ethos. It's about taking everything that your brand means to your audience and thinking outside the box to create campaigns and strategies that are aligned with your brand personality and deliver relevancy and value to your audience. Ultimately, creativity must run through each and every aspect of your marketing work if you're truly going to get noticed by the right people at the right time.
Finally, our experts suggest following and reviewing the below six points constantly in order for your creative journey to thrive and deliver value to both your brand and audience simultaneously:
- Know your audience
- Focus on the narrative
- Don't sell, but add value
- Disrupt the norms and take the lead from new companies
- Creativity is the art of the possible
- Practice makes perfect
