Marketers have been in the content business (in one form or another) for as long as they've been doing marketing. The concept of content marketing was just a long overdue recognition that we should have been attentive to the quality and relevancy of our messages all along. This is indicative of a larger trend: we need our content to be better because audiences now have options as to where and how they direct their attention. Because the audience's attention is being applied on their own terms, brands need to find ways to be worth the time. When content is actually something the audience enjoys (rather than an interruptive pop-up that must be endured) it will be shared to a larger network, with all the earned engagements that result.
The amplifying effects of social engagement and sharing are the reward for content that audiences actually enjoy, but a tax is emerging on channels like Facebook, with a 'pay-to -play' dynamic forcing brands to pay to reach the News Feeds of most fans. This means social content can get expensive if not executed properly. We are proponents of a hybrid paid-organic method that leverages the strongest aspects of both messaging types and propels marketing insights across teams and into subsequent campaigns.
The hybrid content idea is simple:
Explore the fit between creative (messaging, assets, offers, etc.) and audience (channel, timing, format etc.) where it's free to do so (organic posts) and then dial in audience segmentation where targeting is allowed (paid media).
How does this work? It's a three-step sequence: experiment, explore, expand.
Start by testing various types of content as organic messages, noting the best performing posts, channels, CTAs, etc. Don't just throw spaghetti at the wall; develop hypotheses about your user personas and how your brand should engage with them. Then test it.
Use targeting tools to discover precisely which audience segments and demographics are most receptive to your content. The right ad partners will provide remarkable ad targeting and segmentation tools, so you're not just blasting out content, you're engaging key groups and learning which subgroups are most likely to convert.
Your content hypotheses have been validated and scaled. Now you know just what content to make for the future, and who's going to engage with it on what channels. Get ready for improved CTR, lower CPC, and hopefully a higher conversion rate.