With content informing consumer decisions more than ever, corporate communicators and brand marketers are pressured into publishing more compelling content. But, just how much impact does content actually have when it comes down to increasing spending, brand advocacy, and engagement?
Waggener Edstrom (WE) Communications’s research titled Content Matters: The Impact of Brand Storytelling Online in 2014, sees that communications and marketing professionals face increasing pressure to measure the ROI of their campaigns and connect spending to bottom-line results.
As for the incremental impact on spending as a result of regular exposure to branded content online, brands in Singapore appear to be generating long term financial value, said the study. Sectors that profited most were food and beverage and healthcare.
For healthcare product brands, findings showed that consumers who follow brands online spend 172% more on related products and services (per purchase). The incremental impact on spending for food and beverage products was a 108% increase on purchase of related products (per week).
Although not as engaged as other markets like the Philippines and India, 82% of local respondents stated that they follow a brand on social media. On the other hand, Singaporean consumers appeared to be less likely to share information about products and services (65%) or to participate in contests and giveaways on social media (69%).
This was particularly true for brands in the mobile device sector, where 77% of respondents stated that they follow brands in this category.
However, overall consumers in Singapore appear to be less engaged with brands online, as they ranked seventh for brand engagement of all markets covered in this study. Nearly 77% respondents stated that they obtain information about products and services on social media, while 75% stated that they look for the latest deals and promotions on social media.
Meanwhile, another study by Outbrain also found that Singaporeans are the least engaged with paid content.
“Communications professionals across Asia find themselves under increasing pressure to prove the ROI of their investments in digital content. Our new research reveals a clear relationship between brand storytelling online and increased consumer spending, referrals, and engagement,” said Stephen Tracy, APAC Lead at Waggener Edstrom’s Insight & Analytics (I&A) practice. “Put simply, the more consumers engage with brand content, the more they spend on brands.”
So how do you make content marketing work for you?
Here are some tips from the agency:
1. Think long term
Resist the pressure to measure short term returns in relation to your investments in content marketing. Findings show there is a strong relationship between a consumers’ level of exposure to branded content and their likelihood to spend more on products or services (in some cases as much as 257% more). However this is a long term relationship, and you need to focus on creating great content through a sound strategy. If you do this, the financial returns will come.
2. Measure influence, create advocacy
WE’s findings showed that levels of advocacy can fluctuate drastically across borders and business sectors, but the bottom line is advocacy is something you need to measure and should seek to increase. Promoters of your brand create influence and purchase intent, and you need to ensure that you have both the people and tools to measure, identify and engage brand advocates.
3. Create rich content experiences
As we’ve seen in some markets, such as Australia and Japan, high levels of social media usage and brand engagement online do not go hand-in-hand. Simply posting updates to your social media profile every day isn’t enough to create advocacy, engagement or increased spending. Create rich content that is relevant to your audience and suitable for the social network (e.g. Twitter vs Instagram), and most importantly, create content that rewards your audience for their loyalty.
4. Speak with your audience, not at them
Results showed that consumers are more likely to look for information about products and services on social media than click on an advertisement online. Having a presence on any social network, be it Facebook, Sina Weibo or Instagram, requires you to go beyond simply posting promotional material online by creating a dialogue with your audience. Such a dialogue can improve perceptions toward your brand, create advocacy and even increase customer spending.
5. Think mobile
Mobile messenger apps are rapidly evolving into fully featured social networks, and as we saw with our results, apps like WeChat are becoming increasing more popular in markets across Asia-Pacific. It’s important that you consider the role and purpose of any social network before adopting it, but the rapid proliferation of smartphone technology across Asia-Pacific, particularly in emerging markets, has ensured social media’s future on mobile. That being said, if your content strategy doesn’t have a mobile component, it’s time to review and refresh your strategy.
6. Keep your content strategy fresh
Building a successful content strategy is not a one-time endeavor. As the results of this study have shown, there is a demand for rich content from brands. But marketing through social media is a constantly moving target as the demographic and psychographic traits of your audience as well as their needs can change over time. This means that you need to have an effective measurement and optimisation framework in place which can tell you how effective your strategy is and what business value it is creating for your brand.
7. Measure what matters
Effectively measuring the impact of your content marketing strategy requires you to go beyond the standard approaches to measuring ROI. Be wary of silver bullet solutions, such as one-size fits all formulas that promise to tell you the financial value of every like, click and share. Understanding the true business impact of your content requires hard work and tailored analytical solutions that consider your business objectives, business landscape and customer needs. The approach presented in this study is just one approach to go about measuring the ROI of content. No matter which approach you choose, just make sure that you measure what matters most.
Where does the rest of the region stand?
The WE study found that across all markets digital consumers appeared to be the most connected with brands in the mobile device sector, with 72% of all respondents stating that they currently follow their favorite mobile brand online.
The second most connected sector was consumer electronics and appliances (excluding mobile devices), with 61% of respondents stating they actively follow brands in this category. Overall, it appears the technology brands generate the largest followings on social media across Asia-Pacific.
On the other hand, digital consumers appeared to be much less connected with brands in the travel and tourism as well as healthcare sectors, as just 48% of respondents for each sector stated that they currently follow their favorite brands on social media.
Meanwhile, when it comes to paid content, the Outbrain study found that Technology and Internet, Health and Electronics categories have the highest bounce rates, which means visitors who enter the site “bounce” or leave the site rather that continue viewing other pages within the same site. Meanwhile content related to news, sports, and business and finance show the highest levels of engagement.
WE’s regional study surveyed over 2,200 consumers between the ages of 15 and 60 across Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Vietnam.