Insights · Content
Six Basic Factors for Creating Engaging Content
Customer insight, local feedback, personas, journeys, objectives and channels.
Most digital marketers know the saying that content is king and delivery is queen. Creating engaging, good-quality content for target users still requires structure. Content creation itself has many variations, including creating from scratch, repurposing, reusing and transcreation. This article focuses on the factors that make content engaging. Once a structured process exists, it becomes easier to make it more advanced and efficient through continuous improvement.
1. Customer insights
Direct customer feedback is the best indicator of engagement. Simple rating features and behavioral analysis both generate useful insight. Market research can fill the gap until a company builds its own insight data.
2. Marketers' feedback
When content is created centrally for local use, local marketers’ feedback is essential. Global teams may hold market research and customer journeys, while local marketers understand local market conditions best.
3. Customer personas
Personas model customer characteristics and needs at a high level. They help identify which content type, format and channel will engage each group best.
4. Customer engagement journey maps
Journeys should be drawn and content mapped to each step in line with marketing objectives before content creation begins. Different journey stages require different content types and formats.
5. Alignment with marketing objectives
Every piece of content or service must link to a marketing objective. If that link cannot be identified, creation should stop until relevance is clear. Engaging content without a link to objectives has little business value.
6. The right channels for the right customers
Delivering content through channels that match customer needs is a critical success factor. A team can meet every other factor and still fail without the right channel choices.
Engaging content results from all six factors working together. Content creation is an ongoing set of connected processes, so a continuous improvement plan should raise quality while optimizing processes and reducing cost.
This essay is part of the earlier archive of this site. The frameworks are developed further in the Pharma Omnichannel & AI Engagement Strategy Series. Views are personal.