It is no longer news that the development of the Internet has brought with it one of the most significant changes in the communication paradigm. Added to this, the arrival of social networks has universalised accessibility to the mass amplification of messages, a power that previously belonged exclusively to the traditional media.
During the first years, this new scenario was idyllic for the pioneering companies in the network: everything was new and special, there were very few voices and a lot of willingness to listen; by simple nature and logic, the best content would triumph.
With the course of time, technological evolution, the study of consumer habits, the understanding of the digital ecosystem and the professionalisation of related activities, we have reached quality standards that have homogenised the information offer.
As a result of this similarity in form, design and content, and an exaggerated exponential multiplication of available data, the public has developed a certain disenchantment and rejection towards digital marketing.
How can it be that a world with more screens than ever is a negative reality for communication? What can I do so that my content does not drown in this sea of digital saturation? Here are 3 tips that will help your message stand out despite this attention economy:
Moving from content for customers to content for users
In any communication plan it is essential to add content that brings value. Social network users rarely browse with the main intention of buying a good or service, they do so with a social purpose. This is why we talk about social networks and not commercial networks.
Brands need to tailor their message to what the user intends to encounter in this context, so that their presence on the platforms is not seen as an invasion and this causes them to skip or omit their content. Only by offering content of value, whether it is useful information or entertainment, will strong and long-term relationships with users be created over time. In this way, the algorithm alone will do its job and lead to organic growth that will result in greater visibility and social acceptance.
Exhaustive monitoring
Using the last idea of the previous paragraph, we now talk about algorithms, but not those of computer language, but those that are more difficult, but not impossible to calculate: consumer habits.
It is our obligation to become experts on our public, their trends and preferences. Today it is possible to measure everything, there are free or paid tools, external or incorporated into the platforms, to analyse everything related to our publications. In fact, Artificial Intelligence itself can help us in this task, not by replacing our creative abilities, but by performing mechanical actions such as classifying data through prompts.
But our task does not end there, nothing works by chance. With the data we obtain from the performance of our publications, we can draw conclusions beyond the numerical or geographical. If we have an efficient segmentation and awareness of our content, we can predict behavioural patterns according to the type of content disseminated.
Try new formats and structures
The evolution of media hardware and software means that information presentation techniques must also be updated.
The clearest example is the inverted pyramid in journalism. This structure for news writing was born in the United States during the Civil War. Because the conditions for conveying information were limiting and uncertain, it was decided to tell the most important stories first and the least important later.
This way of structuring content has continued to the present day, affecting digital media as well. For the public, it is enough to read the first few lines of a news item, which is why there is a struggle on the Internet to capture the user’s attention and keep it for as long as possible. Although the inverted pyramid is not obsolete, it is worth daring to try new ways of handling information. Not conforming to the status quo can be a brilliant way to differentiate yourself.
In our field, promotional communication should not be limited to slogans. There are many attractive formats to encourage interaction and engagement with the public. Techniques such as storytelling, audiovisuals, ultra-personalisation or the fold-out format invite us to innovate in the production and presentation of our content, which is easier and more viable with the tools currently available.
