Hi, Ted Karczewski here with this week’s content & coffee with Brafton. We’ll talk about the speed of the internet and why content marketers must think in real-time to acquire and retain customers.
Technologies like social media and streaming video content give web users the opportunity to engage with brands in seconds. Unfortunately, many consumers also expect responses in the same amount of time. For a lot of large enterprises, real-time marketing seems like a fantasy, but data suggests companies should stop dreaming, and start engaging now.
An NM Incite report found that 47 percent of Americans want customer care via social media, and a J.D Power and Associates study noted that 87 percent of people say positive social care influences their likelihood to buy. But if time is of the essence, marketers must anticipate engagement opportunities before they happen, kind of like in those Sci-Fi TV dramas.
While no brand is at the point where it can consistently provide responses in seconds, a three-hour window allows companies to craft thoughtful responses, pass them through the necessary internal checkpoints, and get back to people before their attention truly waivers elsewhere. Not to mention: It helps companies avoid the pitfalls of releasing unpolished content to the public. We recommend businesses use news content reporting and pre-planned strategies for custom social posts to answer queries within their engagement windows. This supports not just “real-time” but also “real-value” customer interactions.
Make sure your social media and website content reaches the right people online: Notice common trends, and be prepared to talk about certain topics as they unfold.
Catch you next time, and happy content marketing.
