Brands that want to make their content go further should think about how they can get people to consume what they produce again and again. A great example of this is Twitter’s Vine. The six-second videos are entertaining nuggets of video that can be instantly consumed and quickly shared. More importantly, the ones that truly connect with customers bear repeat viewing, or looping. According to the Vine blog, those loops are forming the basis of a new engagement metric, which marketers can use to get a better sense of user appreciation and interest.
Traditional social marketing gauges, such as shares and Retweets, only capture individual user engagement. One Favorite, for instance, corresponds to an individual user, but it doesn’t describe the overall interest one follower had over another. A Vine loop count, on the other hand, could illuminate the fact that a core group of customers and prospects absolutely loved a Vine.
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This kind of repeat content is extremely useful for brands that want to target their most qualified leads. But what are some other types of content encourage repeat views that don’t have to be contained within the confines of a Tweet?
1. Infographics
Visual content is extremely consumable, especially when an infographic has been designed to explain an abstract concept or complicated subject. Step-by-step infographics can be consulted over and over again, and the information it contains is rarely single-use. They can be used in B2C campaigns, like one that demonstrates how to perform the Gangnam Style dance, or B2B strategies, such as when businesses want to explain the manganese refinement process.
2. Videos
It’s rare for any kind of video, whether its for marketing or other purposes, to be viewed only a single time. This is doubly true if there is entertainment value to them – the basis for a truly viral video. Take, for example, this Volvo advertisement from the last quarter of 2013. Martial artist Jean Claude van Damme’s performance of his trademark split between two Volvo trucks was surely viewed multiple times by some people, giving it an actual engagement level higher than its nearly 74 million views would indicate.
3. How-to guides
The heart of search marketing is to provide users with answers that are actually useful and actionable. As such, Whole Foods is doing a tremendous job with Food Guides. These in-depth resources for selecting ingredients and eating healthy over and over when customers and users are preparing a variety of recipes.
The only thing more important to content marketers than increasing traffic is building a bigger base of qualified traffic. People who are consuming videos and downloadable resources again and again are clearly more inclined to make purchases, so it’s important to create ultra-useful or entertaining content and track its usage whenever possible. After all: One passionate prospect is worth five lukewarm leads any day.
