Modern day marketing looks wildly different than it has in years past. There are a multitude of reasons that accumulate to make this so, but one of the most impactful aspects to change the face of marketing worldwide, was the birth of the internet. Technology all together, really, has influenced the way companies advertise, and the way consumers respond to different marketing tactics. In recent years, some of the most powerful and successful marketing tactics to note are interactive communications and content marketing. These two marketing strategies have taken the business world by storm over the last decade or so, and by most projections, aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. This translates to an emphasis on multi-channel content generation, alternate content generation, and interactive communication, all aimed at boosting levels of customer engagement.
Getting to Know Interactive Communications and Content Marketing
Interactive communications are any communications between the organization and another party in which an exchange of information occurs. It is both active and dynamic, and is a two-way street. In other words, both parties can impact and affect one another. This is a very broad definition that encompasses a wide spectrum of communication practices. Interactive communications can take on almost any form, ranging from live website chats, to social media interactions, and of course, business to consumer messaging through traditional channels as well. And as it relates to Customer Communication Management solutions, interactive communications includes the ad-hoc process of personalizing the communications, which always involves some level of human interaction.
Interactive communications have arisen as an integral business practice for companies to implement as the modern consumer puts a stronger emphasis on efficient communication than ever before. They also account for the majority of customer communications that happen today.
The other main marketing strategy involved is content marketing and alternative content generation. Content marketing in and of itself is a somewhat new concept, whereas interactive communications have been around for decades and have simply evolved to what they are today. Content marketing is the creation and publication of various mediums targeted at a specific demographic. Content marketing is typically delivered through online spaces, but there are physical forms of content marketing as well.
While interactive communications and content marketing are undoubtedly powerful marketing strategies for any organization to utilize, their broad and vague definitions leave plenty of room for creativity and inspiration. In other words, no two companies are going to utilize these tactics in the exact same way, furthering how unique these strategies can be.
Why and How it Happened
There are reasons that content marketing and interactive communications are so wildly popular and powerful. Understanding the exact ways in which these strategies came to be takes an understanding of the modern day consumer and their expectations. We’re now at a point where the majority of consumers in today’s economy, and all of the consumers in the future’s economy, will be digital natives. In other words, the most significant populations of the economy will have no concept of a world before the existence of smartphones and smart tech, social media, and the internet.
While the birth and advancement of many of these technologies has truly impacted the world for the better, and taken society to a new level, they have also had other side-effects on generations. One of the most significant impacts being an increase in the standard of instant gratification. The impact of social media and the internet has been far and wide. From the way it’s actually trained our brains to think and function, to how our society interacts and socializes. Another side effect has been a decrease in the general attention span that consumers have.
These are important factors when considering why content marketing and interactive communications are so valuable. Interactive communications address a consumer's need for instant gratification as well as maintaining a level of customer engagement throughout the exchange. This too is valuable, as it’s been more and more common for customers to leave a brand-relationship after incurring a single negative experience.
Customer engagement is also where alternative content creation and content marketing come into play. Content marketing gives brands and organizations an unlimited amount of space and freedom to attract and retain customer attention. In turn, this leads to more vested periods of customer engagement, and stronger long term customer relationships. Some companies are using content marketing in extremely inventive and creative ways. Overwatch and League of Legends both exemplify the epitome of successful content marketing strategies.
Overwatch uses out-of-game comics to build story, plot, and lore around the characters involved, while League of Legends just came out with a Netflix series that surely keeps gaming on the viewers mind.
Utilizing alternative content generation in this way, shows that brands are able to create content that is only tangential to their main products, and still reap the benefits of additional customer engagement, boosted sales, and stronger customer relationships overall.
Final Thoughts on Interactive Communications and Content Marketing
Operating a business in the modern economy means operating for the modern consumer. Modern consumers, though, are a bit different than they used to be. Prioritizing aspects of their customer experience such as efficiency, while still expecting an upheld standard of customer service. Utilizing content marketing, alternative content generation, and interactive communications will boost your company's levels of customer engagement, while setting up effective avenues for on-going customer communications. This, in turn, will lead to additional organizational benefits reflected in important KPIs such as personal referrals, elevated sales, and more effective marketing campaigns.
A sophisticated CCM, like that offered by Topdown Systems, will give you and your staff the tools you need, like interactive communication tools aimed at boosting levels of customer engagement and bolstering communications overall. Stay up to date with shifting communication trends with CCM that offers a built in recyclable content library and a suite of other communication centered features powered by AI, business logic, and automation, CCM software is built to bolster your entire communication strategy.
For more information on document generation software, communication best practices, or anything else on CCM software, keep browsing Topdown System’s content library.
