How IoT Solves Content Marketing Challenges
Thanks to the Internet of Things (IoT), the world is changing with the increased connectivity of things.
IoT, simply explained, is a system of objects equipped with data-collecting technology, and which can communicate that data with one another. A few years ago, all objects with an on/off switch were part of this vast system, but today anything embedded with enabling technology (eg. sensors, NFC, RFID) is eligible.
This connectivity is a large step into the future of how we interact with each other and things, leaving no industry untouched. As such, IoT has come to affect the way companies market themselves.
Many different approaches can be used in marketing, although the most currently popular and personal method is content marketing. This long-term payout marketing style focuses on creating quality and valuable content for consumers, usually via consistent uploads on social media accounts and blogs. With content marketing, a company can build up customer loyalty and trust, leading to a strong consumer base in the long run.
While this approach is used by almost everyone these days, it comes with its own set of problems.
1. As a result of content marketing’s popularity as a tactic, it has seemingly sabotaged itself.
This suggests that because many companies pump out content almost daily, the competition for consumer attention has become extremely difficult. Therefore luck becomes a big factor in determining if a brand’s content is seen and engaged with.
2. Secondly, posting content consistently is a problem in itself, due to the difficulty of maintaining quality, funding and consistency.
Few companies have the resources to consistently upload quality content. To do so, a company has to heavily invest in the creation of content— something not every company is able to do. One might argue a company with limited funding can post less consistently, but with the rising competition, an inconsistent upload schedule will lead to a loss of interest by consumers. Eliminating the quality portion of content marketing leaves consumers unsatisfied, and it projects poorly on a brand. Thus, brands are forced to maintain funding, quality, and consistency of their content marketing if they hope to utilize it as part of their strategy.
3. Posting consistently, especially for a small team or single person, can take a toll on the creator(s).
The stress carried by such a team or person can easily translate into the content produced. If noticed by consumers, it can lead to the loss of interest and trust.
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While these challenges of content marketing cannot be avoided, they can be drastically minimized through IoT.
Because IoT can be applied to anything that has NFC embedded in it, the data collected through interactions can help marketers understand their consumers’ needs. For example, connected running shoes (products embedded with NFC are referred to as “connected objects”) can measure running data and supply the corresponding company of user running habits, helping that company better cater to consumers. This leads to even more personal and precise content for the individual consumer, building loyalty in return, and eliminating the guesswork of creating hit-or-miss content.
The use of the data from the IoT system sets a company apart from the competition by being able to individualize their strategy and give their consumer a personal experience. This is what is called experiential marketing, which offers an experience rather than content, leading to a new type of engagement between a company and their consumer. A business also profits from the constant connection with their users by giving them the chance to send content straight to a consumer, and thereby eliminate competition and distraction from other content sources. For example, with the purchase of an IoT connected object like shoes, the consumer is able to receive special content directly from the shoes.
Through a singular marketing channel such as a connected object, the user can only be engaged with the content programmed to that object. This programming also allows a company to only target a certain group of people. For example, a company can choose to send one form of content to all connected white shoes, while being able to send a different experience to all connected green shoes. This would mean less content creation for companies, since these experiences are interchangeable. The content the white shoes received would differ from the green shoes’, so simply exchanging the content would offer consumers a completely new experience. This tactic would ensure the consistency and quality of content flow to consumers while not having to constantly create new content. Furthermore, creators are less likely to experience a burnout, since their workloads are lightened.
And so, through the power of IoT, the challenges of content marketing can be minimized, and the impact of it, increased.
