3 Seconds to Conquer — Ultimate hacks on winning customer attention
3 seconds — that’s all the time you have to catch your customer’s attention and this is the time when your brand is competing with dollops of content from fitness influencers, comedians, movie trailers and the latest meme about the Kardashians! The modern-day internet user is spoilt for choice, to say the least. In this scenario, only the boldest and most relevant content catches and holds their attention, just like the Netflix- Tinder twitter banter before Valentine’s day.
And who would know the pressure of churning relevant and engaging content better than a stand up comic?
We sat down with content entrepreneur and internet sensation Tanmay Bhat to learn his formula for creating viral content. From engaging a room full of comedy enthusiasts to winning over millions of viewers on YouTube, Tanmay has definitely cracked the formula to user engagement and retention.
Here are some words of wisdom from this episode of #BuildingItUp with Bertelsmann that help brands create inbound marketing strategies for their businesses.
Attention is leverage and creativity the bait
“Customer attention is the new startup leverage.”
Having a VC cheque in hand means nothing if the customer doesn’t want to buy from you. Customer attention has become the new metric of success in the world of startups however, how can a brand differentiate itself in an over-marketed world? How does one catch and hold customer attention? The answer lies in a well-thought and consistent content marketing strategy.
Content is the new capital
“2 or 3 campaigns will not make your brand! You have to be consistently at it for years”
Relying on one blockbuster campaign to earn customer loyalty is foolhardy in today’s day and age. Startups need to think about content first from their platform. They need to roll out content consistently from day 1, because consistency creates recall with the customers. Take Zomato for example — why is it so top of mind? Tanmay credits their in-house team, which successfully engages their customers across all communication platforms be it Twitter or email.
Technology boosts validation and valuation
Tanmay and his team at AIB went from entertaining a room full of people looking for laughs, to engaging millions of viewers on YouTube almost overnight! With the growing influence and reach of the internet, you can engage with the customer in real time. This makes the feedback loop much shorter, helping you understand your customer faster, and ultimately saves you from wasting time on the wrong idea. The trick then is to harness this power of technology and merge it with creativity, to hit it off with your customers.
Frugality kills the sales funnel
“The difference between good, great and magical could be just a few lakh rupees.”
It’s a misconception that content marketing is cheap. Creativity also comes with a price tag and haggling over marginal budgets could potentially deprive your business from cashing in on audience interest. Content is the dark horse which brings your brand attention and by consequence revenue from the public. So, make sure that your frugality with creative teams doesn’t kill your sales funnel in the long run.
Experimentation is key to virality
Brands need to humanize their image from the abstractions they’ve become. Customers don’t engage with perfect automatons. In this scenario it’s best to be hated for your mistakes, than being considered unworthy of hate. According to Tanmay, in a country like India, if the public can be incited to hate your brand, they can also be encouraged to love it.
He insists that virality isn’t science. It’s a product of persistent experimentation. This persistence requires brands to be fearless, because creativity cannot blossom in a fearful environment.
Developing a relationship with artists will have compounding interests
“ Collaborate with artists and your product will become a piece of art!”
Building relationships with artists is the need of the hour. Be it social media influencers or in-house content teams, the creative hustlers need to be involved from the get go, rather than roped in after all the decisions have been made. They know how to get applause from an audience and their attention to detail will drive both the toplines and headlines for the company. In fact, Tanmay goes a step ahead and predicts that MBA graduates will have to make way for eccentric artists as decision makers at board levels.
Tanmay plays soothsayer- What does the future look like?
Having stayed relevant in the most fickle medium i.e social media, Tanmay can rightly don the hat of a soothsayer. He predicts that:
- In house content teams will disrupt advertising agencies. The monopoly and benchmarks of the big five global agencies will be challenged, as brands start investing in content teams from the get go
- Social Media will play an important role in not only attracting people towards the business but also keeping them interested in the products at all times
- Technology and creativity will slowly merge and those quick to realize it will cash this wave of opportunity.
Tune in to the podcast here to catch more of Tanmay Bhat’s insights on viral marketing for your startups.
Enjoyed the blog or have feedback? Please leave comments and share your thoughts with us at info@bertelsmann.in
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