Yet many B2B companies struggle with differentiating their brand in the first place. This is mainly due to a phenomenon called strategic herding, where established norms limit differentiation and innovation within the industry.

So how can CMOs make their brands stand out and become a magnet for more leads and prospects?

Part of the answer lies in brand research. This article will explore what you need to know, including ways to use brand research to develop or redefine your brand positioning strategy.

What is brand research?

Brand research is a strategic process aimed at understanding and enhancing your brand’s position in the marketplace. It involves systematically collecting data about your brand and how it is perceived by stakeholders, including customers, employees, and the general public. Key areas of focus include measuring brand reputation, visibility, and equity.

By analyzing and acting on the insights gained from this process, you can strengthen your brand positioning.

What is the ultimate goal of brand research?

When it comes to brand positioning, information is everything.

In an ideal world, marketers would be able to easily understand people’s thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and attitudes toward different brands. But since they only exist in buyers’ minds, it’s our responsibility to find out and ask.

That’s where brand research comes in. Its true goal is to help you understand your brand’s overall role in the marketplace, with the help of formal data collection and analysis.

When performed correctly, it can help you uncover your most valuable differentiators (at least in the eyes of prospective buyers, customers, and clients). You’ll be able to use them to formulate a powerful and accurate messaging strategy, which can then help you establish a brand position that gives you a competitive advantage.

When is the right time to conduct brand research?

All companies undergo significant business-defining changes at some point or another.

When this happens, you must adjust your organization’s brand positioning so that it’s in line with these changes. This should almost always be informed by some form of brand research.

New startup companies that haven’t yet launched a product typically conduct brand research alongside market and persona research (since it’s usually more efficient and cost-effective).

Mature organizations, on the other hand, tend to pursue it when:

• Growth has stalled
• Their brand identity has become dated
• Internal stakeholders no longer know how to describe the firm’s positioning

But regardless of company age, certain triggers or events can necessitate brand research, including:

• Mergers or acquisitions
• Changes to brand architecture (e.g., brand extensions)
• Emerging competitive threats
• Significant shifts in target audience demographics or preferences

What are the most common brand research techniques?

As with any kind of research, there are multiple ways to collect the data you need to develop (or redevelop) your company’s brand positioning.

The more diverse your sources are, the more robust your methodology will be.

Online surveys

Online surveys can be extremely valuable for brand research, regardless of what stage you’re currently at. It’s popular among businesses because they’re scalable (meaning you can distribute them to a large number of people without much effort).

Brand research surveys often exist in the form of Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys, where you ask respondents how likely they’ll recommend your brand to a colleague on a scale of zero to ten.

NPS is a widely used metric across industries, allowing you to benchmark your performance against competitors. By comparing your NPS with industry standards, you can assess how well your brand is positioned in the marketplace. This comparative analysis can inform strategic decisions about how to differentiate your brand and enhance its appeal.

Customer feedback collected through NPS surveys can also help you highlight the key strengths and weaknesses of your brand. Positive feedback from ‘promoters’ can indicate what sets your brand apart, while criticism from ‘detractors’ can reveal pain points that need addressing. This comprehensive view helps you fine-tune your brand messaging and positioning to emphasize strengths and mitigate weaknesses.

Can I create my own surveys instead?

You can, but keep the following points in mind.

Follow a structured approach

Since most online surveys aim to gather quantitative data, it’s crucial to adopt a structured approach. Start by setting clear hypotheses about your brand. Your survey questions should be designed to test these hypotheses, allowing you to prove or disprove them with data.

Ensure clarity and objectivity

Your survey questions must be free from leading or confusing language. The former can lead to skewed and biased responses; the latter can reduce the reliability and validity of your results. Carefully review your questions and consider how they might be interpreted by respondents.

Run a pilot test

Before launching your survey, run a pilot test. This helps identify issues with language, survey length, or technical glitches. Feedback from the pilot test can be used to make necessary adjustments, ensuring your survey is effective and user-friendly.

In-depth interviews

An in-depth interview is a research method that involves asking relevant participants questions using a predefined framework, meaning you have already decided on the topics and subtopics you’ll explore. These interviews can be conducted either online or face-to-face.

There are two useful types of in-depth interviews: structured and semi-structured. Unlike structured interviews, semi-structured interviews do not follow a strict sequence and allow room for additional questions.

Conducted on a one-to-one basis, these interviews enable you to easily observe participants’ paralanguage (e.g., facial expressions and nuances in their voices). This is especially valuable if you’re trying to understand how people currently feel about your brand.

Some key questions you could ask include:

• How would you describe your latest interaction with our brand?
• If we came to you and said we made a bunch of changes to our brand, what would you hope to hear? What would you hope not to hear?

Focus groups

Compared to surveys, focus groups are a much less scalable method of brand research – so obtaining large amounts of standardized data shouldn’t be the goal here.

However, the benefit of focus groups is the sheer breadth and richness of qualitative information you can collect, which is ideal for exploratory brand research. For instance, you may be developing a new brand and entering an unfamiliar market at the same time.

There are a few things to keep in mind when hosting a focus group. First, select a moderator who is not only knowledgeable about the industry but also flexible enough to manage group dynamics. This ensures you get the most out of each participant.

Second, carefully consider your sampling strategy. Focus groups should be fairly homogeneous. Participants should share a few common characteristics (such as their occupation) to ensure everyone is comfortable enough to speak openly and freely.

And when it comes to determining the ideal number of focus group sessions, there’s no hard and fast rule. One session is rarely sufficient, but anything more than several will probably yield diminishing returns. This is because your research will likely reach ‘saturation’, meaning you’re unlikely to discover anything new or meaningful by hosting additional sessions.

How can companies use brand research to strengthen their brand positioning?

Brand research can help you develop three main internal documents, each of which is key to a successful brand positioning strategy.

A list of brand differentiators

Having a simple list of brand differentiators can align your internal stakeholders’ understanding of what exactly sets your organization apart from competitors. They can also help you craft an effective positioning statement.

If you already have a list, brand research can help you confirm whether your external stakeholders (i.e. your customers) perceive your claims to be true. What you uncover during this process may be surprising!

If your objective is to discover your organization’s points of differentiation, you could ask questions like:

• What word comes to mind when you hear our brand name?
• Why do you choose our brand over others?
• What does our brand offer that competitors don’t offer?

Keep in mind that a differentiator is only a differentiator if it meets all of the following criteria:

1. It must be true
2. It must be important to your target persona
3. It must be provable (otherwise, this can lead to ‘doubtful’ brand positioning)

Most B2B brands differentiate by specializing within an industry, offering a unique technology or process, having a specific geographical focus, or honing in on a particular target audience. But you can also find brands that emphasize their unique business models or exceptional customer service.

Perceptual maps

Perceptual mapping is a technique you can use to understand where brands
in a relevant category ‘fit’ in the minds of target buyers and customers. Understanding this is important because the way prospects position your brand has an effect on their long-term purchasing decisions.

Generally, perceptual maps are represented as two-dimensional plot graphs with four quadrants and two axes. The axes should be labeled according to what is most relevant for your customers.

For instance, a tech brand may choose to create a map based on ‘features’ and ‘price’ (as they’re two attributes that have a large influence on their purchasing decisions).

If you believe there are more than two important brand attributes, you can indeed create more sophisticated variations (or multiple perceptual maps).

Questions that can help you accurately draw a perceptual map include:

• Who are our brand’s true competitors?
• What are your key priorities?
• Rank this brand in order of preference from a list of competitor brands based on X, Y Z

It’s worth noting that if you find your brand to be in the middle of every perceptual map you draw, there’s likely a problem. That means the people you collected data from (whether it’s customers or otherwise) don’t have a clear understanding of what makes you stand out. This is a phenomenon known as ‘under-positioning’, which often leads to inconsistent sales. To overcome this, you may need to audit your brand positioning and find ways to communicate your unique selling point (USP) more clearly.

Messaging framework

A messaging framework is a strategic document that identifies your tone of voice, your primary personas and what sort of messaging is appropriate for each. This will help your organization standardize your communications to all of your customers.

To successfully develop this framework, you’ll need to draw on four types of insights:

• Voice of the competition: what are your competitors’ positioning messages?
• Voice of the customer: what do your customers truly care about?
• Voice of the company: what vision do your internal stakeholders have?
• Voice of the market: what macro and micro trends will impact your business?

Messaging frameworks tend to include a strapline, an elevator pitch, key value propositions, tone of voice guidelines, and separate messaging sections for different personas. Within each section, you’ll need to identify a core need for that particular persona, outline key challenges and objections, and include how your brand solves those problems (with proof points).

To help you accomplish these goals, you may ask your stakeholders questions like:

• What do you value most?
• What are your biggest challenges?
• How do you think our firm delivers on our promises?

Final thoughts

Brand research is one of the most fundamental components of brand positioning. Without it, decisions about your organization’s messaging will be based on guesswork and personal assumptions.

By selecting the right research methods and techniques for your company, you can collect the data you need to develop your brand strategy and boost your competitive advantage with differentiated messaging.

This post has been updated on June 24th, 2024. Originally published: July 26th, 2022

The post The comprehensive CMO’s guide to brand research appeared first on Tomorrow People.

Over the past year, there’s been a lot of buzz surrounding the metaverse.

Most B2C brands have readily embraced it. According to Forrester, more than 75% of U.S. marketers are planning to invest in metaverse-related activities this year

B2B organisations, however, are still slow to realise what the metaverse could do for their business.

But it shouldn’t be that way.

Trade shows, product demos, client meetings, and online ads are all core pillars of B2B marketing. And they all have the potential to be altered by the metaverse.

That’s why a ‘wait-and-see’ approach may no longer work for business-to-business companies. This article explains what the metaverse is, how it will transform B2B marketing, and what you can do to prepare for it.

 What is the metaverse?

Like with most industry buzzwords, there is some ambiguity over what the metaverse actually means. To put it simply, it’s ‘like the internet, but in 3D’.

In the virtual reality (VR) space, the metaverse is an immersive world where people can interact with each other using personalised avatars. You can purchase things, attend events, buy virtual real estate, socialise, and more.

A brief history of the metaverse

The metaverse isn’t necessarily a new concept; the term was coined in 1992 by author Neal Stephenson.

Any virtual world can technically be considered a metaverse. The most famous examples to date are Second Life and Roblox.

Second Life

Released in 2003 by Linden Labs, Second Life is a vast virtual world that users can freely navigate and roam. The most groundbreaking aspect of this platform, at the time, was the fact that avatars can do almost anything can do in real life. This includes listening to music, playing games, and watching movies.

A few forward-thinking companies that wanted to showcase some thought leadership also saw some use cases for it. Cisco, for instance, hosted virtual meetings on Second Life for over a year with their channel partners.

Roblox

Roblox is another free-to-join metaverse platform that has recently exploded in popularity, even though it was originally launched in 2006. Compared to Second Life, it’s much more gameplay-focused and relies on users creating experiences and virtual worlds for other users.

Currently, the number of brands and retailers creating experiences and selling virtual goods on the platform is growing fast. In 2021, Roblox reported $1.9 billion in annual revenue—up 108% from 2020. The company earns by enabling organisations and creators to sell digital items in their in-game stores, which users can purchase using real money.

So what’s behind the recent metaverse hype, and is it warranted?

As far as businesses are concerned, yes (but more on this later).

And the metaverse has been at the forefront of the tech industry for a few reasons. First, the technologies we typically associate with the metaverse have matured. Quality wireless virtual reality headsets, like the Oculus Quest, are now commercially widely available.

The second reason was the recent rapid shift in lifestyle patterns (as brought about by the pandemic). With an increased number of people across the globe working remotely, tech companies now have a renewed interest in creating immersive virtual environments that allow people to socialise in unique ways.

Facebook’s rebrand to Meta was what sealed the deal. In his 2021 Facebook Connect keynote speech, Mark Zuckerberg announced the company’s vision for the metaverse, positioning it as the ‘next successor to the mobile internet’.

Since then, B2C businesses have been looking for opportunities to deliver new customer experiences with this technology.

Luxury brands in particular have been especially eager to establish a metaverse presence. Take Ferrari as an example—users were able to create an avatar on Fortnite and test-drive the Ferrari 296 GTB in real time. You could also look at the Gucci Garden experience, a temporary exhibition hosted on Roblox (in it, avatars entered the showroom as blank mannequins and came out as one-of-a-kind creations).

B2B organisations, in comparison, have been largely reluctant to embrace the metaverse.

How will the metaverse transform B2B marketing?

B2B buying experiences will be different

The B2B buying process is notoriously long-winded and complex, with multiple stakeholders and decision-makers involved at the same time. Compared to B2C, there’s much more emphasis on value exchange—so buyers will typically conduct more extensive research on the solutions they plan to invest in.

B2B marketers will be able to speed up the buying process by creating immersive buyer experiences in the metaverse.

Virtual events, conferences and trade shows that allow prospects to directly interact with your product may help them understand its value on a deeper level, greatly increasing the chances of conversion.

The metaverse can also help you with customer retention, not just customer acquisition. Thanks to the flexibility it offers, you can create branded customer service experiences that go beyond impersonal chatbots.

Instead of waiting to speak to a call agent on the phone, customers can visit enterprise help desks in the metaverse. Here, B2B organisations have a golden opportunity to design semi-physical venues in a way that leaves a positive and memorable impression on those who matter most.

New avenues for customer research

The rise of video conferencing tools such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams has largely solved the problem of geographical constraints in qualitative market research. Before the internet, focus groups and interviews could only be held at physical venues.

But now, the metaverse will open up even more ways for marketers to collect customer and user data. This will be an extremely valuable commodity as companies seek to create personalised experiences. As Mastercard’s chief privacy offer Catherine Louveaux recently put it, “the metaverse will be data collection on steroids”.

This means you won’t only be able to talk to customers from all over the world, but you’ll also be able to record your research participants’ body language and gestures (something that isn’t always possible during video calls).

The metaverse may also have an impact on quantitative research. Thanks to the virtual reality equipment people need to enter the metaverse, businesses may be able to record biometric data (e.g. tracking voices and eye movements).

Along with AI predictive modeling techniques, this opens up the possibility of collecting biometrically inferred data (BID), which involves using biometric data to infer a person’s characteristics and behaviours.

This will give marketers the power to create hyperpersonalised ads in the metaverse, which can be a good thing—but the potential data privacy issues it presents must still be considered.

More possibilities for creative promotion

Promotional activities that B2B businesses do today simply won’t translate well in a virtual world. In the metaverse, customer expectations of what marketing and advertising should look like will be different, so marketers will face a new set of challenges.

On the plus side, this means there will be more opportunities for creativity.

For instance, you can sponsor virtual events or advertise on virtual billboards—next to spots where crowds gather.

You can even use the metaverse’s lack of physical constraints to your advantage. Take a look at how Absolut created an ‘anti-gravity dancefloor space’ in Decentraland. With over 90,000 visits, the vodka company successfully leveraged the virtual platform’s lack of gravity to reinforce its positioning as a festival-friendly lifestyle brand.

B2B brands should adopt a similar bold approach when it comes to promoting their offerings. And as there’s no real limit to how many people can be in a single metaverse space, you’ll be able to reach more prospects and buyers than ever before.

Content will be more interactive

I think it’s safe to say that no one will be visiting the metaverse to read a static white paper.

Most B2B businesses today understand the power of audiovisual content (photos, videos, animations, etc.) and how they can be used to enhance the effectiveness of marketing messages.

But in the metaverse, the medium is the message. If its potential is realised, marketers will be able to use AI-assisted tools that allow them to deliver content in a much more interactive, immersive, and intelligent way.

For instance, you could create a 3D virtual library that contains your most successful blog posts and eGuides—but present it in a format that resembles a physical book. Other content marketing examples include moving one-pagers, interactive infographics, and eGuides that change according to user characteristics.

Loyalty programmes will thrive

Some B2B companies today are already incorporating gamification into their loyalty programmes.

According to Oracle, tapping into competitive psychology of the human mind can be a powerful way to increase engagement and encourage loyalty. This still applies in a B2B context.

In the metaverse, you can take this to the next level. You’ll be able to offer your business partners the chance to win memorable and creative benefits. This is where NFTs (non-fungible tokens) come in.

NFTs refer to one-of-a-kind digital assets that lives on the blockchain, a decentralised ledger of transactions in a peer-to-peer network. Every NFT has a ‘smart contract’ associated with it, meaning every one you sell has certain ‘rules and benefits’ attached to it.

That means businesses can create unique loyalty programme based on NFTs. SaaS vendors, for instance, could sell NFTs that grant buyers access to software discounts, VIP customer support levels, and exclusive events.

What’s more, if a buyer no longer wanted to use your software, they could simply sell the NFT to someone else. You could even earn money from this transaction, provided that your ‘smart contract’ states this rule.

How can B2B companies prepare for the metaverse?

Even though the metaverse is still in its early stages, B2B companies that want the first-mover advantage should start preparing for it.

Determine the true value of the metaverse for your company

Before you start, consider how likely it is for your target personas to join the metaverse—how quickly do they adopt technology? And what about your competitors?

If they’re already there, you might want to increase brand awareness. Alternatively, you might want to make strong customer loyalty or positive brand sentiments your number one priority.

It’s important that you determine the true value of the metaverse for your specific organisation. If you could offer people the best virtual customer experience possible, what would the value of that be? If you didn’t, what are the risks?

If your goal is to become a challenger brand in a well-established market, being the first to promote your business on the metaverse could help you position yourself as an innovative brand.

Keep a close eye on the tech

Once you’ve determined how much your organisation will benefit from the metaverse, the next step would be to make sure everyone in your organisation is up to speed.

Let them know about your goals, and be clear about the value it brings to your overall organization.

And because the metaverse is still in its early stages, assign a specific person within your company to keep track of the latest tech developments so everyone can stay in the loop.

Identify metaverse platforms that provide the best brand fit

Not every metaverse platform is created equal, and not every one is suited to your B2B organisation.

Right now, Meta’s Horizon Worlds, Decentraland and Sandbox are just a few of the metaverse platforms available.

Some platforms like Roblox are primarily geared toward certain demographics, like Generation Z (who, according to TrustRadius, currently don’t have a great deal of buyer influence yet). Others have potential to be more B2B-focused. Meta, for example, just launched Horizon Workrooms—a virtual reality meeting world that lets teams collaborate in real time.

Overall, there’s ample opportunity for companies to explore what works and what doesn’t.

Assess how you can adapt your current brand

Now comes the thought-provoking part. Start assessing how people currently interact with your brand online. Examine the types of content you currently have and brainstorm ideas on how you can adapt it for the metaverse.

The true challenge here is to figure out how people will actually see, hear, and feel your brand.

People won’t sit in the metaverse simply to read a webpage; they want a multisensory customer experience. This means your B2B brand will have to be much more than just your logo, fonts, and brand colours.

But even so, for the vast majority of companies, the metaverse seems to be too far into the future. But the good news is: it’s a real possibility that will get any marketer buzzing with excitement.

Consider how you’ll measure success

It’s always important to measure your return on marketing spend. But the content marketing metrics you should use to gauge your success in the metaverse may not be what you expect.

Most marketers consider traditional content metrics like the number of site visitors and engagement rates to be vital.

In the metaverse, however, you may have to redefine new engagement metrics in order to account for unique behavioral economics at play (such as the ‘scarcity’ of NFTs). What that looks like is not yet known, but it’s something that any marketer interested in the metaverse should keep in mind.

Key takeaways

• The metaverse is a term that refers to interactive virtual reality worlds.
• This concept is not new, but there is recent buzz around it due to three reasons: the availability of high-quality virtual reality equipment, the rise of remote working, and Facebook’s ambitious rebrand.
• The metaverse will change B2B marketing in various ways. The buying process will change, and so will the way marketers conduct research, deliver content, and design loyalty programmes.
• You can prepare by assessing the metaverse’s value, tracking the latest tech developments, and brainstorming opportunities on how to adapt your organisation’s brand.

The post How the metaverse will transform the future of B2B marketing appeared first on Tomorrow People.

Founded in 2018, Reachdesk empowers B2B businesses to create, manage, and measure the ROI of their direct mail and gifting campaigns at scale. Following the successful closure of $43 million Series B funding, the company has chosen Tomorrow People to deliver a reinvigorated brand strategy and a fully optimised website that will enhance the overall user experience.

This will be delivered by a team of strategy, editorial, design, digital marketing, and development specialists at the award-winning Tomorrow People agency. As part of this project, Tomorrow People will run a series of brand strategy workshops to build a modern and creative look and feel, including an update to the existing Reachdesk logo. At the same time, messaging workshops will develop compelling brand positioning that connects Reachdesk with its global audience. Both elements will come together in a new Reachdesk website, which will offer an enhanced user experience, showcase the Reachdesk value proposition, and meet key metrics around bounce rates, session times, conversion rates, and traffic.

Alistair Norman, Marketing Director at Tomorrow People, said: “Our team is already collaborating with Reachdesk to evolve their position as a category leader. We’re extremely excited about helping Reachdesk to communicate their purpose and mission in a compelling, differentiated way, with a fresh look and feel that sets a foundation for further growth.”

Christy Steward, Head of Marketing at Reachdesk, said: “We selected Tomorrow People on the quality of their work, especially when it comes to developing disruptive brands. This new platform of brand development and web will be the foundation of our marketing strategy.”

Learn more about Tomorrow People on its website.

ABOUT TOMORROW PEOPLE

Tomorrow People is a go-to-market agency with decades of combined experience helping B2B technology brands get closer to their customers. Operating from offices in Birmingham (UK), London, and New York, the agency delivers a full range of consultancy and creative services, including brand and messaging development, go-to-market strategy workshops, content marketing, and website development.
www.tomorrow-people.com

ABOUT REACHDESK

Headquartered in London, Reachdesk is a global direct mail and gifting platform that empowers B2B organisations to deliver the moments that matter at scale, globally, throughout the entire customer lifecycle. Through Reachdesk, companies can deliver gifts and direct mail that build deeper connections with customers, prospects, and employees at the click of a button.
www.reachdesk.com

For media enquiries, please contact:
Pete Winter, Head of Editorial (ben.s@tomorrow-people.com)

The post Reachdesk appoints Tomorrow People to revamp brand and website appeared first on Tomorrow People.

Note: This article was originally publish in January 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

The advance of content marketing continues apace. Late adopters are now well and truly in the content marketing strategy mindset, but leaders are forging ahead with new approaches, platforms, strategies, and tactics.

In 2018, I wrote an abridged version of this article and predicted how content marketing will be shaped and transformed by emerging technology. Five years have passed since, and the trends mentioned are more relevant today than ever.

Read on to learn what they are and why you should incorporate them into your content strategy, this year and beyond.

Content marketing has proven its success

It’s no secret: content marketing has matured. According to the Content Marketing Institute, 89% of B2B marketers in 2018 have a content marketing strategy. Over 60% of them reported that their strategies were more effective than the year before.

Not only that: the top brass got the message, too. 42% of respondents reported that management changes positively impacted their content marketing approach.

Since then, marketers’ faith in content marketing has only increased. Today, almost half (40%) of B2B marketers characterise their content strategy as sophisticated or mature. What’s more, 80% believe that their organisations value creativity and craft in content creation, suggesting that more businesses are more aware of best practices.

What’S next for your content marketing strategy?

As the field becomes ever more crowded, the challenge for content marketers will be to stand out from the crowd and stay ahead of the curve.

Technological shifts are driving new innovations and trends that will shake up content marketing in 2022 and beyond…

1. Multimedia content demands multimedia content creators

The days of relying solely on blog posts and eGuides are far behind us now. Online video has gone mainstream, and whether operating in the B2C or B2B space, brands cannot afford to ignore it.

And let’s not forget the well-documented rise of the podcast. This audience is overwhelmingly young (44% are 18-34) and tends to be more well-off than average, representing a fertile opportunity that brands are increasingly tapping into.

In 2018, I mentioned some of the key skills content teams will need to have going forward:

• Video production and editing
• Graphic design and illustration
• Audio editing and production
• Digital content creation

Were my predictions correct? Let’s discuss them in more detail.

Video production and editing

In 2021, video was the number one format marketers used in their content marketing strategies.

For B2C marketers, this was certainly because of TikTok’s explosive success. With over a billion users, the video-based social media platform has attracted the envy of YouTube and Instagram, causing them to incorporate some of TikTok’s features into their own platforms (i.e. YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels).

Even B2B organisations could not ignore the importance of video production and editing. In fact, video content is the top investment for B2B brands this year, suggesting that more B2B marketers have a greater appreciation of how video can be used to enhance buyer journeys.

Graphic design and illustration

Dull, formal visuals have long defined the look and feel of most B2B brands, but this is changing. According to Hubspot, infographics are the fourth most used content format in 2022. What’s more, they have had the biggest increase in usage among B2B marketers in the last four years.

This suggests that buyers are less happy with reading long-winded marketing assets that only contain text.

Audio editing and production

Podcasts are now everywhere; every day, over 72,000 episodes are publish. Unsurprisingly, this high number reflects the sheer demand people have for audio content.

That means more content marketers (both B2C and B2B) are recording and releasing podcasts. Naturally, this requires audio editing and production skills, which are just as necessary as copyediting and image editing—after all, you don’t want people to listen to unpolished recordings!

Digital content creation

Digital content creation has been an important skill for a long time, but in 2022, it’s more important than ever.

As you probably already know, there’s a lot of content out there right now. Every time a consumer or buyer visits a social media platform, sophisticated algorithms are responsible for every ad and post they see. Content marketers must now be able to navigate these algorithms effectively and make better data-driven decisions if they want to stand out from the crowd.

2. It’s not just about the screen anymore

The internet of things has fully arrived. From Alexa to Siri, virtual assistants are invading homes and turning devices into content channels. This isn’t just hands-free; this is eyes-free, opening the door for delivering content in a whole new way.

A number of brands are using Amazon’s Alexa Skill platform to share expert demonstrations. One example is the American Heart Association, which can talk you through the process of performing CPR via Alexa.

Another brand using Alexa to deliver audio content is pet care company Purina. They’ve built an audio content hub that allows users to learn more about different dog breeds and health issues through the voice command ‘Alexa, Ask Purina…’.

Not to mention, B2B organisations are also benefitting from IoT devices. From autonomous vehicles to environmental sensors, more and more enterprises are transforming into fully digital businesses by using IoT data to train AI systems.

In fact, Gartner expects that over 80% of enterprise IoT projects will use AI by the end of 2022. In 2019, this was only 10%!

3. Paid, owned and earned media are converging

Content used to be placed firmly in the box of ‘owned’ media, with advertising classified as ‘paid’ and PR/influencer marketing as ‘earned’.

Now the old divisions are breaking down, not least because of the collaborative and interactive nature of the internet, the reduced brand control, and the desirability of co-creation with users and online influencers.

Those in the know are now talking about converged media, an approach that combines the best of each traditional category.

All three types of media—paid, owned, and earned—have to work together to support your brand’s content marketing strategy and growth goals.

In the next few years, you’ll likely notice a bigger increase in content atomisation (e.g. converting earned or owned media into paid online ads).

4. Live video is going BIG

Facebook has really led the way in the live video conversation, and the engagement stats show that this gambit is paying off. Users spend 3x longer watching live than non-live videos. And they comment 10x more, according to Facebook Newsroom.

And it’s not just Facebook reporting this. Livestream found that 80% of brand audiences would rather tune into a live video than read a blog post, and 87% crave behind-the-scenes content. However, back in 2016, only 14% of marketers used live video.

Today, live video is now the third most popular social media marketing tactic. This is most likely due to the recent popularity of live streaming (as brought on by the pandemic). Since early 2020, LinkedIn live streams have more than doubled, increasing by 158%. This growth is expected to be sustained, even as virtual events become less relevant.

5. Virtual reality (VR) will take a hold

VR is coming, like it or not (and you should like it!). A few years ago, brands and companies in the e-commerce sector have just started to explore opportunities that this form of interactive content could bring, especially to customers that want to be immersed in brand experiences.

Now VR is the next big thing. Revenue from virtual reality and augmented reality is predicted to skyrocket over the next few years—$6.71 billion by the end of 2022 and $12.9 billion by 2024, to be exact.

This is in no small part because of the metaverse’s meteoric rise in popularity. Leading consumer brands, like Gucci and Adidas, are now experimenting with ways to deliver innovative content using VR-enabled platforms like Roblox and Decentraland. All content marketers should keep a close eye on this exciting development.

6. The sheer volume of content continues to rocket

Your content marketing strategy runs the risk of becoming background noise if you’re not producing original and compelling stuff, distributing it via the right channels and continually measuring and optimising your output.

As far back as 2014, it was calculated that every single minute:

• 72 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube.
• 277,000 tweets are publish.
• 216,000 photos are shared on Instagram.

Three years on, the global internet population grew by over 1 billion!

2018:

• There are 3.8 billion internet users.
• There are 2.8 billion active social media users.
• There are 4.9 billion unique mobile users.

Today:

• There are 4.95 billion internet users, which is 62.5% of the global population.
• There are 5.31 billion unique mobile users, which is 67.1% of the global population.
• There are 4.62 billion active social media users, which is 58.4% of the global population.

And according to Hootsuite, some social media platforms are more popular than others—Facebook being the one with the highest number of active users.

Every day, all of these people are consuming (and producing) content. This growth is set to continue, making the race for content differentiation more urgent than ever.

7. Social media goes from sharing platform to publishing outlet

Users of social media increasingly crave native experiences, often preferring to consume content within the context of the platform they’re on, rather than clicking away to access it.

Platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn are understandably encouraging this, with innovations like automatic in-feed video playing and Instant Articles. Features on Snapchat and Instagram similarly allow users to read articles instantly, with a single swipe.

Content marketers need to stop trying to drive all social traffic to their websites and instead focus on providing a complete in-channel experience. As John Hall of Influence & Co said:

“Why would people leave their favourite social apps when they can get all the content they want in one place?”

8. Forget mobile-first, we’re heading for mobile-only

Is there still anybody out there without a mobile-friendly website?

If there is, they’re probably not reading this anyway. Mobile-friendly quickly became outdated as a concept when we realise the tide was advancing so quickly it was mobile-first or nothing.

But now we’re heading for the final phase which will see desktop use dwindle to next to nothing. In 2017, 69% of digital media engagement took place on mobile platforms. And in the US, 13% of the population only accessed content on their mobiles.

These numbers have increased significantly since. According to Statista, global mobile data traffic in 2022 is on track to be seven times larger than it was in 2017. What’s more, 61% of Google searches in 2021 took place on a mobile device—and this trend is showing no signs of slowing down.

That means having a website that’s fully optimised for mobile devices will play a paramount role in the success of your content.

9. Search engines get smarter, and self-updating

There has been a quiet but seismic shift in the way search engines (yes, mainly Google) operate. Marketers have become used to periodic high-profile updates such as Panda and Penguin which, while always having an impact, have been largely predictable and easy to adapt for.

That’s all changing with the rise of automatic, machine-learning algorithm updates.
Back in 2015, there was RankBrain. This Google algorithm fine-tunes search results based on user behaviour, continually optimising to serve up the best results and making it much tougher to predict or game the system.

Last year, Google announced that they will be rolling out an even more innovative update: the Multitask Unified Model (MUM). Dubbed the new ‘AI milestone for understanding information’, this technology represents the next paradigm shift for search engines. With MUM, Google will be able to solve difficult search queries using multiple forms of content (including images and video) in all languages to provide rich, nuanced answers.

This reinforces the point that content marketers in the future must be able to provide a versatile range of content formats.

10. Artificial intelligence (AI) — the content robots are coming…?

Resistance is futile, but acceptance could bring great rewards. Artificial intelligence is already being used by companies like Facebook and Google to manage how they sort, monitor and serve content. So why shouldn’t content marketers harness its power, too?

In 2022, industry leaders are continuing to experiment with AI to better understand keyword terms and intent, discover relevant content—and, of course—automate and optimise distribution.

However, content robots still aren’t very effective when it comes to producing original copy. Google’s recent ‘helpful content’ update also highlights the fact that written content created by humans will always be favoured by search engines over AI-crafted content.

Nevertheless, marketers might find more immediate success in AI-powered video or image content tools (you might’ve heard of DALL·E, the technology that can produce AI art based on your written instructions). Overall, one thing is sure: artificial intelligence will transform the way we create, distribute, and optimise content—and it’s up to content marketers to keep track of the latest technological advances.

Key takeaways

• Content marketing strategy is entering a new and exciting phase. Nearly all companies have embraced it, so the next challenge is for leaders to differentiate from the crowd.
• The rising popularity of video and audio content means that design and production skills will be increasingly important in content teams.
• Virtual reality and augmented reality are on course to grow massively, and provide an interactive opportunity to immerse customers in the brand experience.
• Social media and mobile usage will continue to skyrocket, and content must be created and shared in formats that fit seamlessly with these channels.
• Machine learning is making search engines less predictable, while artificial intelligence holds opportunities for greater efficiency and optimisation.

Ready to get ahead of the curve? Seize your headstart now! Read Dare to be different: The state of content marketing differentiation

The post 10 tech trends that’ll shake up your content marketing strategy (2022 Edition) appeared first on Tomorrow People.

All change in energy

Few industries are evolving at a speed that comes close to the pace of change in the energy sector. A perfect storm of data opportunities and digitization on one side, and the need for sustainable operations on the other, is driving rapid transformation.

At the heart of this is Cegal, a trusted global digitalization partner headquartered in Norway. Cegal asked us to create a brand video that put the spotlight on their new Evolve, Create, Innovate methodology and how it is relevant to new verticals outside of the traditional Oil & Gas community.

Production and delivery

We wrote a short script that introduced the core components of Cegal; who they are, where they are based, and what they stand for. We deliberately used minimal copy to convey how they add value and deliver benefits through an innovative and progressive methodology that meets the demands of modern industries.

We then created a brandboard and developed imagery and video that captures the brand essence. Through powerful visualisations we brought the Cegal story to life, displaying value and relevance to an internal and external audience.

Forward-thinking and future-looking

The video is a glimpse into Cegal’s exciting future. It is less about where they come from, and more about where they are going. It builds a link between Cegal and future success for forward-thinking companies who understand that data and digitization will define tomorrow’s winners.

The post Defining Cegal’s new direction with a captivating brand positioning video appeared first on Tomorrow People.

Headquartered in New York City, the multinational SaaS media technology company provides media planning and data analytics services to major brands and broadcasters, including the BBC, Canal+, Discovery and EuroSport.

Tomorrow People will develop a content program designed to raise awareness among Telmar’s most ideal prospective customers, then encourage them to demo the company’s advanced solutions: Insights, Statistics, Multibasing, and Adloc.

Alistair Norman, marketing director at Tomorrow People, said: “Our team is already collaborating with Telmar to develop assets offering useful, practical, and strategic ideas for their key market of advertisers, agency professionals, and broadcasters.

“We’re putting the product experience front and centre by building everything around the goal of driving trials. This way, more prospects can experience Telmar’s game-changing technology for themselves.”

The activity will be delivered by a team of strategy, editorial, design, digital marketing, and development specialists at the Tomorrow People agency, which serves global clients from its bases in Birmingham (UK), London, and New York City.

This latest partnership follows a number of recent client acquisitions for Tomorrow People, among them maritime data provider Lloyd’s List Intelligence (Informa). The agency’s international roster of clients also includes Castrol, Acquia, and Signicat.

Learn more about Tomorrow People on their website.

About Tomorrow People

Tomorrow People is a go-to-market agency with decades of combined experience helping B2B technology brands get closer to their customers and lead generation. Operating from offices in Birmingham (UK), London, and New York, the agency delivers a full range of consultancy and creative services, including brand and messaging development, strategy workshops, account-based marketing (ABM), website development, inbound content, search engine optimization (SEO), and social media marketing.

www.tomorrow-people.com

About Telmar

Headquartered in New York City, Telmar is a multinational SaaS media technology company provides media planning and data analytics services to major brands and broadcasters, including the BBC, Canal+, Discovery and EuroSport. The company’s easy-to-use media planning tools allow professionals to create targeted and comprehensive advertising campaigns that create results.

www.telmar.com

For further information, please contact:

Pete Winter, Editorial Manager (ahmed@tomorrow-people.com)

The post Telmar appoints Tomorrow People for lead generation, content, paid social media appeared first on Tomorrow People.