Content in the age of saturation: brand identity first, strategy second

But as more brands hop on the content bandwagon, consumers are bombarded with thousands of ads and content pieces on the daily. To combat this information overload, they’re becoming increasingly selective about what they pay attention to and tuning out what isn’t relevant to them.

The problem isn’t necessarily that there’s too much content out there; it’s that a lot of it is poor. Brands have turned away from creating meaningful content and are instead dishing out content for the sake of content. It’s no wonder that 95% of content falls flat with audiences. To cut through the clutter, brands need to be smarter about the content they create and how they bring that content to the attention of their target audience.

What marketing is really about

Marketing has always been about telling your brand’s story and connecting with customers. All the content you put out (the words you write, the illustrations you create, the videos you produce) should direct consumers to your brand.

Sadly, somewhere along the way, marketers became so caught up in creating viral content and hopping on fleeting trends that they forgot what the purpose of their content was in the first place: bringing customers closer to their brand.

As a branding agency, we at DPDK steadfastly believe that your brand is your defining differentiator. Your brand is what sets your business apart from the competition; it’s how customers will remember you in our crowded marketplace. In the words of advertising mogul John Hegarty, “a brand only ever exists in the minds of consumers”.

When you’re unclear about your brand and unable to communicate its values consistently to customers, you lose the chance to take a unique stance and leave a memorable impression. Then, even the snappiest copy, the most captivating visuals, or the most thought-provoking campaign won’t help you connect with your audience.

The first step to creating great content should be to define your brand identity. Only when that’s established should you go ahead with building a content strategy.

Quality over quantity

The quality v quantity debate is one most content marketers are familiar with. The way I see it, more content is just more when it doesn’t reflect your brand or add value for your audience.

I’m not saying quantity doesn’t matter; it does. But when you prioritize numbers and metrics, quality often takes a back seat. The key is to figure out how to publish more content without sacrificing quality.

One way to do this is by investing in a design center of excellence. A design center connects all your design files and systems in a hierarchical structure, enabling designers to reuse design components in your existing design network and reduce design time. This way, you can speed up the content creation process while maintaining consistency and quality.

Make it make sense

Just as important as the quality of your content is its relevance. Your audience is looking to be entertained and engaged at all times. They’ve grown accustomed to personalized content and experiences, with 71% of consumers expecting personalized interactions with brands; 76% get frustrated when they don’t get them.

We tackle this at DPDK with a full-funnel approach to content. This involves tailoring content for different stages of the customer journey, ensuring that the right content is reaching the right audience. This way, we can focus on creating high-quality content for each stage of the funnel, rather than trying to cover all bases and compromising on quality.

A great example of this is the digital marketing campaign we built for Rosco Vision in preparation for their new product launch, where we used a funnel approach and created a campaign that helped them to achieve a more-than-impressive conversion rate, winning multiple awards.

Following trends and copying industry peers may be easy, but it won’t lead to success. Especially not in today’s market, where there’s no dearth of content being thrown at customers. To win, you’ll need to create content that is compelling, relevant, and stays true to your brand.

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