Content marketers are creating a lot of noise – so how do you stand out?

Consumers today are bombarded with marketing messages. Aside from when we are asleep there isn’t more than a few minutes goes by when we aren’t exposed to marketing or advertising of some sort. The challenge for marketers is cutting through this noise, and if you are producing content the same rules apply.

Right now I am sitting on the train in my commute to work. In the train there are adverts for rail services. We have just gone past a building advertising office space to rent. On the platform next to me there is an advertisement for The Samaritans. Over the shoulder of the person in front of me I can see numerous adverts in The Metro. And just 2 minutes ago I did a search on my mobile which produced a number of PPC ads.

Cutting through with content

The challenge for marketers today is cutting through. Finding ways to stand out from the crowd. The problem is, too much of what people do just adds to the noise. They use the same ad formats, the same type of messaging and the same ‘USPs’ (that really aren’t very U!). Mostly because they are scared of being different, or through some misguided belief that ‘that’s what works in our industry’, or ‘they’re doing it so it must be working’.

When it comes to content marketing and the content types brands are promoting online the exact same issue exists. Brands and agencies spend their time churning out the same content types, similar titles, in the same format as everybody else. Creating a landfill of content that has very little use or value.

What will become of the infographic?

Recently I’ve become worried about the infographic. Done well they are great ways of visualising content or information in an entertaining and visual way. The problem is that they are now being overdone and have become part of ‘the noise’. Everyone wants to produce them so unless they stand out they become just another item in the barrage of content and advertising messages pushed on people every day.

Those leading the market need to stay ahead of this, not contribute to it. More commonly what we are producing as part of our campaigns at Tecmark is interactive content. Content that people can do something with and produce their own outcome.

Our  quiz tool allows us to build interactive and engaging quizzes which drive interaction and social sharing.

We have started doing more  with animation, both for our own content and that of our customers. The same visual effect as an infographic, in a different format. The results are positive and we will do more in this area.

Similarly with video. In order to engage an audience we need to elicit a feeling. Video achieves this better than any other digital medium, so we are using it more and more. We have an exciting video piece going live in the coming months which will really stand out for our client.

We have only just scratched the surface of these to formats and we are already looking for what’s next. As before you know it, everyone will be animating and that too will become part of the noise.

The challenge for content producers is staying ahead of the pack in your content ideas, your content format, and your outreach and promotion techniques.