Three Ways to Embrace Deep Personalization in Content Marketing
Dubbed the "cocktail party effect" by psychologists,
marketers of all industries have embraced the concept to enjoy success.
Coca-Cola's Share a Coke campaign is a perfect example.
But going further is where the real opportunity lies: EasyJet's 20th
birthday campaign used 28 points of customer data to create stories about
each customer's travel journey with them.
Unfortunately, in B2B marketing, the tactic is often limited to
just changing the name on an email, even though deep personalization is
considerably more effective.
Marketers already collect various data points, so why not
connect them to content marketing efforts?
Deeply personalized content results in 64% less of an audience
loss than content that is not personalized, and 43% more engagement. The
overall impact of deep personalization is an 84% increase in engagement.
Although previously deep personalization would have been
prohibitively expensive, costs are coming down thanks to advances in CRM and
content platform technology.
Taking
the humble PDF as an example, this article suggests three ways B2B marketers
can embrace greater personalization—and why that matters.
1. Clever Covers
Whether for an e-book, whitepaper, or brochure, most covers on
B2B materials tend to have a cookie-cutter look and feel. When readers are
overwhelmed by choice, grabbing their attention in an instant helps documents
stand out and be memorable.
One way to do that is by adding a prospect's name, company, or
even an image or video on the cover that changes depending on how the user
arrive at the content.
Also, cover images can be customized depending on the
sector—e.g., imagery of a retail shop for a retail customer vs. shots of
scientists in lab coats for a pharmaceutical brand. Making subtle changes like
that is effective because we are naturally drawn to information or ideas we are
invested in.
That kind of personalization is also effective because the
prospect is likely to notice it only on a subconscious level.
In fact, average interactions increased 32% for content that was
personalized vs. nonpersonalized, a research study in 2022 by Turtl found.
Personalized content also reduced the bounce rate 49%.
2. Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Journeys
Those who grew up in the '80s or early '90s might remember a
publishing phenomenon called Choose Your Own Adventure: stories in which the reader
was given a chance to shape the story at the end of each chapter by choosing
what happened next and going to the designated page.
Within the broad framework of self-determination theory,
autonomy is an important consideration, which is why the books proved popular.
We also equate choices with control, so having the ability to change an outcome
through our choices is immensely powerful.
Take that learning to marketing: Instead of defaulting to a
traditional, linear "start at the top and scroll to the bottom"
experience, experiment with different page layouts and interactive elements to
create a journey through your content that is unique to each visitor. Before
users see your content, create a form in which they can pre-select the content
that is most relevant to them. That way they read only what really resonates,
and engagement will increase as a result.
Another way of creating a unique journey is by creating modules
of content that can be hidden or revealed depending on the preferences or
behavior of the target audience. Sections within content can also be signposted
so the reader can choose what they want to consume first.
3. Visuals That Go Beyond Aesthetics
Marketers understand that when information is presented in a
visual format, our minds pay more attention and process and retain the written
information better. So it's highly likely that every report you create will
include some kind of chart or illustration.
But by using static images you could be missing out on an
opportunity to personalize. Instead, nudge readers to explore more by making
images clickable so they can be expanded. That can help readers engage on a
deeper level. Moreover, clicking on a digital document provides the ability for
the behavior to be tracked.
Why does that matter? Seeing what is and isn't clicked can
provide detail about what content is resonating. It also provides an
opportunity to retarget those readers with follow-up messaging that is relevant
to them.
Interactive documents have the added benefit of the ability to
add polls. Polls are often used in webinar presentations and across social media, and
it's easy to see why. In fact, LinkedIn suggests posts with a poll reach 3-5
times more people than those without one.
By using a poll in your marketing content, you're moving the reader from passive to active and capturing data that could be used to personalize in the future.
The variables cited in this article are but a handful that
marketers could be implementing to increase conversion; the reality is there
are hundreds of options.
Basic personalization elements that once had an impact are now
table stakes and therefore losing their impact. Personalization shouldn't just
be consigned to changing the greeting on an email. It's now possible to add
personalization into brochures, sales decks, and research reports.
Speaking directly to prospects in every sales interaction is
proven to reap results, so why not exploit every opportunity to make content
relevant?
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If you need help with your email, web site, video, or other presentation to promote your company, product, or service, please give me a call at 440-519-1500 or email me at john@x2media.us
Until next month. . . .remember. "you don't get a 2nd chance to make a 1st impression." Always make it a good one!!
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