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Why (VERY) good, editorially-driven digital content matters

Talk is cheap so don't force customers to wade through digital bumph. Good quality, engaging editorial content it where it's at

Everybody is at it. Content marketing that is. In a recent survey by the Content Marketing Institute, 77% of B2C marketers said they are using it as a primary tool and 69% say that they are creating more content now than a year ago.

But why? For starters, interruptive advertising isn’t working. Banner ads on desktop and mobile have a risible click through of less than 1% and display ads are only at 8% (on a good day). Television advertising is waning too as people move over to using DVR, Netflix and VOD instead of watching in real time, thereby cutting out the ads. In fact a third of young audiences claim not to watch broadcast TV at all. Therefore companies now need to try harder to get consumers’ attention and are turning to content marketing for the solution.

The global growth of social media is another huge driver. As we increasingly experience the world through our feeds first, companies need more content to fill their posts up. A whopping 93% of B2C brands are using social as their biggest content platform and bombarding customers on up to 11 platforms multiple times a week. And in this territory, they’re also up against bloggers, media houses and pretty much anyone with thumbs to type.

One example of an editorial story extended across multiple toni&guy channel

What can content marketing do for a business? It can lead to sales of course, but it can also boost brand awareness and visibility, drive web traffic and encourage customer retention and loyalty. It must also power SEO objectives. This is crucial because of the way Google works these days. Getting top ranking isn’t simply about key words or links any more, it’s a judgement of the quality of your content and user engagement metrics i.e. how long someone dwells on your site. If they click on then off, down you go.

So if a company wants to be heard among the din, and rise to the top of the search, it takes more than churning out endless ill-thought through content. In this digitally drenched age, few have the time or attention spans to stop and listen to a company with nothing interesting to say. Content has to be valuable, relevant and quick to absorb, like and share. It must feel authoritative, consistent and trustworthy. In short, it’s got to be good. Very good. It’s all about delivering an editorial tone of voice that will excite the right type of consumer.

This kind of content can only come from credible journalism. It’s created by trained editorial teams who understand the subject, have a wonderful way with words and visuals, and possess a critical eye for what makes a story tick. They make content that is unafraid of provoking a conversation yet know when to step back and let its intended audience take over. Once that happens, good content will travel, evolve and become user generated too.

One example of editorial content produced for evans

This is what truly excites us here at 3CC. For high street fashion brand Evans, our editorial teams have recently reinvented the Inspiration section of its website with a focus on its new Design Collective range. From catwalk reports and style advice to insider interviews and breaking news, this in-depth content lends Evans a fashion magazine–style authority, generates sticky content for all social feeds and ultimately, drives clicks to buy.

So what are you waiting for? Let’s put excellent editorial content first.

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