There are specific industries that may be known as dull or ho-hum, however, many of these industries lead our economy in capital growth and demand. Insurance, finance, and telecommunications, for example, have rushed the marketplace with day-to-day products and services that each of us consumes.
With such a viable opportunity to target the masses, how do these industries create engaging content that is interactive and conversion based?
Understand How To Engage Your Audience
It is essential to understand and speak to your audience in a way that is personable and actionable. Take Esurance’s unofficial Super Bowl 50 ad campaign for starters. They were able to generate more Twitter mentions than any other company without even launching their ads during the heat of the game. How? They did something unique by running a contest in which they gave away just over $1 million to 17 people.
Their contest was successful for various reasons, but most importantly, they understood what it took to engage their viewers. Sarah Evans, Esurance social media communications specialist, describes why they chose to target an audience through Twitter. She said, “No one these days is just watching the TV. We’re surrounded by technology. We know the only way into somebody’s house, into somebody’s life, is not just through the TV screen, but through handheld devices and social media.” This strategy exemplifies their ability to understand the demographics and common trends of human behavior. Within your industry, there will be methods to replicate this. Before launching a campaign, be sure to analyze your target markets, different demographics, and cater your message to their specific behaviors.
Fall in Love with Video
The biggest transformation in social media is video content. YouTube, Snapchat, Facebook, Periscope, etc., have all focused their UX on video production. Gary Vaynerchuck, entrepreneur and owner of Vayner Media,says “No matter what you’re selling, no matter what your company does, if you don’t have a video marketing strategy for the biggest video platforms, you are going to lose.”
Video marketing is personable, more entertaining, and continuously progressing. Just like any publication process, it is integral to follow a plan. Strategize your video campaigns to help tell your story. Keep your videos short-form and concise to appeal to the fast-paced marketplace of social media. To create meaningful connections, turn your online FAQ pages into video interviews. Share daily tips and tutorials to help enhance customer experience. Even sharing video testimonials is a great way to create a stronger online reputation. Lastly, the creative video you produce is pointless without a call to action. Don’t forget to invite your viewers an opportunity to learn more, shop now, or share with a friend.
Create Disruptive Content
If you’ve seen the movie The Big Short you’ll know exactly this concept. Director Adam McKay said, “I’m just a big believer in you do what you need to do to tell the story.” He did exactly that. Actress Margot Robbie lies in a bathtub explaining complex mortgage bonds and Selena Gomez talks about phantom blackjack hands to create an analogy for synthetic CDOs. I’m not saying everything you do needs to be provocative or sex related, but it’s the principle I’m focusing on here. Understanding what the people want and pay attention to is the easiest way to make a dull industry exciting. You may enjoy reading about mortgage bonds and CDO’s on Investopedia, but let’s be honest, the majority of people you try to engage will not share the same enthusiasm. Ultimately, your ability to disrupt the norm will determine whether or not someone clicks on your content or lets it disappear in their feed.
Turning your boring industry into a modern and relatable topic demands out-of-the-box thinking. And with enough effort and innovation, you’ll be able to harness creativity in a way that generates a more profitable return for your business or project.