In the age of information overload, what else can content marketing do?

This is an age of information overload. Consumers are exposed to far more information than they are able or willing to process. They are always in a state of information overload, which means that information is no longer valuable and what is truly valuable is attention.

What strategies should marketers use to ensure that the output information is not filtered out by users as noise? You must understand the changes in consumers' brain cognitive strategies, how consumers' commonly used information filters work, their preferences for information and their usage logic.

Brain cognitive strategies: from "subtraction" to "addition"

In the printing age, we used paper tools to record knowledge and ideas, but paper was expensive and wasted space, so publishing organizations simplified knowledge through professional "gatekeepers" (usually editors) and presented it in journals, books and other media for people to access.

At this time, the brain's basic strategy for understanding the world is filtering and screening, that is, acquiring knowledge through "subtraction". The shape of knowledge is a pyramid of "data - information - knowledge - wisdom". In the Internet age, the situation has changed. Computers can store massive and cheap information, and the brain's cognitive strategy has changed to linking knowledge. People acquire knowledge by "adding", and the shape of knowledge is like a spider web.

What is the link to knowledge? For example, when we want to know the meaning of "marketing", we will read the entry "marketing" on Wikipedia. There are many related words in the entry that can be clicked to jump to entries such as "consumer", "repeat purchase rate", etc., and a series of related articles are listed after each entry for reference. Your initial purpose may be just to understand the meaning of "marketing", but in the end you find yourself reaching an article by Uma Thunberg through countless links. As David Weinberg said, "Thoughts are hyperlinkable; you can jump from one idea to another with just a click."

Information filters: from “gatekeepers” to algorithmic recommendations/ social filtering

Internet scholar Clay Shirky believes that information overload has existed for a long time, and when people feel overwhelmed by information, it is actually because our filters have failed.

Even 500 years ago, a normal person would not be able to read all the existing human classics in his lifetime, but in the era of paper media, radio and television media, the filter of information is the "gatekeeper". They may be individuals such as journalists and editors, or media organizations. They will screen and filter the information, just like a filter. A large amount of information is intercepted before it reaches the public. In the Internet age, "gatekeepers" are gradually losing their authority. A large amount of information is generated every minute and every second. How can people avoid being overwhelmed and suffocated by the massive amount of information?

Technology begins to act as a filter. Technologies can be divided into two main categories: algorithmic mechanisms and social mechanisms. The algorithm mechanism uses the computer's powerful memory and processing capabilities to calculate users' reading habits and preferences to provide personalized recommendations for users, such as information platforms represented by Toutiao. Social tools use friends, colleagues or people we respect as criteria to help us find things we are interested in, such as social media such as WeChat and Weibo.

Information Flow : From “Spiral of Silence” to “Echo Market”

The "spiral of silence" means that when people express their thoughts and opinions, if they find that the opinions they agree with are welcomed, they will actively participate in speaking out. Conversely, when they find that their opinions are unpopular, they will remain silent even if they agree with it. This will enter a spiral cycle, where the dominant opinions become increasingly powerful and other opinions gradually disappear.

In the Internet age, audiences are breaking free from the "spiral of silence". No matter how eccentric their views are, they can always find people with the same voice, or even opinion leaders. For example, on Douban, you can even see groups such as "Anti-Parents (Parents are a curse)" with more than 100,000 members, and some very niche groups of singers and directors.

Information filters based on personalized and social recommendations have exacerbated this trend. We are more like being in an "echo market" where the voices we hear most are the same or similar to our own. The role of opinion leaders is becoming increasingly prominent, and in a certain vertical field, they have become extremely valuable sources of information.

In the age of information overload, how should content marketing be played?

Don’t sell products, share ideas

In the age of information overload, consumers are in a state of information overload, and they are exposed to far more information than they are able or willing to process. What is valuable is no longer information, but attention. At the same time, with the upgrading of consumption, the era when consumers had limited choices of goods has passed, and the traditional marketing model of pushing product information in front of consumers has begun to fail. In many cases, product information that is neither important nor itchy will only be filtered out by them as noise.

As mentioned earlier, the brain's cognitive logic in the Internet era is "addition", and opinions are gradually strengthened between jumping links. If a brand wants to capture the minds of users, it needs to put on the cloak of opinion. The official voice may be like a fleeting cloud floating in the sky, but the voice of opinion leaders is like the roots of a plant, deeply rooted in the minds of users. Opinion leaders are active, have their own traffic, are more neutral and credible, and are more similar to consumers in values ​​and beliefs, making them of reference value.

Let’s take a look at how the WeChat giant HOGO sells bags. The title of the soft article is "Would you use one month's living expenses to buy a bag? ", the article of thousands of words tells several stories with strong emotions, and the whole article promotes a value: "Women buy bags not for vanity, but to bring dignity to their lives" and "No matter how poor you are, you should buy a good bag, which is a reflection of your love for life", providing a reason for women to shop, and then let them see the information about the promotion of brand-name bags on a certain TV platform at the end of the article.

After the emotional preparation mentioned above (long-term subscribers have undergone long-term brainwashing), clicking to purchase seems more natural. This kind of soft article is much better than those advertisements that give readers an "unpredictable ending" at the end.

Channels go from flat to vertical, small is beautiful

The marketing thinking of "whoever has larger channels and more traffic is the winner" is outdated. The importance of traffic accuracy has surpassed its quantity. The traffic entrance of the Internet is changing from portals to search engines to social media. The head advantage of traditional media has disappeared, and small and beautiful traffic cannot be ignored, especially on the mobile side. The traffic first enters super apps such as WeChat, Weibo, Toutiao, and Taobao, and then is diverted to various public accounts, Toutiao accounts, and Taobao stores.

The channel strategy for brand placement has also changed. In the past, it was only necessary to push marketing information to prominent positions in top media or search engines to obtain objective clicks and conversions. Now, more refined placement strategies and channel combinations are needed. As traffic shifts more toward high-quality content, the position of channels is no longer strong. Some marketing agencies that aim at refined delivery have begun to explore the strong correlation between channels and content, and formulate vertical delivery strategies based on the attributes of the content to maximize marketing effects.

Use filters to put the spotlight on your audience

If you want your marketing to reach your audience accurately instead of being filtered out as noise, you must be familiar with the way today’s audiences filter information. As mentioned earlier, the authority of traditional media such as newspapers, books, radio and television comes from the fact that they filter information for others.

Currently, there are two main types of information filters for audiences: one is the algorithm mechanism and personalized recommendation. One is social filtering. The starting point of these two filtering mechanisms is the audience itself. Marketers must understand their audience’s preferences and thinking patterns better than ever before in order to successfully capture their minds. What types of information do they browse on a daily basis? What do they like to show on social networks? How do they prefer to interact? It is wise for brands to change their mentality of "self-promotion and self-praise" to "catering to the needs of the users" and put the spotlight on the users. Different types of product consumers have different behavioral patterns. For example, the user group of maternal and infant products is a group of people who love their children, love to share and communicate, and are sensitive to promotional information. Therefore, sharing baby care tips , product selection guides, and the "promotion + sharing" mechanism are powerful ways to enter the minds of users.