How to innovate brand marketing methods?

As a highly forward-looking content in the field of digital economy , the "White Paper on Digital Economy" provides an all-round interpretation and review of the digital economy through detailed data, helping enterprises to grasp the direction in the tide of digital transformation and find new opportunities to overtake others.

The "White Paper on the Panoramic View of Digital Economy" has long focused on the field of content marketing. According to iResearch Qianfan data, as of the third quarter of 2021, the scale of China's mobile Internet users reached 1.035 billion, with the year-on-year growth rate declining to 0.46%. Judging from the data of the past two years, the year-on-year growth rate of mobile Internet users has continued to slow down, the traffic dividend has peaked, and finding sustainable growth points has become a challenge for various brand marketing . At the same time, the amount of content created on the Internet continues to rise. Analysys International believes that high-quality content on content platforms can help users obtain information and influence their consumption decisions in multiple scenarios, thus opening up new sources of advertising inventory for brands.

1. Content Marketing Background Analysis

1. The growth of network traffic slowed down, but the amount of content creation continued to rise, providing an open source for advertising inventory

According to iResearch Qianfan data, as of the third quarter of 2021, the scale of China's mobile Internet users reached 1.035 billion, with the year-on-year growth rate declining to 0.46%. Judging from the data of the past two years, the year-on-year growth rate of mobile Internet users has continued to slow down, the traffic dividend has peaked, and finding sustainable growth points has become a challenge for various brand marketing.

At the same time, the amount of content created on the Internet continues to rise. Taking Bilibili as an example, according to its financial report data, in the third quarter of 2021, the average monthly video submission volume of Bilibili increased by 80% year-on-year. Analysys International believes that high-quality content on content platforms can help users obtain information and influence their consumption decisions in multiple scenarios, thus opening up new sources of advertising inventory for brands.

2. Young users are gradually becoming the mainstream audience of digital marketing, and marketing methods need to continue to innovate

Judging from the current age distribution of mobile Internet users, the proportion of young user groups has further increased, especially the proportion of users born after 2000 has increased significantly. Analysys International believes that, at present, young users are gradually becoming the main target audience of digital marketing, so marketing methods also need to continue to innovate in order to gain the favor of users with marketing methods that young people like.

3. Brand owners have a strong demand for innovative marketing forms, and content marketing budgets have increased significantly

With the change of "market rejuvenation" and the core issue of "finding sustainable growth points", brand owners' demand for innovative marketing forms is also increasing, and new requirements are put forward for marketing platforms, marketing methods, marketing strategies, etc. Data shows that in 2021, the marketing forms in which advertisers plan to increase their marketing budgets will mainly focus on content marketing, accounting for as much as 58%.

2. Current Status of Content Marketing

1. Content marketing forms are mutually infiltrated, and high-quality content becomes the core connecting different forms

From the images, texts and audios of the 3G era to the popular videos and short videos of the 4G era, and then to the live broadcasts that have emerged in recent years, the forms of content marketing have become increasingly diversified. The platforms that carry content marketing have their own characteristics, targeting different user groups.

At the same time, the boundaries of different forms of content marketing are constantly merging and penetrating each other, and high-quality content has become the basis for connecting different forms of content marketing. In addition, in the segmented fields, through insights into the younger generation's consumer psychology such as pursuit of novelty and personalization, blind boxes, popular IPs, AB dramas, etc. have also become emerging content marketing forms for some brands.

WeChat subscription accounts and self-media platforms:

WeChat subscription accounts and self-media platforms achieve content marketing by constantly updating valuable content, arousing resonance, and accumulating traffic.

Blog Post:

With the rise of celebrities, influencers, KOLs, and KOCs, the quality of blog posts is getting higher and higher, and they can carry rich brand and product information. This type of content marketing method is becoming more and more popular among brand owners.

live streaming:

Live streaming has strong interactivity and user stickiness. It first emerged in the gaming industry. Currently, live streaming is one of the most important content marketing methods in e-commerce, games, tourism, agricultural assistance and other fields.

Video and short video:

The video content is highly sensory and flexible. Long videos are gradually becoming the origin of content, and the secondary creation and dissemination of short videos have brought about huge content marketing effects through superimposed dissemination.

Audio:

Audio has the characteristics of few restrictions on usage scenarios and a wide age distribution of users. Audio creators cover dozens of sub-fields such as radio books, crosstalk, and children. Audio has become a more common content marketing method.

2. Content marketing can continuously deliver brand information and value, but is relatively weak in conversion mechanism

Compared with traditional channels, content marketing has the advantages of diverse creation forms, high user acceptance, and long-lasting marketing effects. In addition, high-quality content can greatly help brands improve users' favorability and trust in the brand. However, content marketing also has disadvantages such as higher operational requirements, slow dissemination and weak conversion mechanism.

Content marketing advantages analysis:

Content-driven marketing communication is no longer a one-way linear communication, and content creation is continuous and diversified. The longer the content is retained, the higher its weight and the better the effect.

The content and product are highly compatible, and the product is "dissolved" into the content. The brand reaches users in a gentler way, and users are more receptive.

High-quality content combined with precise delivery can enhance users’ trust in the brand and increase sales conversion rate and repurchase rate.

Content marketing disadvantages analysis:

Compared with other marketing methods, content marketing requires a certain amount of investment in the early stage and has higher requirements for communication effects. For example, the team operation needs to produce high-quality content in order to make the content communication effective;

Content marketing provides relatively indirect exposure to brands, and its user conversion mechanism is relatively weak.

3. The interactive integration between content platforms and marketing is further deepened, and the content marketing landscape continues to expand

4. Accurate segmentation of users into multiple circles brings a more complete and vertical content marketing ecosystem

During the development process, a large number of vertical platforms have gained high recognition among their respective target user groups by differentiating and refining their content and services.

In addition, content platforms combine user portraits and divide user circles based on interests, culture, and scenarios to develop more diverse and rich vertical content, and create a content marketing ecosystem with the power to flourish through open and diverse relationships between users and content.

3. Typical Cases of Content Marketing

1. Bilibili — Content Marketing Platform for Generation Z Users

Platform advantages: As a digital community where Generation Z people gather with high commercial value, the growth of users and content maintains high-quality development

Content construction: Three-dimensional layout of content and service industry chain to meet users' aesthetic, creative and experience needs

In terms of content construction, Bilibili supports and incubates high-quality and professional content around the three key areas of IPization, high-quality products, and service ecology, and continuously expands the boundaries of content. Bilibili focuses on high-quality video content. The platform content is comprehensive and diverse, and the PUGV content ecosystem is complete, which continuously meets users' needs for aesthetics, creation, and experience.

Content marketing strategy: 4i interest marketing model, based on high-quality content to build long-term user relationships and build brand assets

Based on the B station ecosystem, a "4i interest marketing model" is formed - insight (insight), resources (immerse), communication (impress) and compound interest (icon); and through the configuration of marketing resources, using four integrated communication paths: circle marketing, node marketing, event marketing, and grass-seeking marketing, ultimately achieving longer user retention, stronger user stickiness, and brand content asset accumulation around content.

Content marketing case: "Dancing Thousand Years" uses high-quality content to creatively convey brand information, helping brands shape their personalities and build emotional resonance

Content Marketing Case: Buick Verano boosts brand new product promotion popularity through multi-dimensional content layout

2. Tik Tok – Comprehensive short video content marketing platform

Platform advantages: Steady growth in user scale, diversified content provides resources for marketing

Content marketing strategy: perfect content management model and system, multiple tools to help brand marketing

The Douyin platform relies on content as a starting point for long-term marketing. The long-term diffusion power of content brings about a step-by-step amplification effect, and releases the influence of platform content in multiple channels and dimensions, achieving product and effect integration and main brand marketing.

Content marketing case: Building a full chain of product effectiveness and sales, tapping into the value of content to help brands maximize marketing effectiveness

Douyin uses fragmented communication to allow the audience to truly participate in the program. The content and program mechanism are linked to radiate to a large number of users to jointly participate in promoting songs, making Douyin's interactive variety show "Like for the Song" a market hotspot.

Content marketing case: GUCCI uses brand creative interaction to attract user attention and enhance market influence

GUCCI uses its brand account as a tool to comprehensively connect GUCCI's content, image, innovation, fans, and influence. At the same time, it relies on the "Top 100 Plans" to quickly attract fans, becoming the first brand account in the luxury industry to have one million fans, successfully building its own private domain, and continuously outputting brand power to its fan base.

4. Insights into content marketing trends

Trend 1: Video content marketing helps brands achieve the marketing goal of integrating brand and effect

Based on characteristics such as strong expressiveness and strong output, video content brings important marketing energy to the brand's marketing goal of integrating product and effect. Among them, high-quality comprehensive video content can occupy the user's attention and mind for a longer period of time, achieving marketing reach effects; concise short video content can meet the user's fragmented content consumption needs and quickly reach a wider user group.

According to Analysys data, the video advertising market has clearly rebounded, especially as advertisers' budgets continue to shift toward traffic channels such as comprehensive videos, short videos, and live broadcasts. It is estimated that the scale of online video advertising revenue will reach 200 billion yuan in 2021.

Trend 2: The consumption potential of circles is released, and content marketing moves from mass marketing to circle marketing

Analysys International believes that the characteristics of population groups are becoming increasingly evident. Users in the two-dimensional, figurine, e-sports and other circles are gradually influencing the trend of popular culture. The consumption potential of various interest circles is also being continuously released, and circle users are gradually becoming the key target of content marketing.

In addition, the circle marketing of content is shortening the marketing path. The traditional marketing path has a long marketing chain from "dissemination-attracting attention-finding potential users-user consumption", while circle marketing is precisely delivered to the circle of interested users, directly and quickly reaching potential users, forming a dissemination effect. In addition, the current circle marketing process has also begun to focus on the linkage between circles and the explosion outside the circle, and through the continuous output of content, the brand products can be transformed from being popular in the circle to becoming popular among the people.

Trend 3: Brand owners continue to explore the main narrative of brand value, and culture empowers content marketing

For brands, content marketing requires high-quality content as its core output. High-quality content must be able to carry the core of brand culture, trigger more emotional resonance and value identification among users, and establish a trusting relationship with the audience in their hearts. Therefore, brand concepts and values ​​remain the main narrative line that brand owners continue to explore and strengthen their output.

To empower content marketing with the core of brand culture, brands need to clarify their own brand value proposition, deepen the value content, attach importance to the integrated marketing and promotion of products and brand attitudes, continuously enhance brand influence, and achieve double growth in user trust and brand sales.

Author: Analysys International

Source: Analysys