In the time of COVID-19, brands will not get away with creating content just for kicks and giggles. We live in a time when consumers are more aware of how their purchasing decisions can affect the planet and the most vulnerable; they are vigilant about companies that put profit above people. They need to feel like there are human beings behind the savviest of brands.
Creating meaningful content may look like the following:
- Content that treats serious matters—like a global pandemic—with the sensitivity and gravitas it deserves. Take note that sensitive doesn’t have to mean dull or uptight; it just means we don’t take the struggles of our audience lightly. We don’t mock them or make fun of them, and we always consider tact every time we hover over the “post” button.
- Meaningful content can also mean useful and relevant, which means we provide them with information and helpful facts needed to survive their current ordeal, whatever that may look like.
- It can also mean the content we post strikes deep at the soul of our audience. More than just winning them over in cerebral ways, we are also engaging them at the heart level.
If you want your brand to create poignant content that gets straight to the heart of your audience, provides them with practical help, and is sensitive towards their hurdles and needs, here are some ways you can start.
Review your audience
If you haven’t done market research in a while, the beginning of 2022 is the perfect time to do so. Consider partnering with a reputable digital marketing company to help you understand your clients and target demographic more, especially since we can infer that the past two years have changed them in tremendous ways. Your target audience of 2019 is vastly different from who they are in 2022. We can assume that their values, priorities, and purchasing strategies have been transformed by the audience.
Listen to your target audience, look into the types of content that capture their attention, and stick with those themes and concepts. Watch what they talk and care about. You can’t create content that they care about if you don’t know what it is they do care about.
Foster genuine connections
Consumers can tell when brands are being sincere and when they’re not. One way you can build genuine connections is by introducing the people behind your brand. What about your company founder? What made them decide to start the business? Is it their love for their family or the specific product or service? If not the company founder, then maybe you can invite a beloved influencer to become your ambassador. You can begin by adding a human component to your brand.
Find ways to be original
Here’s the sad part of creating content in 2022: If the content resembles that of your competitors or more popular brands, it’s much less likely to make an impact. Originality feels like the holy grail in an incredibly saturated digital sphere, but if you’re surrounded by creative and resourceful people, it’s not impossible. If you truly want to create meaningful content that makes a dent in your community, here are some ways you can ensure that it is original:
- Find unique and never-been-done-before angles on the ideas that everyone else has already done. For example, so many brands are hopping on the 1990s trend bandwagon. How can you add your own spin on this concept? Everyone does video tutorials. How can you make a tutorial more distinctive and unique to your brand?
- Gain some ideas and suggestions from your community. Stay up-to-the-minute on what they’re saying, the types of content they’re tired of, and the kinds of content they’d like to see more of.
“Meaningful” doesn’t always have to mean “emotional”
It would be a mistake to assume that “poignant” always have to mean “feelings.” Meaningful content can also mean the following:
- Humor and fun, especially when it’s done tactfully and properly. Just make sure that you don’t sacrifice your audience’s well-being for a good laugh.
- Statistics, facts, and data, especially since we live in a time of so much misinformation.
- Solutions to their problems, once again, because there is so much bad advice on the internet.
Creating meaningful content takes so much practice, but it yields the best rewards. Partner with a team of specialists who can help your brand stand out in this area, especially if no one in your team has this in their core competencies. It’s a truly worthwhile investment, and your audience is always worth the extra mile.
