Nowadays, in order to succeed in an ever-changing global scenario, brands must learn to familiarize themselves with the languages of innovation, with a way of thinking that did not even exist a few years ago, and that has already profoundly shaped a new generation of experts and communication professionals in every corner of the world.
By now, even the most recalcitrant brands have understood this, including all those who demonstrate a kind of allergy to digitization and all innovations related to the computerization of business and communication processes. Therefore, in order to survive, every company must learn to concretely measure itself with the new communication challenges imposed by modernity, also adapting to the new languages and specific grammar of each individual channel, on which a good part of the company’s success may depend.
One of the most difficult tasks, from this point of view, is related to the creation of content capable of adapting to the peculiar structures of the new media, social networks, strengthening the company’s reputation and also giving a decisive boost to the overall sales recorded by the brand.
Content creation
Content creators are usually placed in the marketing and communications department of companies, with specific tasks related to the preparation of editorial plans and the actual publication of content within the various online channels available to the company.
These figures, in some cases, also participate in actual training courses funded by the company itself, in the hope that high-level preparation will help strengthen the individual skills of the professional and improve the overall performance of the different departments.
Thus, many companies pay high attention to the purely practical aspects of the profession, seeking to hire (and train) professionals who can make the best use of social media, graphic and video editing programs, and who obviously also know perfectly the publishing tools of each platform and the most appropriate content to publish within each individual channel.
There are very few, on the other hand, brands that also pay such attention to everything that lies beyond the professional practice proper, that is, to the intangible and strategic aspects that more than any other, nowadays, contribute to effectively defining a brand’s communication capabilities compared to most competitors.
A strategic approach
What is missing, in most cases, is a specific education to broaden one’s perception of reality, going beyond the mental superstructures and limitations imposed by social and work conventions. When creating a post on social media, one should always keep in mind that that content is not a stand-alone creation, endowed with a life of its own, but on the contrary, represents a small part of a larger narrative project, with specific goals set by corporate management according to its specific needs.
By getting used to this kind of strategic mindset, and transcending the functional practicality of the profession, any company will be able to train its employees more effectively, also making it much easier to implement brand storytelling strategies with which to enliven communication.
Each piece of content posted online, on websites and social media, is therefore a small part of a much larger narrative, of an overall experience that you want to continuously offer your consumers, composed of moments connected to each other by an extremely thin thread.
In fact, posts and content must be closely linked, as if they had been birthed by a single mother with precise and clearly recognizable characteristics. A post, or textual content published on the site, should therefore link back to other content published on other company channels, or in other sections of the site, thus giving the impression of a unified and interconnected experience.
A concrete example of this strategy, based on interconnectedness and quality of user experience, can certainly be found in the online portals dedicated to gambling, where any user can find the most fun and electrifying new casino sites that can be found on the net.
In addition to grouping these sites into useful online catalogs, these portals also offer other kinds of content, always related to the world of online entertainment and gambling. One of these is undoubtedly the reviews of individual casinos, which are a real guide for those who wish to indulge in the magical pleasure of these incredible amusements.
Thus, to achieve success, each company will have to take a long mental leap, overcoming in one leap the attachments to conventions and unnecessary limitations learned previously.
David Prior
David Prior is the editor of Today News, responsible for the overall editorial strategy. He is an NCTJ-qualified journalist with over 20 years’ experience, and is also editor of the award-winning hyperlocal news title Altrincham Today. His LinkedIn profile is here.
