Why customers remember experience, not content

By Ben Barone-Nugent Via The Guardian, UK

Justin Pearse recently wrote a nice article on the state of digital content. He argues that content needs to be thoughtful, meaningful and well executed for it to be effective--it should be less about the brand, and more about the audience. While his argument is absolutely correct, it pivots on the idea that engagement often begins and ends with a piece of content. The reality is that the failure of content marketing is in the belief that content exists in a vacuum.

If you create a piece of content and don't support it, you're probably going to be disappointed. In other words, if we define 'experience' as the beginning-to-end engagement with a brand, then content is simply part of the spectrum.

Pearse and I clearly agree that content can't be a quick fix, and businesses need to be wary of such promises. But where we diverge is in our opinion of how content holds together with everything else. Digital content needs to be supported by great UX, solid digital strategy, attentive channel management and smart technology. To reiterate--it must be part of a system.

Imagine if Red Bull hadn't utilised fledgling Smart TV technology, done extensive activation and dexterously used mobile devices. Simply put, its content would have been nowhere nearly as successful. This argument is by no means new, but it begs us to reconsider the role of the content strategist.

Most agencies look at content strategists as the guys who audit content, test its effectiveness and generally specialise in its strategic and editorial underpinnings.

This needs to change.

Content works best when you define it as anything that occupies your brand's space. Content strategy therefore works best when it's the conduit between user experience, strategy, creative and technology.Under this model, content strategists realise digital strategies and UX requirements as the things our users read, watch and play with. In other words, we are really architecting experiences.

I recently worked with a bank that wanted branded content to help bolster waning sales of a low-rate credit card. But when we looked closely at the entire experience, we realised that content would do little for card sales. The application process was complex, dated and unfriendly. My recommendation as a content strategist was "fix your website then look at content". We built out a strategy, but it focused more on constructing an 'ecosystem' for content than content itself. Put differently, it laid out scaffolding for good, hard-working content.

When we move towards this definition of content strategy, we start to see some solutions to the problems with content marketing. 

As Pearse reminds us, we mustn't chase branded content with the same blind fervour with which we've chased past fads. But the idea that traditional content is the be all and end all of your digital presence is flawed--the harmony of everything you do online is what counts. Overall, Pearse and I agree, but we need to constantly remind ourselves that users remember fun, exciting or informative experiences that go well beyond any single piece of content.