CHAPTER 15
Are You Optimized?
As online marketers, we’re never really fully “optimized.” I cannot overemphasize the importance of understanding that the task of optimizing our search, social media, and content marketing efforts is a journey, not a destination. As long as the environment within the search and social web continue to evolve, change, and innovate, marketers will analyze and refine their online marketing programs to adapt and become more successful. Five years ago, who would have guessed that tablet devices like the iPad and Kindle would have penetrated the market as they have? Who would have guessed that Google and Facebook would have made the dramatic changes that they have, as the lines between search engine and social network have blurred?
Consumer adoption and use of technology is a moving target, and as online marketers with insight into the importance of consumer experience with content, we must be aware of those changes. Seeing future trends is exactly what we need to do in order to better attract, engage, and inspire customers to take action.
A DIFFERENT WAY OF THINKING ABOUT OPTIMIZATION
Your journey through this book has taken you from creating a road map and strategy at 30,000 feet to diving deeply into a sea of specific tactics, ranging from persona development to keyword optimization to social networking. The tactics discussed within this book will continue to develop and evolve, so view this information as a baseline for gaining an optimized perspective that you can develop and evolve over the long term.
Through this journey, you’ve learned to seek out and answer the questions that are most important to what your customers care about and how that translates into an effective content marketing strategy. Although we could have focused on the most popular social networks or trendy SEO tactics, a purely tactical approach would not help you develop a sustainable long-term plan for engaging customers and inspiring them to take action. The important homework in understanding customer segments, their goals, and how that translates to optimized and socialized content is an Optimize advantage.
The principles we’ve covered in Optimize show how the thinking about optimization has evolved as it relates to search, social media, and content. For companies that want to survive and thrive on the search and social web, it’s an essential change of perspective. If companies would make more of an effort to focus on customer behaviors and preferences for information discovery, user experience, and engagement, it would be a giant step forward in terms of a sustainable content marketing strategy. Something as simple and straightforward as researching the appropriate types of media, topics, and channels preferred by both customers and those who influence customers would offer your company a distinct competitive advantage over what most companies are doing with their online marketing. The good news is that by following the steps and insights in this book, you’re already on your way.
AN “OPTIMIZE AND SOCIALIZE” STATE OF MIND
In this book, we’ve discussed a three-part optimization approach: (1) how people find information, (2) which formats and topics resonate, and (3) how to inspire interaction, sharing, and commerce. Platforms, applications (apps), and social technologies might change, but a more holistic view of optimization will guide content marketing efforts regardless of which social media, network, or search engine platform rule the day.
The holistic approach to content marketing optimization outlined in this book is in alignment with the actual definition of the word optimize: “To make as perfect, effective, or functional as possible.” With an “optimize and socialize” approach to content marketing, you can connect your customers with brand content and experiences in a way that motivates them to act: that is, to buy, refer, and/or share. This approach extends beyond a typical buying cycle. Each touch point in the brand and consumer experience across the customer life cycle can be optimized for better performance, whether for referrals, repeat purchases, advocacy, or service.
An optimized state of mind isn’t just about how you can sell more products and services to people right now, but rather how you can influence purchases next month, next year, or even five or ten years from now. The concept of discovery, consume, and share is so important because it transcends ideas like “social network” or “search engine” and focuses more on consumers and technologies, whatever they may be. Will we be using a search engine like Google in five years? Will we be using desktop computers in five years? What will future social networks look like? Answers to those questions are answers to the future of online marketing and customer engagement.
ADAPT OR DIE: COLLECTIVE SOCIAL WISDOM FOR THE WIN
Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, and plenty of other large companies are innovating at amazing speed to gain control of consumer and brand attention online. Some are doing it through devices, some through content, others through infrastructure. These few companies have had a huge impact on what we do online; at the same time, new start-ups, like Pinterest and Instagram, are creating amazing solutions. What are you doing to understand the bigger picture and what it means for your business? How are you structuring your business marketing, communications, and use of technology to anticipate and innovate?
Rather than jumping sequentially from one thing to the next, online marketers can develop adaptive models that allow for rapid assimilation of new technologies and trends. Some companies will adopt new social technologies and platforms early and risk failure; others will go with the crowd; and yet others will wait until it’s too painful not to change. The ramp-up time to evaluate and adopt new technologies and trends is expensive. For example, more than $100 billion has been invested in social business,1 and that’s just a drop in the bucket compared to anticipated costs over the next five years, as companies implement enterprise collaboration platforms and social technologies.
In order to survive and thrive, more companies are going to hone their ability to adapt more quickly, tune in to trends and data more efficiently, and at the same time develop the infrastructure and partnerships that will allow them to evolve and innovate at greater speed.
On a practical level, the new Internet no longer exists solely on your computer, as both consumers and content shift to tablet devices and smartphones. The search experience has become distinctly different for consumers through innovations such as Google+ integrating with Google search. At the same time, these changes are new opportunities for marketers trying to play Google’s game of achieving top search visibility.
Creating an adaptive approach to incorporating new social and web applications, tools, and platforms can filter down the most relevant shiny new objects and allow for more rapid incorporation with content marketing efforts. This approach means coordinating people within your company who can fulfill these roles. For that, some social business and internal collaboration tools will be involved. Leveraging your collective organization to monitor and filter for emerging social technologies relevant to engaging with your customer base can result in more rapid identification, best-practices formulation, and successful implementation. Essentially, a social business is an optimized business. (See Figure 15.1.)
FIGURE 15.1 Internal Social Collaboration for Monitoring, Testing, and Adopting New Marketing Technology
Most companies don’t have staff or resources dedicated to testing out new social technologies, so why not tap into the collective knowledge, wisdom, and reach of your employees, partners, and even customers? Without the ability to adapt, the momentum of many online marketing efforts will certainly die—or at least lose out to competitors who are paying attention.
An adaptable approach to content and optimized online marketing is about the journey. It’s about trying to perfect your craft and continuously refine what you have to work with every day. When you use SEO, social media, and content marketing tools, understand and even anticipate that they will change. Tools are important, but it’s also important to focus on whatever it takes to stay connected with your customers and community using the search and social channels that are most relevant.
Imagine how many more changes there will be in technology—and in consumer behaviors—in the coming years. What can you do to prepare for an adaptable online marketing approach? Time will tell when it comes to changes in technology, but when you approach your content marketing strategy with an integrated perspective, there’s no telling what results you’ll achieve, in both the short and the long term.
If your first thought about content and marketing is: “How can I meet the needs of my target audience with content that they care about?” you will be well on your way.
Notes
1. Dion Hinchcliffe, “As collaboration goes social, where will it thrive?” ZDNet, February 15, 2011, http://www.zdnet.com/blog/hinchcliffe/as-collaboration-goes-social-where-will-it-thrive/1497.