Creating Engaging Content: What’s Working?
Is engaging content taking a back seat in your marketing strategy? Probably not. A recent study reported that 97% of the marketers surveyed believed their content programs were somewhat or very successful.1 That’s a strong endorsement of the strategy’s value. On the other hand, almost half of those surveyed said “improving content engagement” was their greatest challenge. Clearly, many marketers believe they must up their content’s value to better engage with prospects and customers.
Of the various types of content, interactive formats were considered the best at energizing user interest and participation. The study cited interactive email (52%), videos and live streaming (47%), and polls and quizzes (35%) as the most effective types of interactive content. However, videos and live streaming were also called the most difficult content to execute.
As for the age-old measurement question, the study reported the following metrics were most frequently employed to evaluate content effectiveness:
- Social media likes, shares, replies (48%)
- Conversion rates (47%)
- Email sign ups (43%)
TW’s Take
This study confirms that there is still a gap between content development and engagement effectiveness. Marketers like what they produce, but their target audiences? Not so much.
TW’s experience shows that most B2B and life science companies continue to under fund content development in their marketing budgets. The production of high-value, engaging content such as videos, original white papers, and interactive emails can be a time-consuming and expensive task. However, tools such as motion graphics, computer animation, and online surveys offer methods that enable much less costly interactive formats. With prospects’ email boxes stuffed with content offers, it’s critical that marketers create materials that educate users, solve problems, and identify trends in exciting and compelling ways.
p.s. Many marketers question the impact of gating content with landing page registration forms. When asked about this question, 54% of participants believed gating is actually positive for engagement and another 32% said it has no impact.
1 Source: Creating Original Content to Build Engagement, Ascend2, October 2022.
