Content is King Context is Queen – CIM’s annual Ireland Board Chair’s Lunch

CIM Ireland Chairs afternoon tea at Malmaison with Business First Online June 2015

 

Written by Gavin Walker | Originally Posted on Business First Online  June 4, 2015

 

Context replacing Content as King of the Digital Marketplace

 

Bill Gates’ famous phrase: ‘Content is King’ is the mantra for the digital age, but many marketers believe it should be replaced by ‘context’ as the most vital factor in reaching customers.

The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Ireland Board will be giving marketers the chance to explore this new phenomenon at the Chair’s Afternoon Tea at Malmaison Hotel on June 15.

Christine Watson, Chair of CIM Ireland Board, said: “Those involved in the early days of the internet were pioneers and it was very easy to communicate with fellow users. As the information highway became more congested, content and style became increasingly important for companies wanting to get their message out.

“The latest online use research by Ofcom shows us that 86% of UK adults can access the internet anywhere and often chose to. The hours of internet use have more than doubled since 2005, and out of home use are more commonplace.

“Now the online global community resembles the Cathedral Quarter at midnight during New Year’s Eve with everyone struggling to be heard above the crowd. This is where context comes in – knowing when to communicate, how to communicate and anticipating what the consumer wants to hear in what you chose to communicate.”

Guest speaker Chris Fielding-Martin, Head of E-Commerce at Malmaison and Hotel du Vin, will address the proposition that context is key to customer engagement, while talking about his own company’s marketing content strategy.

He will also discuss the Malmaison brand including elements of the marketing mix and its approach to sales.

Miss Watson said: “Malmaison are known for their flare and imagination when engaging with guests, for example their quirky ‘Do not disturb’ signs ‘I want to be Alone’ and ‘This could get messy, straighten me up’.

“Chris will share with us the thinking behind creating this engaging copy and provide tips for doing this effectively. Given that audiences want to interact with brands online and research indicates that last year brands were asked nearly 22 million questions on Facebook and Twitter combined. He will also discuss customer service in 2015 and its impact on marketing as well as how his team manage to cope with such a large demand in the new age of marketing.”

Also speaking will be Gavin Walker, Managing Editor of Business First, who has been editing Business First online and magazine for the past eight years. He will share tips for how marketers can create enticing relevant copy for each target consumer, specifically the media.

Ms Watson added: “We look forward to hearing what Gavin has to say. It is vital for small businesses with limited PR and marketing budgets to understand the needs of the media and discover how to write press releases with interesting angles that can engage traditional and online media outlets and as a result their target customers.

“Effective marketing is about being able to produce clear, concise, jargon-free content for social media channels and blogs. Posts should be relevant, compelling and provide valuable information.

“But all of this is futile without context, which is all about understanding the needs and interests of the customer and the channels they use to access information.”

Marketers are becoming increasingly aware that to engage meaningfully with online consumers, they must deliver the content at the right time, using the right online channels. It is those brands who are producing great content in the right context that will succeed in the ever-crowded digital marketplace.

This is where detailed analysis of content comes in. Companies are using sophisticated content analytics software to examine and measure the amount of content being created, the nature of the content and how it is used so they can understand the current interests and needs of consumers and predict their future tastes and inclinations.

Many of these tools such as google analytics are free resources that can deliver insights that enable more effective marketing and improved marketing performance.

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