Last updated on October 24th, 2016 at 04:29 pm
Since the beginning of online culture, digital marketing has taken on more forms and shapes than are countable. Even though online marketing has become king thanks to its powerful promotional methods, it still works on a “trial and error” strategy. Its volatile nature can propel one company to the highest peak of success or crash the business without mercy overnight.
Banner Blindness
Let’s take a look at one example: In 1994 the first banner ad made its entrance. Even though this AT&T banner looked so simple, it actually scored a 43% CTR. Returning in our modern days, almost any banner looks more appealing than the first-ever successful ad, yet today they barely trigger 1% CTR. There’s a huge difference and apparently there’s a reason behind it. It is called “banner blindness” and it is an online phenomenon triggered when users consciously and even unconsciously choose to ignore banners.
Content Blindness
However, a similar negative trend is likely to appear, called “content blindness.”
Despite the success content marketing enjoys, we can still see the same pattern. If we come to think of what drove banners to become weaker, there is one element that comes into light: markets have abused their beneficial capacity so much, that they now are simply irritating. Each banner seems like a hole in a website that leads to an obnoxiously colorful and insistent world. They provide too disruptive an experience for users even to consider them.
Unfortunately, it looks like content marketing has chosen the same path. What started as a great initiative that brought brands and consumers together, now began to put too much pressure on those consumers.
Let’s take a look at some research. The strategy documentation shows that 80% of B2B marketers are working on content marketing strategies. However, not all of them are doing it right. Out of 80% professionals, only 30% create data driven content. Furthermore, Neil Patel tells us that 60% of marketers create at least one piece of content on a daily basis.
If you put everything together, it means that there is already a flood of content, but it doesn’t offer 100% quality. These numbers show that there are high chances for a consumer to search for information on Google, find hundreds of thousands of entries, but only 30 % of them are relevant to their inquiry, which can create frustration. The danger of content blindness is real.
Fixing Content Blindness
First off, content should find its primary purpose again: helping consumers. Businesses should create as many openings as possible that allow customers to leave feedback. Encourage customers to post product reviews, open customer care chats on the website, social media, phone, or email. Leave any door open for consumers to tell you what they need.
There are too many well-written pieces of content out there, but they are not successful because of a lack of an answer to the consumer’s questions. The key is to get to know your audience better and find their weak points. Then, carve content strategies to fit these needs perfectly. To achieve a content piece that responds to a question, it must have actionable features. How can they apply your advice? Are there successful stories which succeeded based on your data?
