Every company must become a “Media Company!”
This phrase has been repeated so often in recent years that it cannot even be traced back to the first person who uttered it. In fact, several CEOs and marketing gurus are vying for its authorship!
Nevertheless, regardless of who was first, it is the pure truth.
Today, products and services are no longer enough to create ongoing connections with one’s customers, who, spending nearly 6.5 hours a day online (source: Global Digital Report 2022 ), fragment their attention across multiple platforms.
But then how to solve this problem? The solution lies in becoming, precisely, a Data Driven Media Company and creating, therefore, content by analyzing online data about one’s market, competitors and target audience beforehand.
Also read“Data Driven media planning: plan your content effectively“
To do this, however, you need a specific method. Read on to find out the 4 key steps!
Here’s why your business must also become a Data Driven Media Company
As we said earlier, today you need to create experiences and be always present through content, distributed across all digital channels (and beyond) where your target customers are. We are talking about social media, online video platforms, podcasts, print guides, and so on.
You may be wondering, “But isn’t it enough, then, to have a Web site or my own blog ?”
It would be nice but unfortunately being present only on one communication channel is no longer enough!
In fact, companies that rely only on a website and traditional advertising are bound to fall behind.
So what should you do?
First of all: don’t stand still! ⏰ Many companies are already taking action!
Think AirBnB, the world’s leading online booking company for short-term rentals, has launched a print magazine dedicated to the world of travel. Or even Nike, which has begun funding not just documentaries, but actual sports-themed TV series on Netflix. Not to mention RedBull, which founded RedBull Media House back in 2016, producing more than 600 videos of sporting events, documentaries, series and even films since then.
True, these are big companies. However, this argument also applies to Small and Medium Enterprises.
The size of the company, in fact, does not affect the benefits you can achieve by creating content. Whether you are big or small, if you can become a Data Driven Media Company, you can:
- increase impact first: you make yourself known to many more people and can create an audience of interested users, reducing investment in paid advertising.
- Winning the trust of those who do not yet know you;
- Turning customers into “fans.”
- Nurture word of mouth and spontaneous referrals.
But how to do it in practice? We explain this later.
Become a Media Company while avoiding wasted resources and time with our Data Driven Content Creation method
Here, too, we are helped by data.
If you are an SME you will most likely not have the average budget that a multinational corporation can usually enjoy. Everything you produce, therefore, must be extremely focused on the goal you want to achieve and must succeed in attracting the attention of the right audience interested in that topic.
To do this, at Central Marketing Intelligence we have come up with an 8-step method we have called “Data Driven Content Creation,” in which content creation is only on the 3rd step!
Step 1: Define your goals
Before you launch headlong into producing videos, articles or podcasts, you need to stop and think and define your real goals first. These, as you well know, must be S.M.A.R.T.
By this term we mean all those goals:
- Specific: telling you exactly what you need to do
- Measurable: yielding measurable results
- Actionable: actually achievable
- Relevant: for your business, brand
- Time-based: to be achieved in a given time frame
Let’s take an example: you want to create an article for your blog with a downloadable guide. The S.M.A.R.T. goal in this case could be to obtain X download of the report in the first 7 days after publication.
Step 2: Channel analysis
At this point you need to conduct an analysis to identify the most appropriate channels based on where your target audience actually is online. You only need to start with what you already have, without starting from scratch: all the so-called “assets” your company has generated over time.
Tip: If you have not already done so, it would be helpful for you to create a list of all your business assets. You can use a simple Drive sheet in which you enter, for example:
- all your social channels
- your blog
- newsletter
- press review
- All the content (reports, ebooks, guides, checklists) you have created
Step 3: Study your target audience
At this point, you need to study what people are looking for online. What answers do they search for on Google? What are they talking about on social media? What questions do they ask in the forums?
For example, the theme of this video comes from discovering that there are nearly 7 thousand searches per month on Youtube for “media companies” and thousands on “how to create content” for various platforms.
Starting with these topics, you have to create a proper Editorial Plan that arises, as you see, data-driven.
Step 3: Create the content
Only then do you move on to writing text, creating graphics, developing content in different formats, which you will then have to plan and publish.
To carry out this step you can take advantage of some useful tools such as Canva, Fanpage Karma, Hootsuite etc.
Warning. In order to get to Step 3, it is essential to have very accurately executed the preliminary phase of analysis and goal setting. Otherwise, the content you create will not be effective enough to capture the attention of your target audience!
Step 4: Monitor the results
Don’t forget the last crucial step: monitoring results.
If you’ve been reading us for a while, you’ve probably figured it out by now, keeping track of your results is essential to understand whether or not the tests you’re doing are working and if so, correcting your aim.
In this case you can take advantage of the analytics of individual platforms or software such as Fanpage Karma, Hootsuite etc.
To recap: to become a Data Driven Media Company you must…
To recap, here are the Key Learning you need to take home:
- to be able to stand out from the background noise and make lasting connections with your customer, you cannot be present only on one digital or non-digital channel;
- the solution for everyone (not just large corporations) is to become a Data Driven Media Company;
- the benefits of being a Data Driven Media Company are many(review the chapter “Here’s Why Your Business Must Become a Data Driven Media Company Too”);
- becoming a Data Driven Media Company means creating effective content in different formats on different channels based on careful analysis of data regarding your market, target audience and competitors;
- to succeed in becoming such a company, you just need to follow CMI’s Data Driven Content Creation method!
- however, in order for this method to work and for you to be able to create truly effective content, the preliminary phase of analysis and goal setting is crucial!
For this reason, many entrepreneurs turn to us at Central Marketing Intelligence to support them in developing the first steps!
So if you too believe you need CMI’s Big Data experts to help you become a Data Driven Media Company, don’t waste any more time, contact us!
