As we have seen over the past few years, the biggest constant in digital marketing is change. It’s a market that is always changing, always evolving. Not so long ago, more was better. It was all about content. Content ruled everything, and that was because content created noise, it shouted loudest. But, in recent years, this has slipped down the pecking order.
We are now in an age of simplicity. Less is more – more effective, more efficient, more attractive and more engaging. These days everything is bite size; recipe videos that last less than 60 seconds, mobile games are made to be quick fire and addictive. Everything has been slim lined and made more, well, snappy, and marketing is no different.
Rule 1: People skim. They don’t read.
People have got more access to better information than ever before. The internet is overflowing with information, opinions, facts, factoids, tips and tricks, and it is overwhelming. We simply don’t have the time to read everything, which has led to one thing; a need to digest information quickly. This means you should be using fewer words and using more visuals – more pictures, more infographics, more videos. Put simply, a video that summarizes information quickly and visually is much more attractive to your audience than a big chunk of text.
Rule 2: Minimalism has won.
Ask any digital marketing agency about the biggest shift in precedent in recent years, and they will all point you towards this idea of minimalism. It has taken the world by storm; not just in marketing, but in everything from design to packaging. You just look at the biggest brands on the globe, brands like Apple and Google and Uber. They have developed some of the simplest and boldest strategies ever seen, and they have worked incredibly. Apple’s ‘Don’t Blink’ trailer became a viral sensation, and it was nothing more than a highlight video of a keynote speech. These brands understand people are time-pressured and, to meet this reality, they have stuck with the rule less is more.
Rule 3: Make content that will go viral.
Social media platforms have, and continue to, erupt in every corner of every market, and what makes these platforms social is their ability to allow users to share information with other users, to like and follow each other’s activity. As such, content marketers should be concentrating on how to develop content that people will want to show their friends. People get a certain satisfaction out of being the first of their friends to share something on Facebook that then goes viral. If it has meaning people will share it. If it is relatable, people will share it. If it evokes emotion, people will share it.
Rule 4: Pictures not words.
People want to digest information fast, and that’s because people get bored easily. We live in an on-demand world – a world of Netflix, Uber, Social Media, 24-hour news channels – and that need for speed has become a necessity for us. So try and refrain from overloading your website with words when a video will do it better and in a fraction of the time, or a picture will do it more effectively. It’s no longer just about the content; it is now about how efficiently you show that content.