What does a brand have to say?
There are few brands that are not (extensively) active on digital channels. In that light, it is astonishing how much effort editors still have to make to obtain high-quality images of a product. Let alone to be able to place a user video. Or a test report from an authority. It is also strange that when you have a problem with a recently purchased printer, you often have to seek refuge in a no-man's land of blogs and forums, because the manufacturer's service page spouts incomprehensible nonsense. For many products, it is still true that at times when you need content the most, it is often not there, or of poor quality.
Do those brands do nothing? Quite a lot. They do have a cool Flash site and three activation campaigns running on Facebook. They broadcast themselves silly, but who says that customers asked for that? Wouldn't they rather have concrete answers to practical questions on demand? On Twitter and Facebook, webcare teams have their hands full with this. Day in, day out, often with the same questions. And if it doesn't work there, they ask those questions on strange forums, with all the proliferation of opinions. Forums where many a brand has failed because it didn't communicate clearly. Not something you want to be dependent on.
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Ever heard of Koffie Discounter? Me neither, until I searched YouTube for some explanation about espresso machines . In home-garden-and-kitchen videos, salespeople explain what a device can do and what accessories are available. There is a good algeria phone number list chance that you will orient yourself in this window, that you will buy here, and that you will return for follow-up questions. Purely through content, Koffie Discounter is the online specialist in espresso machines and not Bosch or Saeco. That is impressive, especially when you see the modest resources with which it was made. It makes it clear that there are still many content domains to claim, for those who dare to look small. Because there is no shortage of content needs at a micro level online.
Vodafone has understood this well. In addition to all their online activities, perhaps the most revolutionary thing they have done in the past year is to place 134 videos online on YouTube. In one-minute videos, it is explained how to download an app, how to activate Vodafone mobile internet on a BlackBerry, what to do when you go to Italy with your mobile phone, and so on. Concrete content for concrete questions. Relevant information. Customer loyalty for customers and prospects. Because finally there is someone who explains it normally. Where are you going to look for a new mobile phone when your T-Mobile subscription has expired? Exactly!
Where are they, the content packs?
In a time when quality content can be distributed in no time via blogs and social media, it is strange that a distributable content pack of dozens of videos, in which the device and accessories are played with in all sorts of ways, is not included with the launch of a product. Free to use by bloggers, editors and fans. The best stories are in your own kitchen. Do you need your own channel for that? Your own medium? That is possible, but not necessary. First start with good content. Without content, no story. And without unique stories, every channel is doomed to fail. Above all, you can ask yourself what kind of publisher you want to be. Why be the messenger, if you can be the story?