Often we as marketers build campaigns based on past ideas that were a success or a basic assumption of a target audience. We do this without fully understanding the target audience, taking a deep dive into their world. It’s often been said that ‘content is king’. As much I agree that content is a cornerstone of online marketing it must be stated that content means absolutely nothing if it’s served to the wrong audience. That’s where context rules supreme. I want to introduce you to the 3C Model as devised by Flume; Context, Content, Channel in order to Convert. This model assumes that an overarching digital strategy exists and that a core brand identity and business goals exist.
SMO
At Flume we’re terribly fixated on the SMO. Before we pick up on the 3Cs we need to mention the Single Minded Objective. What is the one thing that we’re trying to achieve with this campaign? The clearer it is the easier it is to generate content and align channels.
Context
Context is the foundation of any marketing campaign. We have to immerse ourselves in our target audience. It’s critical that we understand things like cultural nuances, their history, aspirations, social constructs, paradigms, environments and trends. Only then can we understand what would motivate them to interact with and ultimately convert to our brand. Context allows us to use insights to make smarter decisions when creating content and placing the content across appropriate online channels.
Content
Content and channel are interlinked, in that channel informs content and that content can inform channel. The more we know about our audience, the higher the quality of our content which ultimately resonates and motivates. We also need to ask the right questions based on the context and SMO. What type of content will achieve the conversion? Educational, Entertaining, Persuasive or Inspirational? Does it fit the channel and visa versa?
Channel
Channel is the conduit that gets your content consumed by the people that you want it to. Often however there’s a lot of wastage because we’re ‘spraying and praying’. This is where context should guide our efforts. Paid media; what time, where, how often, in what sequence? Earned media; which influencers, consumption patterns? Embassies; Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, which will resonate? Owned; Landing pages, CTAs, Mobile/Desktop?
You’ll notice that all the Cs are interlinked, you cannot use them in isolation. Happy 3Cing!
