The fundamentals of digital discoverability

In times past, brands disrupted consumers by thrusting their products upon them. Unsolicited and brash, their aim was to capture their audiences’ attention. Tactics ranged from TV commercials to radio jingles, pop-up ads and many more. With the rise in digital technologies (namely mobile devices), brands have a more powerful way to connect with their audience. Yet, doing more of the same somewhere else isn’t going to cut it.

We’ve all heard about content marketing. The majority of businesses conduct it. Many of us have a plan we’re following. However, only a few of us are executing it with success. This presents us with a problem and many opportunities. Why is content marketing so important for improving the discoverability of brands? Let’s find out.

What does successful content marketing look like?

Many reserve their content marketing for big-bang activities. This is a mistake. Yes, it’s a brilliant way to capture your audiences’ attention and make them engage. Yet, it seldom focuses on answering consumer wants and needs. Much of the success of a company such as Apple has come from their ability to upgrade their consumers. Brands shouldn’t build better cars, but safer drivers. They shouldn’t build better cameras but enable better photographers. And when it comes to content marketing: they shouldn’t build self-serving one-offs, but everyday helpful content.

If you sell washing machines, your consumers may want to understand:

• How do I install my integrated washing machine?
• What are the different spin cycles my washing machine performs?
• When and how should I clean my washing machine?

This kind of content may seem dull, yet it holds great psychological importance. We, as humans, have this innate urge to improve ourselves and our situation. Art improves our emotions, science our thinking and engineering our interactions. Your role is to create a connection with your audience. You do this through content that attracts, engages and builds a meaningful relationship. The forward-thinking brands that do this are the ones that make sales.

What content will my audience want to see?

You need an intimate understanding of your audience to answer this. Your focus should be understanding the difference between what your audience buys and why they buy it. With respect to demographics, understanding their goals and motivations provides you with greater insight. What are they trying to do? Why are they using your products? What is the outcome once they’ve completed their task? This method allows you to produce better content. But not only is it content, but actual steps to success that you can facilitate. 

Search engine optimisation improves discoverability

With your foundations in place, you need to understand some of the more technical aspects. Search engines such as Google and Bing are the gatekeepers to content. The same for social networks such as Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Your brand needs to understand their algorithms that enable content discovery. Search engine optimisation, therefore, has great importance. You want your content to be visible and preferably at the top of their results.

Use video for greater discoverability

Video, we all watch it, whether online or on our televisions. So you’ll understand video isn’t an option for your content marketing: it’s essential. Regardless of your audiences’ demographics, they’re glued to a screen. Ten years ago no one over a certain age would even contemplate going online. Now more “older” people perform visual problem solving than ever thought possible. That’s because being told what to do is hearsay, whereas seeing is believing. This is what makes video such a powerful tool to connect with your audience, no matter their age.

To increase your discoverability you need a wealth of content at their whim. When they come knocking, you want to be the one that answers their questions. This content, written or recorded needs to resonate with them. Making sure this content is unique provides you with a competitive advantage. Why is digital discoverability so important? It’s because it forms long lasting relationships with your audience.