Three Content Strategies To Help Consumers Cut Through The Clutter

by Katrina Conn, Jan 17, 2013, 9:50 AM

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We all live in a very connected, busy and noisy world where it’s hard to cut through the overwhelming amount of clutter and get to the information we all really want and need. Today’s  consumer is looking for easier ways to interact with companies and learn relevant information to make decisions about products and services to help simplify their everyday lives.

Three ways marketers can make it easier:

1.     Less Is More

Consumer attention is hard to attract and keep, so instead of trying to pack as much information and call-to-action opportunities in your promotional content as possible, shift to create clear, single-focused messaging that speaks to the identified stages in the buying process for your product or service.  

Create scannable content.  Content needs to be easily read on multiple devices: in email, on your website or social media sites.  The primary purpose or call to action needs to be easily identified and understood within the first page without having to scroll down several pages, so consumers know what you want them to do and can take action.

When leveraging the “Less is more” approach, the questions marketers need to answer are:

• How does this content help potential customers cut through the clutter and take action?
• What information do I need to provide to support the buying decision process?”

 

2.     Transparency Inspires Trust

Provide real-world consumer review information.  Consumers want to hear from people just like them to understand their user experience with your product or service.   Providing peer recommendations is far more effective at supporting the decision process than any amount of product, brand or corporate information.  

Including information on best-selling products and/or what other customers also purchased within your email, web and social media content is another great way to leverage peer-purchase behavior to influence the buying process.  This often results in an increase of the total number of items purchased.

Enabling simple comparison shopping provides another type of transparency.   The more you enable consumers to compare product features side by side, the easier it is for them to move through this step in the buying process. 

3.     Seamless and Mobil- friendly Experience

Customers and prospects are connecting with your brand from multiple devices and channels throughout their day and expect to be able to access, research, and transact with your brand during and in-between regular daily activities.  These small “wait windows” that are created in-between activities (standing in line, on the train, waiting in traffic, watching TV, etc.) allow the marketer to entertain, inform, and enable the multitasker.

During these “wait windows” the consumer may be on the move and engaging with your brand via the touch of a finger vs. the click of a button, so it’s important to design your email CTAs, mobile website and landing page navigation with this in mind.  Simply using larger type, bigger buttons, and more space to scroll and scan for the information allows for a more mobile-friendly experience.

It is also vitally important to mobile optimize your email, website and landing pages to ensure a seamless experience across channels and varying device engagement.

The number of distractions consumers face on a day-to-day basis isn't going to go down anytime soon, but you can help your messages stand out in the inbox by following this advice and keeping them focused, leveraging peer reviews and optimizing for mobile.  Once you demonstrate that your emails and online content provide value and are easy to consume, consumers will be more likely to look for and interact with them in the future. 

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