Technical content is integral to marketing technology products and services. Whether the goal is to create awareness, inform buyer decisions or educate existing customers about your products and services, marketers need solid content in the right formats to drive results. But in a noisy world where customers are constantly bombarded with marketing messages, creating content that sticks is a great challenge.
The key to capturing customer interest and engagement is creating valuable content that connects with the audience’s aspirations and needs and inspires them to take action. Notable author and historian, Yuval Noah Harari, states that the ability to tell stories, that engage individuals from different backgrounds and geographies is what makes us human. And stories that connect and capture the imagination of our clients and stakeholders is what takes companies to the top of the curve.
Challenges to creating technical content
Enterprises need to take extra care in creating content that introduces their products and services to their market. The challenge is even greater for technology companies, as they have to reach across the divide of niche technological expertise to communicate with lay persons and also with expert decision makers. In a world where the global digital population is around 4 billion, the challenges of creating engaging technology content are of three kinds.
#1 The platform challenge
Content which is designed to be consumed on a bigger screen of a PC or laptop is sometimes not suited to be consumed on mobile phones. Yet, there are 3.7 billion mobile internet users in the world and they are a sizeable and technologically-aware audience.
#2 Diverse audience
Technology marketers cater to audiences with varying degrees of technical expertise. Content that bridges the divide of culture and expertise to reach the core brand audience and excite them about present and future offering is a unique challenge.
#3 Achieving differentiation
The third and most important challenge is to stand above the fray of the innumerable number of marketing, content and communication campaigns that are being deployed daily in the technology space, with similar goals in mind. To be unique where there are a plethora of content choices for the audience, muddying up the waters is a challenge that is almost exclusive for the technology marketer. Further, now it is no longer simply text that is content, rather content is a whole gamut of mediums and forms. It includes a plethora of interactive and audiovisual choices from gifs to animation clips, creating further challenges for the technical communicator.
The three A’s of technology content: Awareness, Anticipation, Aspiration
The answer to the technology marketer’s challenges are the three A’s of creating technology content – Awareness, Anticipation, and Aspiration. Technology marketers should keep in mind these three attributes of the audience while creating and designing content, to engage better with their audience.
Awareness about the customer
Awareness is the key characteristic when you are creating and designing content for technology offerings and services. It is imperative that the marketer develops a strong sense of the core audience’s challenges and opportunities. By knowing both, the terrain of demand and the ecosystem of supply, the communicator can, with some effort, narrow in on the real “information need” of their audience. In the era of information abundance, access to consistent and pertinent information, which closely relates to the requirements of the audience, will build true customer engagement. The reason for being aware of the needs of the audience is because technology products and services are not one-size-fits-all anymore. Due to the customizability of technology and services, each buyer wants to serve their unique priorities.
Anticipate technology trends
Beyond awareness is the need to anticipate the trends in the technology space. Keeping abreast of the lesser-discussed challenges and opportunities on the horizon can help you stand out from the competition. The idea is to become a thought leader in your space by purveying next-gen insights and knowledge.
Customer Aspiration
Lastly, it is of core significance that the technology marketer keeps focuses on the aspirations of the audience. Aspiration is not mere marketing jargon, but rather, it is the key to finding the humanity in offered technology and services. To know what values and goals individuals and institutions aspire to, can be a powerful tool in framing the messaging around a technology product or service.
Don’t be content with visibility
In the end, it is important to remember that with technical content, visibility is not a victory. It is better not to confuse mere content visibility with complete marketing victory in the internet age. Technology companies need to focus on establishing a trusted, enduring consumer relationship by constantly delivering superior content. By adhering to the three A’s of technology content and closely following the emerging market and technological trends in the industry, marketers will be able to trump the content game consistently.
Netscribes delivers superior multi-channel content for global technology giants. To know more about our services, click here or write to us at info@netscribes.com.
