Article

Digital Doughnut Contributor
Digital Doughnut Contributor 12 September 2014
Categories

Get Rich Quick: Why You Should Be Using Rich Media as Part of Your Inbound Content Strategy

Rich media's magnifier effect: making audiences more interested, active and engaged in your marketing content

If you think rich media is just for business to consumer marketers, think again. There are times when your marketing content strategy needs to be flashier than plain text and with the right piece of content, ROI will more than an offset cost. 

Companies expanding their rich media 

More than 90% of business to business marketers now invest in content marketing - according to a study carried out by Content Marketing Institute.

Meanwhile, 58% of business to business marketers are planning to increase their content marketing budgets in coming months

 

For all businesses, the challenge is to create varied and interesting content of sufficient quality, not only to engage customers and prospects but ensure that they share and pass it around. 

How to create shareable content 

Which is where rich media - infographics, animations, slideshows, video, pictures, audio, interactive elements, eBooks, games and so on - comes into its own. 

Infographic example 

With the right piece of rich media content, a brand can really cut through. Marketing automation company Eloqua, for example, does this regularly with its stand-out value-added infographics. 

 

Masonry manufacturer Firerock also uses rich media with its Pinterest account, while Cisco utilises a Youtube channel. They engage with their customers on a deeper level, something which cannot be achieved with standard content.

Moreover, rich media’s interactive potential encourages more activity and deeper engagement than can be achieved with standard content. 

 

At its most basic, images or graphics inserted into email newsletters spark curiosity and encourage engagement, significantly lifting click-through rates.

An embedded rich media poll or survey can turn your marketing emails from passive to interactive, too. 

Rich media poll example 

 

Online video, for example, is growing at an astonishing pace.

Over six billion hours of video are now watched online each month - a year on year increase of 50% between 2012 and 2013.

Youtube remains the dominant online video platform. But with emerging short-form platforms such as Instagram and Vine, powerful opportunities now exist to communicate with customers and prospects in new and compelling ways. 

Vine embed 

Such opportunities are now being made more affordable to business to business marketers by a host of start-ups - such as Moovd, which turns text into animated text videos - with easy solutions to creating quality video without breaking the bank. It’s not just about video, though. 

 

Moving forward, content marketers will need an "everything" strategy encompassing multiple channels at once if 87% of internet devices sales will made up of smartphones and tablets by 2017, as one recent study by IDC predicts.

Podcasts, for example, can be a useful format when you consider that as much as 30% of your potential audience are likely to be auditory learners. 

Podcast embed 

 

A growing number of businesses are reaping the benefits of workbooks, playbooks and blueprints - documents intended less as a sit down read, and more as a step by step interactive guide.

Other new forms of rich media content also worth considering include free assets designed to solve business problems for customers and prospects, for example, such as reporting templates or even apps. 

 

It’s all about making the most of the fastest-growing media in digital at the same time as adding value to the recipient. Get it right and your rich media content will build awareness, encourage engagement and convert prospects into customers.

Discover how to use rich media to boost your content’s performance. Get your free eGuide now: The key characteristics of high performing content

 

Please login or register to add a comment.

Contribute Now!

Loving our articles? Do you have an insightful post that you want to shout about? Well, you've come to the right place! We are always looking for fresh Doughnuts to be a part of our community.

Popular Articles

See all
Navigating the Future of Personalized Marketing with AI

Navigating the Future of Personalized Marketing with AI

In a world where seventy-one percent of consumers expect companies to deliver personalized interactions. And seventy-six percent get frustrated when this doesn’t happen. Personalization is no longer a luxury; it’s an...

Nick Watt
Nick Watt 21 September 2023
Read more
The Future of Ecommerce with the Metaverse

The Future of Ecommerce with the Metaverse

In a discussion on digital marketing and emerging trends, an aspiring digital marketer raised an intriguing question: "What does the future hold for e-commerce with the rise of the Metaverse?"

Mahboob Ali
Mahboob Ali 30 August 2023
Read more
The Sound of Success: Sonic Branding's Impact on Modern Marketing

The Sound of Success: Sonic Branding's Impact on Modern Marketing

Sonic branding, the practice of creating unique and memorable sounds to represent a brand, is emerging as a critical strategy in the modern marketing landscape. Whether it's a jingle that sticks in your mind or...

Domenique Comparetto
Domenique Comparetto 14 September 2023
Read more
Streaming Society: The Social Impact of Live Streaming in the Digital Age

Streaming Society: The Social Impact of Live Streaming in the Digital Age

This article delves into the social impact of livestreaming, analyzing its influence on communication patterns, community formation, celebrity culture, mental health, and economic opportunities.

Sim Johnsons
Sim Johnsons 1 September 2023
Read more
How to Review a Website — A Guide for Beginners

How to Review a Website — A Guide for Beginners

Whether you're a startup or an established business, the company website is an essential element of your digital marketing strategy. The most effective sites are continually nurtured and developed in line with...

Digital Doughnut Contributor
Digital Doughnut Contributor 7 January 2020
Read more