Why context matters when you’re creating content

We all know that content is critical, but far too often sellers send the wrong content, or bland content, putting buyers in a state of information overload. As buyers spend less and less time with sellers, content needs to sell when reps can’t be “in the room”. Content helps communicate our ideas, answer stakeholder’s questions, and convey expertise to build credibility and trust with customers. However, content only performs those roles with the power of context. Context is what gives content its meaning, its reason for being, and its impact on customers. So, where does context come from, and how does it support your messaging?

Content without context

Imagine you post a selfie to LinkedIn with no text. It’s not responding to anything. It doesn’t appear to be teasing anything. Most people would assume it’s a mistake, meant for one of the other social media platforms. Or, what if you create a self-congratulatory post that simply says ‘We are the best!’ People will wonder, “The best at what?”, Why are they posting that now? And if no answers are forthcoming, they might think, “I don’t need this self-congratulatory nonsense”, and unfollow the page. The context is crucial.

Let’s take this scenario into a meeting room. Imagine you create a presentation to share with new prospects telling them all about what you do. Picture a series of slides showing photos of your team getting down to business, doing what they do best – which, let’s be honest, mostly happens behind a computer screen. To complement the pictures, you include bullet points detailing the work your team does. Why would your prospects care about your team’s workload? They’ve got their own business to deal with – they want to understand the value you will deliver, they want your help driving revenue, not your bullet points.

Just add context…

When you put these things into context, you get a story.

·? The selfie, coupled with some text, tells people that you got a promotion and you’re happy about it, and glad to be able to work with your network in a new capacity.

·? The ‘We are the best!’ post, with the addition of a customer name and perhaps a few details of a recent success, becomes an endorsement that helps prospects build trust.

·? The presentation, with a complete flip to focus on customer pain points and potential value rather than a list of your team’s responsibilities, becomes a demonstration of how you enable increased efficiency and effectiveness.

In some cases, adding context adds information. In some cases, it adds perspective. In all cases, it adds value.

How to build context

We’re in the fortunate position of creating content for our customers. We have to go the extra mile to ensure the proper context shines through in our content. We do this by going through a comprehensive Discovery process, which aims to uncover not only the purpose for the content (our customers’ aims/objectives) but also the context for the intended audience. Where are they in the buyer’s journey? To what extent are they familiar with the company, and is it necessary to develop different iterations of the same content for different buyer personas or user models? In what way will the content be used – self-directed, guided or other? This discovery work is important to establish the various parameters that together make up ‘context’. Here are some examples:

·? If your organisation provides software for CPG’s, finance companies and healthcare organisations, you might have a different approach for each, tailored to their specific pain points and interests. Establishing this industry-based context ensures we get the tone of voice right, and that we order the pain points according to what’s most pressing for each buyer.

·? Is the content introductory, or can you assume a certain amount of knowledge? Establishing where the content fits in the buyer’s journey is?integral to applying the right context. Are you at the stage of building credibility, or are you ready to get into pricing details? The messages our customers want to convey differ depending on where the buyer is in the purchase process and the content should reflect that.?

·? There is an important distinction between content that can be easily digested without outside help or guidance, and a PowerPoint presentation designed to be delivered by a salesperson under specific circumstances – i.e. face to face or virtually. We can make content that works for all scenarios, but we need to know how it will be presented to the audience when we set out. When setting out to design a PowerPoint presentation many people assume it will always be ‘presented’ by a salesperson and so leave out a lot of information that the seller would provide verbally. When that PowerPoint later gets emailed to other stakeholders with no additional information, it is virtually meaningless. The context is missing.

Context and purpose – how can you measure whether your content performed as intended?

Building context into, around and behind your content also helps focus your audiences’ minds on the purpose of the content. What actions do you want people to take after viewing, reading or otherwise absorbing your content?

Actions might include:

·? Clicking a link to learn more

·? Visiting your website

·? Subscribing to your mailing list

·? Booking a second meeting

·? Proceeding with a purchase

Knowing the action you want people to take must be built into the content, usually in the form of a call to action (CTA). You can learn more about this in our guide, ‘How to Create An Effective Presentation’.

Making the CTA clear, specific and measurable enables you to monitor the effectiveness of your content and adjust or replicate accordingly. If you use a platform like Mediafly, this data is captured effortlessly so you can track the success of all your marketing efforts and boost the efficiency of your activities. Mediafly’s recent research found that high-performing companies are 37% more likely to track the success of their content using data and insights. If you don’t measure the response to your content, you won’t know how well it performed, whether it was worth the time and money you invested, or whether it’s worth repeating the same approach with future content.

Content without context damages your brand

Putting content out into the world without context turns your brand into the equivalent of one of those people at parties who everyone avoids. You know the ones. They talk a lot, but no one quite knows what they’re talking about, or why. They don’t ask questions. They don’t listen to other people. They simply don’t add value, and frankly they’re annoying. If you waste customers’ time – whether that’s a minute on a meaningless video on their social media feed, or half an hour in a meeting room – you will lose their interest for good. There’s no coming back from that. The boring person at the party doesn’t get a second invite. As buyers conduct more of the purchasing process on their own, your content needs to rise above the noise and provide value throughout the entire cycle.

Adding context to content is only a matter of asking yourself, what am I trying to say? Why am I saying it? Why do I think my audience will be interested? It’s an outside-in, customer-centric process that requires a bit of empathy and some ‘putting yourself in your customers' shoes’ing. It doesn’t come naturally to everyone, so if you need some help, some fresh eyes – or shoes! – get in touch.