As we return from an uber insightful IAB digital content workshop, we are more than a little excited to share the pearls of wisdom that will give you an advantage over your industry competitors.

But before we get into the nitty gritty of content creation, technology, and software, let’s lay the foundation for the approach that you should be applying to all your content going forward: cognitive marketing.

What is cognitive marketing?

Cognitive marketing is a consumer-centric approach that focuses on connecting brands with consumers on a personal level, in order to establish loyalty and form lasting relationships. The full campaign focus of cognitive marketing is placed on the customer, which simplifies personalisation and leads to more effective marketing.

Business strategy expert and CEO of BriteFire, Godfrey Parkin, emphasised that our goal as marketers and business owners should be to understand our consumers before everything else. Parkin said that once we have established who exactly we are speaking to, we can strategically tailor our content, software, and technology to foster personalised engagement that converts to long-lasting relationships.

Disruptive is still a buzzword

With a room full of eager digital experts, many of us sighed at the sound of one marketer yet again using the word ‘disruptive’. There’s a long list of words to be left in the dust in 2019, and the word disruptive is certainly on that list.

But here’s what you need to know about being disruptive in the business world: there’s a huge misconception that innovation is the same as disruption but when you innovate, you introduce a completely new perspective, as opposed to disruption, which is when you add a new twist to an old model. And what separates the most successful businesses from those who aren’t, is the ability to change old strategies to suit new times.

Parkin used the example of Uber, who is completely disrupting the public transport industry. It’s not an innovation but simply a disruption to a tradition of public transport.

Content is king but context is the kingdom

According to Parkin, context makes all the difference. Your content should serve as a launchpad that evokes emotion and relatable experiences. Content becomes all the more real and impactful when it enters the consumer’s reality. In other words, don’t focus on telling a creative or compelling story unless that story matters to the people you are targeting.

Parkin used the example of a UK-based NGO called Save The Children, who work to improve the living conditions of kids in over 100 countries.

Instead of documenting the poor living conditions of Syrian children in their latest campaign, the NGO opted to simply display a British child in England, experiencing the day-to-day danger that Syrian children do. British viewers were immediately alarmed and made donations. Watch the video below:

This is a perfect example of how powerfully audience data can influence campaigns, and how personalisation can be executed in a creative way.

Conversational commerce will drive leads

While the trend seems to be that Facebook statuses are no longer a priority and that we’ve become more selective of the emails we read, it’s quite apparent that direct messages, which we can access instantly, presents the way to drive leads.

Some of us with preview options on our smartphones are even more fortunate to read our messages without even opening them. And in a time where consumers are becoming all the more selective of the content they consume, personalised direct messages will be the communication that keeps business thriving and consumers feeling special.

Local business news site, Business Insider, has already taken the opportunity to invite its readers to receive a daily newsletter via Whatsapp.

By adding a brand to Whatsapp, users invite you to be among close friends and family, who play important roles in their lives.

Image search will become more widespread

How often do you click on Google’s image tab to search through the engine? More people are doing it now. Google’s image recognition technology is advancing every day and more images related to what you’re searching for, is being found.

Instagram has also introduced an Alt text option to their app, allowing Instagram users to describe the images themselves, in order to be more user-friendly to the visually impaired.

More brands will integrate voice search

There’s nothing like the sound of a happy customer in the morning. Right? With a chock-a-block schedule, very little time to read or even type, voice search is helping consumers engage with their favourite products faster and effortlessly.

Vocal avatar API developer, Lyrebird, is fast becoming one of the world’s most recognised creators of synthetic speech – that is creating a voice that sounds exactly like yours from only one-minute of audio.

The speech technology is not only useful for hands-free consumer purchases but can be a saving-grace to people suffering from chronic conditions such as ALS. Using the Lyrebird API, ALS patients can continue communicating in their own voice, long after they have lost this bodily function.

And that’s as much as we can share for now. If you want to know more or need help with your brand, chat to us today at info@oleconnect.com.