Content marketing strategies have been initiated, if not adopted, by many brands at the international level and the phenomenon is taking off in France. The content produced is still uneven, but it sometimes reaches a very high quality both in terms of content and presentation. And yet, all this content does not necessarily reach its target audience, as news sites are much better equipped to highlight their information than brand sites. The time has come to discover the content...
The notion of "content discovery" can be related to the English term "content discovery". serendipity the art of finding what you weren't looking for. For the brand, it's all about making Internet users discover content that interests them and that they hadn't thought of just a few minutes before. Indeed, there are two ways to access information: either via a search engine or by exploring a site on a specific theme, or it is imposed on us, by chance, at the turn of an article on a completely different subject.
On the Internet, it is possible for brands and publishers to influence this second mode of discovery, via the reading recommendation blocks that generally appear at the end of the article. These links, selected according to readers' interests, the most trendy subjects or other criteria, give Internet users the opportunity to discover new content.
Write to be read
Brands have always had several levers to make their content discoverable on the Web. Advertising first, but it is not very suitable because beyond its low click rate, Internet users expect to find advertising and not content! There is also the establishment of partnerships with high-audience publishers, social networks, newsletters... However, all these techniques have in common that they are aimed at relatively captive targets who already know the brand.
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Brands also face a problem of obsolescence of their content, as content is expensive to produce and it is important to know if it will last over time. Their disappearance into the limbo of the Web can happen very quickly. Indeed, if recipes for kitchens have a very long lifespan, articles on household electrical standards must quickly reach their audience.
Content discovery is also for publishers. A newspaper may be known for its analysis of economic and political news, while publishing very good articles on fashion that remain less known, and therefore less read. The in-depth features, which take longer to write, also disappear very quickly from the "live" information flow. Yet they remain quite interesting several months after their publication and therefore deserve to be rediscovered.
Relying on readers' habits
We know that the greatest consumption of content takes place where Internet users have their habits: their favourite news sites and blogs, their newsletters, the "fan pages" whose news they follow... These media benefit from the trust and loyalty of their readers. Faced with this predominance, the more confidential or specialized sites, including brand sites, have little chance of making themselves known. The challenge is therefore to find readers where they are.
For the users, the discovery of the contents will take all its interest considering the incredible development of the volume of available contents. Moreover, their interest is not only focused on a specific theme such as sports or the economy, but they can also, depending on the time of day, be interested in decoration, news or language courses. Only the increasing sophistication of content discovery tools will make it possible to satisfy their multiple interests and help them make their choices.
Discovering content, a challenge for tomorrow?
The volume of data represented by the Internet has already experienced a phenomenal growth that does not seem to be about to stop. According to IDC's latest study on the subject, the volume of data will increase from 2.8 zettabytes in 2012 to more than 40 zettabytes in 2020. In this mass of information, the challenge is, depending on one's point of view, to make oneself heard or to find relevant information.
Faced with these challenges, content discovery tools are being perfected and are being invested in existing or future screens: telephones, tablets, connected TVs, embedded screens or for home automation... This may revolutionise the way we consume the most strategic of mass media: television. Recent years have already seen the multiplication of channels, the appearance of VOD and replay, leading to asynchronous and fragmented consumption. It takes long minutes to choose a programme from a plethoric offer. Users will be looking for solutions to simply choose interesting programmes.
This issue will also concern digital radio, already prefigured by podcasts that can be listened to on demand or the recommendations of the iTunes Genius. Usage will become increasingly personalized and content discovery solutions will become more and more important in tomorrow's cars, personal stereos or even at home, to discover new, relaxing and instructive content... It is up to brands and publishers to know how to anticipate this "on-demand" future and to take care of their content discovery right now!
About Outbrain
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Outbrain (www.outbrain.com) helps Internet users discover the most interesting, relevant and reliable content wherever they are. Outbrain offers personalized recommendations through a network of premium publishers, including CNN, Fox News, The Telegraph, Sky News, TF1, Libération, Le Nouvel Observateur and Mondadori. With Outbrain's comprehensive content discovery solutions, publishers, brands and agencies can increase their audience by generating traffic to their content - from their own sites or from the premium publisher network. Outbrain is now installed on more than 90,000 sites worldwide and generates more than 6.5 billion page views per month. Founded in 2006, the company is headquartered in New York and has offices in 15 countries including the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Israel, Singapore and Australia.
