The State of Content: Brands, Collaborations, Community, and The Common Thread of Marketing

“Content builds relationships. Relationships are built on trust. Trust drives revenue.” – Andrew Davis

Short-form video or UGC, surrealism or AI – as much as content diversifies beyond standard imagery format, it is complemented with a fairly shortened attention span of the audience. And with the rise of data privacy awareness, de-influencing, and ChatGPT, the playbooks for content and marketing have been turned upside down, requiring brands and influencers to establish a renewed focus on consistency, uniqueness, and well, community. As brands look to elevate the creativity and quality of community experience, influencers and celebrities take on long-term collaborative and ambassadorship roles and media acts as a strategic and creative consultant to extend the capitalisation of the storytelling – after all, in the words of Scott Cook (Director, eBay and P&G), a brand is no longer what we tell the consumers it is; it is what the consumers tell each other it is.

With having reached halfway through the year, one thing is certain that 2023 is the banner year for content, collaboration, and community. And as we recommit to bringing human connection to the digital experience, quality, relevance, and authenticity reaffirm themselves as the essential ideals of content and marketing for 2023. So, to unravel these notions of a 360* digital experience, we decided to reach out to three pioneer marketers from the Indian luxury and lifestyle scene to understand their approach to marketing and its imperative connection to the state of content in 2023. 

Pareina Thapar, Co-founder – Longform 

How’s 2023 been so far? 
Evolving. 

Is this the year of influence or de-influence?
It’s always “influence”, but that does not just mean “influencer”. The power of brands to carry and lead influence goes hand in hand with the ecosystem of influencers across demographics, communities, offline and online networks etc. It’s a year of de-influence if it only rides on a “digital influencer” strategy without focusing on a strong product and customer experience journey.

 Do you believe that storytelling is the main character in the digital content space this year?
Advertising always carries influence as it allows brands to communicate their identity directly to their consumers. Storytelling alone cannot make a brand, without the advertising being clear on many other aspects of what a consumer seeks. Digital advertising is going to become more and more engaging with strong storytelling to capture the consumer’s attention in the first few seconds. Good influencers track their audience and do content in a way that resonates with their followers. So, storytelling will hopefully evolve on both fronts. 

For any collaboration (brand X creator or brand X brand), how imperative is it to have the voice and audience of all the participants in sync? What is the X-factor that makes sponsored content feel more authentic and exciting?
The brand creative team needs to be confident to let the collaborator bring their original point of view forward, which does not always have an existing reference and allows a storyteller that creative space. And the collaborator needs to definitely care enough to understand and respect the brand. So, yes, they do need to be in sync with the team else the brand suffers and loses its identity with too many variables involved.
It is also an age of an extraordinary amount of content being created, so sometimes everything starts looking and feeling the same. The x-factor comes from charisma, the rest comes from developing a script and an approach which is based on an original and authentic point of view and an understanding of who your target audience is.

Quality or Quantity, Followers or Relevance – is influence still a game of numbers?
Quality and relevance always matter even when it’s about quantity. Today, they are slowly starting to co-exist. A very niche following is as relevant as a super large following. It’s also a question of a brand’s business model and scale of operations. More than numbers, it’s about the right fit. 

Gen X, millennials, and Gen Z – who do you believe has the most loyal and relevant voice in the digital content space?
An online audience is also about who is the target audience for the brand. There can be high engagement from an audience that’s not relevant to the brand as per demographics and not just age group. Having said that, Gen Z is always important as they are future customers and cannot be ignored. 

As a marketer, how do you balance between sales-driven campaigns and community-building for a brand – especially with content and community being equally valuable? Does humanising the brand add to its appeal?
Sales-driven campaigns have different communication channels and outreach versus community – but house codes for a brand cannot and should not change. They get adapted as per purpose, but the common narrative needs to be in sync. Very often brands do not invest in a 360* degree experience and that is often a core challenge for many brands. There is an over-focus on one element – you can have a great campaign, but with miserable customer service or poor product, they may not be able to translate the eyeballs to bottom-line growth. And the reverse is also true, i.e., an excellent product with not enough investment to create awareness for consumers to find you with less effort.

As a pioneer in the content and marketing space, what is an advice that you would like to share for brands and creators alike for 2023?
Constantly changing strategies to overcome FOMO gets in the way of brands being there with lasting power. You need to be in harmony with what you want to stand for as a business, and as a brand, clarity is important. And while strategies need to be nimble and have the pulse of the market, a brand cannot change what it stands for every day with each passing trend. Spend time to define your vision and then invest in it with consistency. 

Archana Jain, Managing Director – PR Pundit 

How’s 2023 been so far?
Upbeat and authentic.

Is this the year of influence or de-influence?
It’s very much influence as social commerce continues to gain ground.

Do you believe that storytelling is the main character in the digital content space this year?
Employing creativity and skilful storytelling to share an idea or value proposition with unique freshness is the key ingredient to engage relevant stakeholders in the increasingly digital universe.

For any collaboration (brand X creator or brand X brand), how imperative is it to have the voice and audience of all the participants in sync? What is the X-factor that makes sponsored content feel more authentic and exciting?
Audience relationship is the most valuable factor when considering engaging or collaborating with a particular influencer/platform. There is little value in working with somebody who does not have real sway over his/her audience. As user-generated content is valuable, the quality of content production must also be carefully assessed.
Blatantly sponsored posts themselves are not the problem, and you do not have to forgo production value to make your sponsored posts feel more authentic. What makes sponsored content authentic is a genuine sense of excitement about the brand and the product exhibition.

Quality or Quantity, Followers or Relevance – is influence still a game of numbers?
Quality rules! But merely considering the number of followers is dated. Today, engagement is key – much more than just likes, more in terms of relevant comments, and even, clicks!

Gen X, millennials, and Gen Z – who do you believe has the most loyal and relevant voice in the digital content space?
Millennials seem to be able to connect with more than just millennials at present. They have interest from Gen X and Gen Z as part of their loyal follower base.
Gen Z is clearly the largest cohort on social media, and by virtue of their sheer numbers, they will lend to a greater volume – but their shorter attention spans and the quest for novelty are a challenge for Gen Z content providers. Otherwise, each one addresses different cohorts and has its own set of loyal followers.
And having been raised alongside digital technology, Millennials are known for their considerable propensity to consume and generate a significant amount of digital content. Their dedication to content is aligned with their values and passions – they prioritise sincerity and openness and place a high value on authenticity.

As a marketer, how do you balance between sales-driven campaigns and community-building for a brand – especially with content and community being equally valuable? Does humanising the brand add to its appeal?
People find authentic content or recommendations by actual consumers to be more honest and believable than other forms of promotions and advertising by brands. This is a reason enough for brands to actively nurture a community of advocates. Sales-driven campaigns or content must try to integrate the voice of loyal and vocal customers to humanise the brand to boost brand appeal & trust as well as have them promote the products & services to new cohorts.

As a pioneer in the content and marketing space, what’s an advice that you would like to share for brands and creators alike for 2023? 
Influencer marketing increases brand awareness. Brands not only get the reach but also earn the trust that comes with advocacy. This is reason enough to employ influencer marketing as part of the brand strategy.
Brands are increasingly working with content creators with subject matter expertise in their niche or industry. Influencers should carve out a specific niche for themselves to make themselves specialists and key opinion leaders of domains.

Shreya Soni, CEO – The Ideas Lab 

How’s 2023 been so far? 
Diverse!

Is this the year of influence or de-influence?
It’s a mix of both. The interlinks between influence and interest and/or purchase will not dip. And with close to 200 million #deinfluencing videos on TikTok, it’s definitely a great hook and suffers from a lower bounce rate. But it works when it comes from transparent intent, trust, and credibility. I love #deinfluencing content from gamers, tech product reviewers, and professional dermatologists. They de-influence me not to buy X, but that’s invariably followed by influencing me to buy Y instead. 

Do you believe that storytelling is the main character in the digital content space this year?
Your feed can be super topical, trendy, and spicy. But storytelling is what keeps the audience coming back for more.
Consider the last digital content you saw. And now, consider the last digital content you remember. What captured your attention and proved to be sticky and engaging was the storytelling. In the vastness of the content-sea (with tidal waves of #sponcon), any consumer’s oxytocin is activated by consistent and interesting storytelling.

Quality or Quantity, Followers or Relevance – is influence still a game of numbers? 
I think some people/brands place inflated importance on follower counts and impressions. Over the years, (I am thrilled to share), this is changing. It’s not as if numbers don’t matter – you can’t chat or sell or influence if no one is following you. But the value assigned to the quantitative metrics needs to be reconsidered.
Counting the numbers as the be-all and end-all is an incomplete view of the business of influence. Influence should also be measured by the depth of engagement, not solely the width of it. Also, a great thing to consider is the quality of the followers. Is that your desired audience? Will they value your brand? Versus, a 10x pool of followers who are neither relevant nor engaged towards your brand. 

Gen X, millennials, and Gen Z – who do you believe has the most loyal and relevant voice in the digital content space? 
Throw that rulebook out. Woo them all, woo them right is my mantra. Apparently, boomers are the most loyal, but they are also extremely sceptical. Millennials and GenZ are loyal-ish, but they are also willing to experiment and swap out swiftly. At the heart of it, core brand values and marketing principles remain intact. What changes is the expression and articulation of it. How you influence a digital native should be unique and personalised to how you build loyalty within a crossroad generation.

As a pioneer in content and marketing space, what’s an advice that you would like to share for brands and creators alike for 2023? 
Your feed can and should be an extension of your personality. Let it not become an endless and bland billboard. Oh, one more thing! Do not try too hard, have some fun!