Published by Andrew Mallaband via Linked in
This article explores a new capability that has the potential to dramatically improve how we find the hashtag #content that is most relevant to satisfy our desires, while providing a way for brands to better satisfy consumer needs.
Do Todays Experiences Really Help Us?
How frustrating do you find it when you are browsing interesting content on the internet and want to interact, in the moment, with friends, colleagues and maybe a broader network of people to get their views and ideas?
Maybe you found a dress that you like on the Zara website or an offer for a holiday on Expedia, or in a business setting sharing information with colleagues about a competitor. The experience of interactively browsing, sharing content with connections, exploring additional content together that is relevant to the conversation and discussing what you have found, and rating content, real-time. This very cumbersome and difficult to follow to say the least, because you have to keep switching between applications.
Today's social networks, chat and email don't cater well for this and website content that is shared can quickly loose its relevance as the conversations evolve.
As a user of social networks there are also number of other challenges that I find troubling;
- Advertising overload - very often what we see is of no real relevance to us but it fills up our feeds.
- Account hijacking & impersonation - I personally know of several situations where this has led to financial losses for an individual.
- Fake accounts - cyber bullying, spreading fake news, provoking conflict, brand, impersonation, exploitation.......are all too common. Tracing the actual people behind this and holding them accountable for their actions is almost, if not completely, impossible.
Brand Aid (spot the pun)
Following the implementation of cookies the internet became a place where peoples activities could be monitored extensively. This meant that advertisers could now display targeted ads based on users browsing history. Now that cookies are heading towards obsolescence this will put an end to this as a means of advertising.
Even more challenging for advertisers is that other tracking methods are also coming under pressure. In the mobile-app space, Apple already requires app providers to get explicit permission from consumers before tracking them through device identifiers. Today only 46% of consumers have agreed to be tracked.
In practice, this means that the return on investment from internet based advertising will be much lower going forward, and brands will need to develop new marketing strategies to fill the gap.
Finding new creative ways where brands can interact directly with consumers is clearly important. Better leveraging the content they have already created is one potential path that brands could focus on to fill the void. Brands have typically invested lots of money in building content that features the products and services that they provide. Their content also includes blogs, newsletters, and video media that discuss issues and ideas that are relevant to their target audience, but this is often not contextualised for visitors of their site.
As a consumer I would like to be presented with the most relevant content, to address the needs that I have as quickly as possible, without having to go on a hunt. If it is not blindingly obvious there is something of relevance I disengage very quickly, but could I be missing something that is but its hidden from sight.
If brands can facilitate contextualised interactions using the content they have already created, it can transform the consumer experience. In doing so I am more likely to engage and return, because the experience was enjoyable, relevant to what I am looking for and very convenient. I tell my friends about the wonderful experience I have had. They have similar experiences and tell their friends. Site traffic increases and virility can take hold.
For brands this can ultimately lead to more dwell time on their website, shorter sales cycles and increased revenue streams, all while boosting the ROI from the investments that have already been made in content.
So how do you deliver and accelerate experiences like this when the current methods of tracking consumers are diminishing?
An Accelerator For Contextualise Interactions Between Consumers & Brands
I was recently introduced to Andrew Barlow, who is the CEO & Founder of a new social media platform called Chatloop. Prior to Chatloop, Andrew was the co-founder of AppLearn the market leader in Digital Adoption. Through his experience at AppLearn, he built a deep understanding of the issues end users typically encounter when organisations implement new Digital Platforms, but more importantly how to address these on an ongoing basis post deployment because they delay adoption and impact the efficiencies of business processes as end users use these applications to do perform their work.
Taking this knowledge he looked at the challenges consumers and brands face as it relates to content consumption and content provision, and how the needs of both parties could be better met with a new platform. The result of this was a new company called Chatloop.
Chatloop creates a unified experience that combines web browsing with chat, and the content that is posted can be shared in a Chatloop, private or public. Other members can participate in Chatloops, react with different emotions, comment and also share further content they believe is relevant as discussions in Chatloops progress. Overall a much simpler and convenient experience for users.
For brands the user interactions promote the content they have already created, as consumers share content that is relevant as discussions in Chatloops take place. Furthermore Brands can also participate with members in public Chatloops. In doing so they can bring further content and comments that are relevant to Chatloops, facilitated by employees in different departments within their organisation, driven by the context of inidividual Chatloops, or through automated responses leveraging real time data streams that are available to Brand Partners.
Through these real time data streams Brands get fresh data insights into customers behaviour, customer sentiment analysis and a deeper understanding of customer likes & dislikes and what they are reacting too, without compromising the privacy of consumers.
In a retail setting, using these insights, marketing teams are able to promote personalised marketing messages and offers, merchandising teams can position products more effectively on the website, buying departments have a deeper understanding of what products are working and can subsequently forecast trends more effectively, and the customer service teams can build deep and meaningful connections with consumers to aid retention. For retailers this ultimately leads to higher sales conversions and a reduction in the bounce rate from their websites.
Chatloop also provides a unique opportunity to help sports and streaming services achieve the goal of driving website traffic. Current social media platforms dominate that traffic and make it almost impossible to get the user to the brands site. For sports and streaming services Chatloop opens the possibility of being able to see the real value from the content already created on their site and the ability to chat live to customers. This will lead to an increase in engagement and eventually conversion.
At the end of the day all of these capabilities benefit members, who find what they actually need faster. Brand Partners can benefit from the amplification effect that the network has on their content while exploiting the real time insights to create more immersive and relevant experiences for consumers, that ultimately drive more sales.
Chatloop also has a big focus on member security so that their platform does not suffer the challenges faced by other social networks. By using bio-metrics for authentication this not only provides a frictionless experience for members when they access the service, it also prevents credential theft, protecting the privacy and security of members. Biometrics also ensure the content being shared is from real people not BOTs.
