B2C tech is a notoriously difficult subject to write about. We’re not suggesting that consumers are Luddites, but the average buyer doesn’t know the difference between The Pentium 4 Socket 478 and Socket 775 processor.
I know, right?
In all seriousness though, writing about technology is hard. It’s technical by its very nature. B2C tech companies who are considering engaging in content marketing have to be wary of not leaving their target audience behind.
With this in mind, we’ve compiled this list of 5 ways to keep your consumers engaged when writing about B2C tech:
1. Defining your target audience
This is crucial any time you’re writing with your public relations hat on.
Who are you writing for? This is not only limited to who your product is aimed at but also what content your target audience would be interested in.
Think about it this way, when you started your business, you had to do some research. You had to analyze the market to see if there was a demand for your product or service and then you had to look at what your competitors were up to.
Newsflash! This is exactly the same practice you need for your content marketing strategy.
For example, if your product is a top of the range eReader, an example of a buyer persona could be someone who:
1 – Is an avid reader
2 – Has an eReader or has previously downloaded eBooks
3 – Has disposable income
4 – Like gadgets and wants the newest and best
Therefore, when you’re producing content, you want to have this technology-loving, book worm at the front of your mind:
– Will this content peak their interest?
– What kind of content would they prefer: a blog, long-form articles or video?
– Will it show their eBook in a positive light?
It’s recommended that you have a picture in your head of who your audience is. However, for something more concrete, you can consider doing some audience analysis. You could send out a survey on survey monkey and offer a free piece of content as a reward for doing so.
Your target audience will change as your business goals do. However, defining it early on will give you a leg up in the long run.
2. Focusing on what’s new
Technology moves faster than a Formula 1 car with a Concorde engine. It’s constantly evolving and innovating itself but, unlike the Concorde, it will not stop.
Therefore, it’s essential that you focus on ‘what’s new’ when you’re writing about your B2C tech product.
Take an electric toothbrush for example. We have been brushing our teeth since the dawn of time and all toothbrushes serve that purpose. However, if the brush head rotation is x amount more powerful than others on the market, that’s bringing something new to the table!
3. Painting a picture
A challenge that B2C companies face is bringing their specs to life. Consumers’ have a hard time trying to picture the crispness of an image that’s 1080p or how many Beatles’ songs a terabyte can hold.
Therefore, when it comes to your business’s marketing efforts, you should always try to paint a picture of your specifications in a language the reader will understand.
Some examples of this include:
A phone battery – To paint a more vivid picture for a longer-lasting phone battery you could change, ‘has a 12-hour battery life’ to ‘no charging throughout the day required’.
An LCD TV – Say you have a TV that’s thinner than four centimeters – you could change it from, ‘less than 4 centimeters thick’ to ‘nearly as thin as a cracker’.
A new tablet – If you’re selling a tablet that has 1 TB of storage – instead of ‘1 TB of Storage’ to ‘a storage capacity the size of the Grand Canyon’.
This presents your product in an easy to understand way which consumers can instantly relate to.
4. Comparing and contrasting
Are you trying to paint a picture but keep coming up against a blank canvas?
Not to worry. Comparing and contrasting is another way to engage consumers with your consumer tech product.
In a similar vein to painting a picture, comparing and contrasting gives your target audience a reference point to help them better understand your product.
How do you do this? By setting a familiar product, or competitor, as a benchmark and highlighting the technological advancement your company provides.
For instance, if you have a business that specializes in streaming French cinema: ‘more French movies than Amazon or Netflix combined’.
This challenges consumers’ beliefs surrounding one of your competitors and builds up your credentials within your industry.
5. Solving an existing problem
Despite being last on the list, this is arguably one of the most powerful and useful hooks when it comes to pricking consumers’ ears up.
How does your product solve an existing problem? People are always looking to technology to make their lives easier. Therefore, if your product solves a frequent problem that your target audience face – shout it from the rooftops.
For instance, you have a digital wallet app. It allows consumers to instantly send and receive funds in seconds. Two possible taglines you could use to show how it solves a problem are:
– ‘Splitting the bill just got so much easier – never worry about having the correct change again.’
– ‘Forget your wallet? Use … to transfer funds and save your blushes.’
These two examples highlight common problems and demonstrate how this application eradicates them.
Underlining how your business can solve problems sells consumers a better tomorrow where forgetting their wallet doesn’t result in never getting invited to dinner again.
Trying to get consumers engaged with technology is difficult so you need to be a little bit more creative. But by using consumer tech PR and content marketing, you give your chances of capturing customers a serious boost.
