Digital curation connects content to convey brand value.
Every year, well-known giants like Apple and McDonald’s use new marketing strategies to repeatedly reaffirm their brand value to the public. Why would companies that are already global giants bother with these efforts?
Large corporations invest heavily in brand value, aiming to “strengthen” it . Why has McDonald’s survived since 1955? Because regardless of the generation, McDonald’s consistently delivers design-driven advertisements, videos, collaborative events, and more, engaging with contemporary consumers and conveying two messages:
1. Our products
2. Our brand value
“Expressing brand value is an essential and ongoing skill for any business. Only by embedding the brand into the lives of every generation can a business and its brand withstand the test of time and achieve long-term development for 10 or 20 years.”
▼McDonald’s emphasizes its “people-centric” values, extending its image to include warm interpersonal relationships. This is a Father’s Day advertisement launched by McDonald’s in the Philippines and Dubai (Image source: Internet).
Should non-global giants also value brand value?
If needed, conveying brand value can also be used as a word-of-mouth marketing strategy .
For example, young small businesses (provided, of course, that the business has established its brand and its products are being produced and sold in a stable manner) face a market flooded with similar products. How can consumers compare the differences and remember a particular brand? The value conveyed by the brand can effectively reflect the difference from competitors and act as a living, breathing image that communicates with consumers.
“Brand value” is a broad concept, encompassing a wide range of areas and varying slightly between different companies, but the following remain constant:
- The original intention behind the brand’s establishment and the beliefs it adheres to.
- What are the characteristics of the company’s organization and internal culture?
- What are our expectations for the target customer group?
- What services can we provide, and how do we differ from other companies?
- What are the company’s future goals and plans?
- What issues in society are we concerned about? What efforts are we making to address them?
“Consumers won’t immediately grasp the brand value of these companies; how do we communicate it? We can use marketing thinking and strategies, disseminating it through ‘digital curation.'”
Make good use of digital curation to convey brand value
Digital curation is a digital marketing model that has emerged in recent years. Its characteristic is to use a corporate brand or a topic as the core of a spider web, and then study the internet users it reaches: What other information would they want to absorb? How would they give feedback? How can followers of different core topics intersect? …etc., drawing all kinds of intricate information mazes in the virtual space of the Internet, guiding internet users to absorb the content of digital curation step by step, understand the characteristics of corporate brands, and thus like the brand more.
(Image source: shutterstock)
The curatorial content is designed to serve the audience.
When planning a brand’s digital curatorial campaign, curators focus on the angle and approach of the dialogue to provide the audience (internet users) with the most comfortable information absorption experience. For example, a “mountaineering equipment brand” might do marketing by advertising, writing product copy, and holding events aimed at product exposure; however, for a digital curatorial campaign, the curator would pay more attention to the audience’s intentions , such as approaching the topic from the perspective of mountaineering.
- What types of mountaineers are there? Professional mountaineers, independent backpackers, mountaineering clubs, etc.
- What information do hikers want to see in different seasons and locations? → What information and products can I provide by linking to “My Brand”?
- How do mountaineers communicate, and on which websites do they communicate? → Link to “My Brand”: How and where should I engage with my audience?
This involves planning “what content the brand should produce” and “how to expose the content” from the perspective of serving the audience .
Importantly, the digital curated content isn’t all related to “my” mountaineering products and services ; instead, it integrates various mountaineering-related information and presents a coherent set of information based on different needs, such as “Audience A is a solo mountaineer with over 10 years of experience specializing in Taiwan’s 100 Peaks,” or “Audience B is a tour guide leading novice mountaineering groups.” Examples include “Autumn Guide to the 100 Peaks Mountaineering Stations,” “Birdwatching Map of the 100 Peaks,” and “Mountaineering Group Accommodation Search System,” among others.
“Digital curation incorporates more diverse information than pure brand marketing, without the heavy commercial feel or the oppressive advertising; it allows brands to seamlessly enter the lives and minds of the audience. ‘Entering the lives of the masses’ is the starting point for establishing brand value, making the brand or media channel a needed presence in people’s lives.”
Digital curation = simultaneous use of multiple media
Digital curating, besides its diverse tools and methods, also presents a completely different curatorial concept from traditional curating. Because both are called “curating,” confusion is inevitable; however, digital curating doesn’t mean turning a physical exhibition into a VR simulation, but rather a series of processes that guide the audience through various high-quality content . The following information exposure channels are where curators can distribute their content (exhibits); what to distribute and how to distribute it depends on the channel:
Key content points: Official website, official community
When companies launch high-quality digital campaigns for their own brands, the first step should always be to prioritize the operation of their official website. This is because when brand information spreads to various social media ads, news media, and forum topics, it will ultimately guide the audience back to the official website and social media, accumulating engagement and cultivating brand followers.
[What constitutes a qualified official website?]
The website’s front end features visually appealing and user-friendly content . The back end uses GA4 or similar tracking tools like Martech for traffic monitoring and analysis, analyzing audience intent and preferences based on factors such as inbound traffic methods, page dwell time, and repeat click rates .
Curators need to understand how to interpret data and analyze audience feedback on the content released by the brand. What kind of content is most attractive to audiences each quarter/month/week? Is there room for improvement in audience browsing patterns? They must consistently provide a high-quality website experience to audiences, thus endorsing the company.
Rapid and widespread content dissemination channels: communities + forums + online events
[External link collaboration, exposure and traffic generation]
The term “community” here refers to all user-generated communities (AUCs) other than official ones, including company-owned communities, external communities, and advertising (official core communities should be treated the same as the official website and are not included here). The biggest advantage of communities and forums is that they can quickly spread information widely ; as long as you’re willing to spend money, the number of people reached can increase. The downside is that in the rapidly changing sea of information, viewers tend to forget what they see quickly.
[Planned content exposure, gradual communication]
Curators need to continuously generate interesting, timely, or relatable topics to capture the attention of potential audiences. Furthermore, each post and limited-time event should not be a one-off exposure , but rather a way to connect topics, build interactive bridges with the audience, or guide the audience to other content links via CTAs (calls to action).
[Palindromes and the Power of Public Opinion]
Social media forums also utilize replies to guide third parties to evaluate the brand, provide more in-depth information related to the topic, or repost and share information, thus making good use of the “large number” of internet users to spread the curator’s content as far as possible; as to whether the public’s acceptance is enough to create a buzz, that tests the curator’s ability to design topics.
[Online activities related to film and television, and interactive events]
Online events are now incredibly diverse, with common examples including online lectures, live streams, and mobile games. For complete strangers to a brand, participating in online events requires virtually no investment (especially free ones); they can simply click in, browse, and leave if they’re not interested. Therefore, their willingness to engage with the brand is higher than with in-person events . For curators aiming to reach a large audience and increase brand exposure, launching more online events, coupled with advertising and social media exposure, is a quick way to introduce the brand to the public.
(Image source: YouTube – Bureau of Foreign Trade “Marketing Practice Workshop”)
In-depth communication content dissemination channels: SEO, online consultation, offline events
Unlike the breadth mentioned above, digital curation focuses on establishing communication with the audience through SEO, online consultations, and offline events. While the exposure effect is not as quick and widespread as the broad approach, the advantage is that it can create a deep connection with people and prevent them from being easily forgotten. The value of the corporate brand can be effectively conveyed to the target audience, building brand trust and loyalty.
[What kind of content can establish a deep connection with the audience that emphasizes brand value?]
(Reference: A study on how to build brand relationships from the perspective of brand experience: a case study of chain coffee shops )
- The company’s tone and personality align with customers’ ” desired self-image ” and “expected life state”; for example, publishing articles on topics such as self-growth advice for those over 30.
- A company’s brand has a goal that aligns with the goals that the general public or individual customers want to achieve ; for example, a company is committed to advocating for ocean conservation and diverse family life.
- Emotional intimacy: Through content, customers feel that they understand the brand and believe that the brand understands them in the same way ; for example, Instagram continuously optimizes its algorithm to push accounts that best match the types of accounts that members follow on a daily basis.
- Authenticity and Trustworthiness: A company’s brand and products should genuinely reflect the customer’s self-assertion and personal values ; for example, the promotional videos and offline events of popular sports brands.
How to conduct “deep communication”?
(References: 2022 APEC SME Trends Monitoring Report , Eco-Green-Fair Trade Film Festival )
For example, a coffee product brand should emphasize, “We use fair trade coffee beans.” Simply promoting this through product advertising, packaging, and promotional periods is not enough to achieve a deep enough impact.
If we use the message of “fair trade coffee beans” as material to create articles on coffee bean-related issues from different perspectives, videos of the production process, experiential videos such as visiting coffee-growing areas with farmers, interactive elements, and even physical photography exhibitions, the human rights values that businesses value will be continuously emphasized and imprinted in the minds of consumers. To create in-depth communication content, we should strive to connect with diverse groups from different perspectives, tailoring the important message to specific people and situations to effectively bridge the psychological distance with the digitally curated audience.
(Image source: [One Africa, Multiple Gazes Film Festival] Image source: Taiwan Fair Trade Association)
In conclusion, digital curation serves as a guiding light for conveying values.
A good digital curation can successfully convey important information about a company’s brand to a vast number of strangers on the internet, prompting them to go from recognizing the brand to trusting it and the company.
The scope of digital curation is constantly evolving, and in the future, in addition to what we have discussed, it will certainly become more diversified with the development of technology.
However, the core of digital curation remains unchanged: “to enable information recipients to intuitively, effortlessly, and painlessly obtain information that is useful to them; and to further deduce the needs of the audience and lead them to obtain relevant and useful information.” In the process of extending information, corporate brands can continuously transform corporate values and brand concepts into dialogue materials, start dialogues with the audience, and deeply embed brand values in people’s hearts and in the market.
Further Reading:
The mindset of “digital curation”: a substitute for physical exhibitions?
Digit Spark, part of the Zhenhao Internet Media Group, integrates its six sub-brands offering data application services to provide enterprises with comprehensive and precise optimization services across five key areas: “Industry Customer Targeting,” “Performance Optimization Strategies,” “Digital Tool Integration,” “Online Voice Cultivation,” and “Brand Value Promotion.” It drives brand success through data technology.
