The coronavirus pandemic has forced people to figure out creative ways to stay entertained and connected while staying apart. It has increased the time spent online exponentially. There is a continuous upload of content across digital channels on a daily basis, as an increasing number of brands attempt to engage with their customers. This has reduced the attention span of consumers, making it difficult for them to retain and recall information. It has also made it difficult for brands to reach their target audience. Most brands have resorted to blindly churning out content on trending topics just to make their presence felt. But this is not the right approach. The only way a brand can connect with its audience today is through contextual content.

What is contextual content?

Contextual content is about ‘reading the room’. It’s all about gauging the current mood and setting of the audience, and providing them what they need and when they need it Click To TweetHere are five brands that managed to do just that:

Asian Paints

Watering the plants, trying one’s hand at cooking, watching a child crawl. There are many such little moments of happiness that people take for granted as they go about their busy lives. The brand shined a positive light on staying home by focusing on these little joys that people now have the opportunity to experience within the safety of their homes.

Amul

The Amul girl has for many decades been the dairy major’s signature approach to engage in topical conversations. The image post of the Amul Girl shows her support for the country and the Indian Army with a tongue-in-cheek message during the Doklam dispute.

MG Motor

Fathers are known for many things; characteristics such as love and discipline being some of them. On Father’s Day, MG Motor created this tribute to the father and innovator of the brand – Cecil Kimber. The video follows the story of Kimber and his contributions that made the brand what it is today.

Salesforce

With remote working becoming the norm, the overall mood of people began to revolve around boredom, connectivity issues, and long-term impact on their mental health. Salesforce, the leading enterprise software company, addressed these issues with tips to stay productive while working from home.

Tata AIG

At a time when very little was known about the virus and even less about the required health and safety measures, Tata AIG came up with this comprehensive, easy-to-follow infographic on how to protect yourself and your family. The health insurance company created content that was relevant and helpful to its consumers; it integrated the brand by highlighting the importance of having health insurance.

The impact of contextual content

These examples only reiterate the fact that you can build strong engagement with content that is smartly placed in your brand’s context. However time-bound the relevance may be, developing contextual content will always have a huge impact on your audience and help to build a deeper connect with them.

Updated on 8th July 2020