The Importance of Understanding Digital Content Strategies to Attract Consumer Attention

As we know, technological developments change many things, including the way businesses market their products. There are many ways for businesses to promote their products, one of which is by using digital platforms to create quality digital content.

According to a report by the Association of Indonesian Internet Service Providers (APJII), the number of internet users in Indonesia will reach more than 210 million by 2022 (MSME Empowerment Report, 2022: 52). Thanks to technological developments, businesses and MSMEs can now reach a wider audience through digital platforms such as E-commerce, search engines, and social media.

By using social media, there are various kinds of benefits that businesses can get. Based on a survey conducted by DSInnovate of 1.500 MSMEs, there are 10 main benefits experienced by MSMEs from optimizing digital platforms, including social media (MSME Empowerment Report, 2022: 51).

Source: MSME Empowerment Report 2022 (page 51)

First, 19,4% of MSMEs experienced an increase in turnover when using social media. 17,6% of MSMEs stated that social media had made their business reach or marketing wider. Not only that, 13,1% of MSMEs get many customers to new customers and ultimately lead to an increase in the number of new orders by 9,5%.

Another benefit of using social media for businesses and SMEs is the ability to access analytics tools. For example, features Insight on TikTok can show data about post views, reach, and engagement that can help businesses optimize content and improve their marketing strategy.

The results of the DSInnovate survey also show that the three most used social media by MSMEs are Instagram, Facebook and TikTok (MSME Empowerment Report, 2022: 49-50).

4 Constraints to Digitalization in Indonesia

According to data from the Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises, in 2022 there will be 65,4 million MSMEs in Indonesia (MSME Empowerment Report, 2022: 5). Even so, Indonesia has historically lagged behind other countries in terms of digital adoption or digitization.

This is also evident from a survey conducted by DSInnovate. The fact is that only 78,2% of MSMEs use social media in running their business, while 21,8% do not use it (MSME Empowerment Report, 2022: 48).

Source: MSME Empowerment Report 2022 (page 48)

Still in the same survey, 30,9% of MSMEs experience problems in digital adoption (MSME Empowerment Report, 2022: 20). The obstacles experienced by Indonesian MSMEs are a lack of financial resources, and a lack of knowledge and expertise.

The first barrier is access to finance. Many MSMEs are still struggling to obtain the necessary funds to invest in digital technology and infrastructure.

According to a report from International Finance Corporation, the lack of financing is the biggest obstacle to digitizing MSMEs in developing countries. As many as 60% of MSMEs in developing countries still lack formal credit, making it difficult for them to invest in digital technology (MSME Empowerment Report, 2022: 24).

Second, the lack of human resources with digital expertise. Many MSMEs are managed by those who may not have the necessary knowledge or skills to use digital technology. This makes it difficult for MSMEs to improve their business and compete in the market.

The next hurdle is data security and cyberthreats. According to studies from Small Business Association, 44 % of cyber attacks happen to small businesses (MSME Empowerment Report, 2022: 25). This shows that many MSMEs do not have the expertise or budget to implement security protocols that can protect their digital assets. 

Lastly, the lack of reliable digital infrastructure. Generally, MSMEs in rural areas still do not have access to the internet and adequate technological devices. In fact, reports from International Telecommunication Union states that 51% of the population in developing countries does not have access to the internet (MSME Empowerment Report, 2022: 25).

3 Reasons Why MSMEs Need to Understand Digital Content Strategies to Attract Audiences

However, business owners and MSMEs are slowly starting to use social media as a place to promote their business and sell. However, before carrying out sales activities, business actors must understand how to attract the attention of the audience brand them, including creating good and engaging digital content.

Launching from HubSpot, digital content strategy is a strategy in which you use content, be it text, images, audio, or video, to achieve your business goals. If you are successful, then the content can engage the audience in each funnel and encourage them to make a purchase.

In a report released by HubSpot it is also said that content marketing is a proven successful tool to acquire leads by 60%, increase revenue by 51%, and drive growth of new subscribers by47%.

So, it's no wonder that digital content will lead to business growth. From the above, here are three reasons why the digital content strategy needs to be of concern to business people, including MSMEs.

Helps Increase Organic Traffic to Website

Apart from being able to attract and engage your audience, content displayed on social media has a higher chance of bringing traffic to your website than paid advertisements.

Build a Brand Presence

Social media posts must contain engaging content to build and maintain an existing brand presence. It must engage your business audience if you want to retain them and turn them into customers or converts leads.

Keep Followers Engaged and Loyal 

The right step to keeping followers engaged and loyal to your brand is creating the right content. Create content that can generate numbers likes, followers, shareand comments. These metrics show that the content is seen by the audience and can ultimately build a good relationship between your business and your customers or future customers.

10 Tips for Creating Interesting Content for Digital Platforms

Business actors, including MSMEs, are expected to dominate the domestic market. One way to compete with other businesses is to promote products and services through digital platforms.

Marketing in the form of content must be attractive in order to convert audiences into customers. In addition, MSME actors must also create original, authentic, and .

By creating original and authentic content, MSME actors can build a brand that is different from competitors. So that a unique brand will be easier for the audience to remember.

Then, create content that can entertain the audience and also refresh the appearance of your business social media account so that the audience does not get bored easily. Content that can also improve engagement and brand awareness.

To that end, we'd like to outline some key tips for creating engaging digital content for your business.

Know Your Audience and Business Goals

Before businesses or MSMEs create interesting content, they must have a clear picture of their target audience. You can get answers by conducting surveys to customers via email and social media by asking them for feedback. 

In addition, when businesses or MSMEs know what they want to achieve with their content, it will be easier to create content formats and topics that support their goals. 

Start with an Attractive Visual or “Hook”.

A digital content strategy should include visual content, especially on TikTok and Instagram. According to a study, understanding of information will increase from 70% to 95% when images or visuals are present.

So, use photos, videos, cartoons, meme, or graphics to increase understanding and make content easier to remember. Whereas, hook is a sentence at the beginning that can "hook" or captivate the audience's attention. 

For example, Dear Me Beauty a beauty brands from Indonesia, makes video content on TikTok regarding a comparison of the quality of Dear Me Beauty products with competitors using oranges as the visual. Hook which is used also attracts the attention of the audience because it uses a question sentence.

Sumber: TikTok

Create Valuable Content 

Valuable content is valuable or quality content because it is useful for the target audience, informative, entertaining, interesting, even inspiring. If business people or MSMEs succeed in making it, it will most likely generate traffic (traffic), attract prospects (leads), and drive sales.

Include a Call to Action or CTA

If you already know your marketing goals, then it's easier to create call-to-action or a compelling CTA. Regardless of the format of the content, include at least one CTA to encourage your audience to take action in support of your goals.

For example, invite your audience to find out more about a product by clicking on the link you've included.

Create Challenge Content and Use Trends

Create digital content using trending songs and effects or create content challenges, then adjust it to the message you want to convey to the audience. You can create content like this on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

Garudafood has created content like this. This brand takes advantage Branded Hashtag Challenge to the TikTok audience to promote Chocolatos Drink products, with hashtagthe name is #ChocolatosBikinRelax.

apart hashtag, Garudafood also uses TikTok Branded Effects. Participants can choose to show their support of one of the flavors of the Chocolatos drink by gesturing and dancing.

Sumber: TikTok

Start Blogging

Business that owns blog get prospects or leads as much as 67%, compared to those who do not have it. By publishing blog posts, businesses and MSMEs can attract prospects, increase brand credibility and build customer loyalty.

Use the Right Tone of Voice

Is your business brand personality reflected in the content? If not, then from now on determine the voice of your business brand: Is it serious and direct, or fun and friendly?

Because, defining the branding voice of your business is an important step in developing a brand identity and differentiating from your competitors.

Optimize Digital Content for Search Engines

The next tip is to create search engine friendly digital content. Generally, create content that is unique, easy to read, and useful. Engage in keyword optimization and on pageoptimization on your business content.

Promotion

Apart from creating content, make sure that it reaches your business target audience. You can email the content to your subscriber list or upload your content links to other social media.

TikTok itself has a promotional feature that can help users turn their organic content into an advertisement. Of course, this feature helps MSMEs to: 

• Drive more visits to your business's TikTok page.
• Get more messages from potential customers.
• Promote other creators' content to help MSMEs get more of the audience they want to target.
• Target your audience by location so you can execute your campaigns effectively.

Based on a study from neurons, watching organic video content on TikTok before paid ads can increase brand recalls by 27%. This shows that promoting organic content can help the performance of your paid ads. 

Content Analysis

After uploading content on the digital platform of your choice, don't forget to do an analysis, OK? With all the data you get after analyzing, you can understand the performance of the content before and can optimize the content in the future.

There are various analysis tools for digital platforms, and social media also has its own analysis features. TikTok can notify business people or MSMEs about their content in detail, such as the amount views, likes,shares, etc.

So, now you know why digital content is so important for business. Remember that content represents a business. Create digital content with your audience's problems, needs, and wants in mind. This is because the audience is potential customers who can later develop your business.

TikTok and DSInnovate work together to release report regarding the empowerment of Indonesian MSMEs in facing the digitalization era. You can download MSME Empowerment Report 2022 HERE. Don't forget to read it!