Experience Matters

If Content is King… Context is the Kingdom…

These days there is a lot of discussion about “Content is King.”The digitization of content is well underway - from huge databases to books, from brand information to commerce catalogs, blogs, video and all forms of research content. Publishers, brands, agencies and even Hollywood are waxing philosophical about story telling. They’re developing engaging content. Shooting web videos. And they’re inviting more and more user generated content into the equation.  But what’s still missing is content with deeper context.If in fact content is king, then context is the kingdom. Context is where the value comes. It’s where rational meets emotional and starts to drive the engagement we all desire.  Context provides meaning. And that meaning is extremely valuable. Probably more valuable than the content, in fact.Here’s a simple example:  Two people comment on or rate a product. One owns the product. The other has only read about the product.  Identical content.  But which is more valuable?  Obviously the relationship of the commenter to the product provides immense context. That’s why reviews from eBags for example are more valuable to me than those from Amazon. You see eBags invites purchasers to review their purchase after using it, while Amazon allows anyone to review the product.That’s also why reputation management tools become far more important as we embrace social media and social shopping. Take eBay as another example. The star ratings on eBay provide context to the transaction. Five identical items listed on eBay will sell at different prices because the star ratings provide context. An item from a new eBayer has a high likelihood of selling for less than one from an experienced seller. We value an experienced eBayer that others have rated time and again as a great eBayer. And that context provides value.Context is equally important as we’re browsing retail sites. In-store retailers do a great job of showcasing products in-context. Fine china and stemware is showcased in table settings with flowers. The usage scenario provides emotional context to the product. Remove that context and the product value is diminished. It’s a plate rather than the holiday setting you desire to impress your guests. We recently did some work for a commerce client and showcased products in context and alone. Guess where conversion improved?  Yep, context drives conversion.  And average order size.  We worked on another retail client a few years ago.  Customers were looking for context in photographs - show me the inside of a refrigerator with a gallon of milk in place, for example.  Or help me find faucets that are appropriate for a Victorian-era home.  Those are “buying” questions and show the power of context in helping to drive action.Where do you start?  Make sure that your content initiatives bring context as well.

• Guided navigation is probably the best example of extracting objective context from content. 
• Don’t forget about subjective context.  Think about the digital camera shopper.  They may need context for beginners versus advanced users.  Beginners want to know which cameras are great for snapshots.  Advanced users are more interested in megapixels.  So think about exposing usage context in attributes.
• In social media work, enable community ratings to build a reputation for the posters. The best forums allow this feature. It builds credibility and drives deeper engagement in the community.
• In product merchandising experiences, think about context in how the product is presented. Position it next to an item of known size. Make dimensions more apparent.   Show full selections of products in context and enable customers to add multiple items to their carts that “go together.”
• Finally, add context to existing content before you go off and create new content.   Customers today are overwhelmed by choices.  Context helps them simplify those choices and move toward a decision.

Context is critical to shifting behavior from the physical to the digital channels.  It’s important to delivering a more rewarding experience.  Let us know your ideas on how you’ve seen context improve engagement and business results.