Progressions

Super Niche Content: The Future of Content Marketing

The future of content marketing is like a pair of pants. When you are lazy, you buy one-size-fits-all sweatpants. But do you really impress anyone with sweatpants? When you dress to impress, you get pants that are perfectly tailored and stand out. Nobody wants the one-size-fits-all marketing approach anymore. To survive in a crowded marketplace a brand needs sub-brands and super niche content to stand out.

What does super niche content mean?

Super niche content is content created for a particular audience. It’s the difference between creating content for college students and content for students at Brigham Young University. It’s a sign that you recognize what makes your audience unique and in turn, makes them more likely to respond to what you have to say.

This past summer, I interned at FanX® Salt Lake Comic Convention™ and I had an opportunity to create super niche content. We had a wide variety of celebrities attend the show, from Jeff Goldblum to David Tennant. Bryan Brandenburg, chief marketing officer and co-founder of FanX® Salt Lake Comic Convention™, asked me to help him create a series of emails targeted to specific fandoms. For example, rather than marketing to all superhero fans, he had me write two emails: one for Marvel fans and one for DC fans.

When I asked Mr. Brandenburg how he came up with the idea, he described it as a natural evolution of all the micro-targeting efforts the organization has made over the last few months. He maintained a close relationship with fans of the organization on social media and said that is the key. “It’s the finger on the pulse strategy,” he said. “I get to know the fans on a more personal level rather than as faces in a crowd. It helps me know what things they are interested in.”

When sending the emails out, we looked at our database to see what our consumers had purchased. For example, there was a greater chance that a consumer would buy a photo this year had they bought one last year as well. Using this approach, we were able to send out targeted emails. I asked Mr. Brandenburg if this approach worked. “We sold 15,000 photo ops, more than any other pop culture convention, so I’d say it worked.” He also stressed that this approach was just one of many. The whole marketing team had been using micro-targeting strategies and collectively, this strengthened the relationship the organization had with its fans and had a tremendous impact on sales.

Why use super niche marketing?

Your audience faces countless companies vying for their attention. If you are ever going to stand out, they need to know that you are talking directly to them. Done well, niche marketing can make your audience feel like they are unique and understood and also make them feel like part of a community.

Kevin Dunwell lists several benefits to niche marketing in his article How to Use Niche Marketing to Build a Business from the Ground Up. He says that niche marketing is less competitive, more affordable, creates more loyal customers and makes your audience easier to target.

Kevin Dunwell sums these benefits up best by saying, “with niche marketing, you can get more bang for your buck and save on your marketing campaigns.” Bryan Brandenburg reiterated this as well in my interview with him. “We only have so much money to market our event. We have macro-targeting strategies for all potential attendees, but micro-targeting allows us to talk to our fans directly and help move the needle.”

Super niche content is the key to standing out in an increasingly crowded market. It requires more work and research on what your audience wants but is highly rewarding. You’ll save money, create loyal customers and have more effective marketing campaigns. When I asked Mr. Brandenburg if he would keep using niche content, his response was simple: “Definitely, it works.”

Don’t just take his word for it though. Get ahead of the curve and start making super niche content to build your brand!

–

Ryan Wilson is a senior studying public relations at Brigham Young University. In the rare times when he is not busy with work or school, he enjoys learning anything and everything about movies.