Create a Progressive Content Experience with Content Scheduling
A storyteller gives his audience plenty of information. He tells them of the beginning, the characters, their challenges and their resolution. But he doesn’t do it all at once. He starts in one place and slowly reveals more information as he advances through the story, adding to the knowledge he’s already provided. In the process, he doesn’t just create suspense; he also creates anticipation. By unfolding his story at the right pace and by releasing the right details at the right time, he builds an experience.

Content scheduling gives marketers the same opportunity to turn a message into a story, a tale that’s anticipated, enjoyed and remembered. Instead of giving audiences access to all of the information available at the same time — and hoping that they interact with it — they supply information only at the moment audiences need it most. That maximizes the chances of the content being read, watched or used.

To schedule content successfully, brands — like storytellers — have to know where their audiences are at any moment in the narrative as well as who they are, what they need to know, what they expect and where to find them. There are a number of ways for brands to track and respond to their audiences, but two are particularly common.

Calendars and Touchpoints

Time-sensitive content can be scheduled according to a calendar. Clalit, an ASTELO client and Israel’s leading HMO in digital innovation, offers expectant mothers an app called “40 Weeks.” The app tells pregnant women what’s happening in their bodies and shows them how the fetus is developing. Videos guide the women through each week of the pregnancy and explain the medical tests the HMO recommends that they take. The app even connects to and syncs with the mother’s medical file so that she can keep all her test results in one place. Expectant mothers can enjoy free online consultations with doctors, receive daily tips and the app even lets users take photos to keep a progressive album of their pregnancies. It’s a great example of content that audiences actually look forward to receiving and interacting with.

Content can also be delivered based on the touchpoints people have reached on their customer journey. We worked with a European direct insurance company to deliver targeted content based on their clients’ status in the CRM. Depending on the client’s activity and progress, we automated the delivery of specific emails, newsletters, autoresponders, videos and tutorials. One campaign gave clients a special savings plan but we told customers about it just before they received their annual bonus. By scheduling that information for the moment they most needed it, we made it relevant and engaging.

A good story doesn’t just have conflict and characters. It also has pace and inspires curiosity; we want to know what happens next. That comes with timing. When a content marketer emulates a storyteller and plans to release the right information at the right time, the result is usually a happy ending.

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