One of my favorite sites is eMarketer. They are alway sharing interesting data regarding consumers and how they use content. Not all of the insight is mentioned as the main focus of each article.
A recent article – For Tablet Users, Video Trumps All Other Content Types – focused on how tablet users like consuming video over other types of content. What I found interesting was how much tablet users are seeking local news content.
For me this means there is opportunity for local businesses.
The Opportunity for Local Business to Win with Content
There is no doubt tablet users are focusing on watching video. That makes sense. It’s still awkward, in my opinion, to browse the Web and even browse apps that offer other types of content. I enjoy watching video on tablets even more than I enjoy watching video on my phone. I tend to actually read more on my phone.
But we’re talking about tablets right now and written content.
Look at the other results on the survey. You have weather information, local news, and even sports information. The second is obvious local and the other two could be thrown into that category as well.
People that are using tablets are looking for information that has an effect on their local life. I’m not sure why this is so, but there has been a shift for a more local world in the last few years. Some folks are focusing more on homegrown products like farmers markets and the like. People are more local focused on some areas of life. That might be it or maybe the tablet has a more mobile feeling than a desktop. It would be interesting to learn what content people prefer on their mobile devices.
Whatever the reason is there is obviously a focus on local content for those people using tablets.
What is your business doing to attract this attention and earn more business in your area?
If you have a restaurant you could focus on creating content that attracts more customers. This could even be video content. Depending on the restaurant you could write a series of articles about the locally raised beer you have on the menu or other local produce used in the dishes. You could write about collaborations you have with other local businesses.
Maybe you have a theater that offers plays. You could do a series of interviews with the cast that earns the interest of people looking for something to do on the weekends. You could position your company as something unique and interesting. People are looking for it. Why not offer it with content?
People are looking for content regarding the local news. In order to earn the attention of the people you have to make the news in your area. You can be covered by the local news sources or you could become a news source yourself with something like a blog.
Consider the People Using Tablets Today and Tomorrow
One last point to make is that the channel will always change. Today some people are using tablets. Tomorrow it might be something different. Focus on your target customers and the channels they prefer. Follow the customer and you’ll be led to the correct channel to focus on. Just because people using tablets are focusing on local content doesn’t mean you need to build content for tablets.
Consider the people using tablets. If those people align with your target customer then a plan might be available. There is opportunity here for a content strategy.
How will your business react?