Micro-moments: De­liv­er­ing answers when it matters

Consumers are bombarded with marketing content every day, whether via email, social media or online ad­ver­tis­ing. Even though most people vol­un­tar­i­ly spend several hours a day on their smart­phones, they’re still over­sat­u­rat­ed by this flood of content. It’s becoming in­creas­ing­ly difficult for companies to capture the attention of consumers. But this change in consumer behavior also presents an op­por­tu­ni­ty.

A growing number of people are accessing in­for­ma­tion via digital channels and search the web using their mobile devices to act on an immediate need. Companies that adapt their marketing strate­gies to meet consumer demand during these micro-moments will gain a com­pet­i­tive edge in the future.

Google coined the term micro-moments and conducted studies on the subject. It’s been a buzzword in the marketing world in recent years. But focusing on micro-moments doesn’t mean rev­o­lu­tion­iz­ing your strate­gies. It mainly means gearing your content marketing to mobile searches and the needs of customers in those moments.

Micro-moments are most important during mobile searches. These are the moments when people look up sight-seeing tips during a day trip, consult restau­rant reviews while searching for a place to eat, or search product rec­om­men­da­tions right before buying a new mattress.

In these moments, people are less critical of brand content than usual. They’re open to useful content. Companies that present content that is helpful and easy to un­der­stand in these moments will leave a positive first im­pres­sion.

You can dra­mat­i­cal­ly increase your chances of suc­cess­ful marketing by in­cor­po­rat­ing these micro-moments into your content marketing strate­gies.

A situation where customers search for specific in­for­ma­tion. For example, they want to learn more about certain treatment options right before going into the dentist’s office so they can ask specific questions during the ap­point­ment.

Sit­u­a­tions where customers search for a local business because they want to go there right now. Where’s the nearest Viet­namese restau­rant? Is there a locksmith whose open nearby right now? If your business appears promi­nent­ly in the search results, you’ll quickly capture the user’s attention and have the best chance of winning a new customer.

Sit­u­a­tions where customers seek in­struc­tions for solving an immediate problem. A customer may need help building a cabinet or may want to learn the art of net­work­ing or search for tips on how to get rid of a nasty cold.

Moments during which customers are about to make a purchase. Many consumers consult Google whilst in-store to find out whether a product is cheaper online, or they search the web directly for a product and buy it from the seller with the most per­sua­sive content. They conduct their search directly using their smart­phone or desktop.

The micro-moments described above all have one thing in common: users who need a quick answer and are making a choice within a few seconds. The business that provides the quickest and clearest answer will make a positive im­pres­sion on the user. Even if an in­ter­ac­tion doesn’t lead to a trans­ac­tion, these companies stand a better chance of con­tin­u­ing their re­la­tion­ship with the consumer when another op­por­tu­ni­ty arises.

What’s the best way to in­cor­po­rate micro-moments into your strategic thinking? Google rec­om­mends three strate­gies in its research report: Be there. Be useful. Be quick.. Here are a few helpful hints on how to apply these abstract formulas to your online marketing:

Brands need to un­der­stand their target customers or buyer personas better than ever before. Which questions do consumers ask and when? What does the consumer journey look like? You have to an­tic­i­pate micro-moments and tailor your content precisely towards these moments.

Mobile op­ti­mi­sa­tion should be the highest priority. According to Google’s research, one in three users has made a purchase from a company they didn’t know or didn’t intend to make a purchase from because of in­for­ma­tion provided during a search moment.

A strong SEO strategy ensures that users will find content tailored to micro-moments (on mobile devices). But it’s not always possible to appear in first-page search results on Google. Al­ter­na­tive­ly, paid ads can make a big dif­fer­ence, and you could adapt your social media marketing to micro-moments.

You should create content that provides relevant answers. Your content should make it clear that you un­der­stand the problems and needs of your audience.

Offer content in different formats to address different types of users. Always design your content for micro-moments. For example, you might use well-struc­tured blog posts, at­trac­tive in­fo­graph­ics or ex­plana­to­ry videos.

Micro-moments require content that gets to the point quickly. However, your site also has to meet basic technical re­quire­ments if you want to score during decision-making moments. User-friendly web design is a crucial component of this. Users need to be able to find their way around your website quickly and in­tu­itive­ly, es­pe­cial­ly on mobile devices. Otherwise, they’ll im­me­di­ate­ly switch to a com­peti­tor’s website. Twenty-nine per cent of smart­phone users will quickly abandon a company’s site if they don’t find what they need, or the site is loads too slowly.

A fourth key aspect Google mentions is the need for companies to consider the big picture. You should provide a seamless user ex­pe­ri­ence across screens and channels, and be able to measure the full impact of your strategy. Break down silos into separate dis­ci­plines. When digital and local teams work together and focus on the same KPIs, you increase the like­li­hood of achieving excellent results.

Regularly monitor the success of content formats using tools like Google Analytics and modify your strategy when you discover weak­ness­es. Don’t just optimize content, but review all aspects that are relevant to suc­cess­ful micro-moments: content, design, SEO and mobility.

Micro-moments are not a rev­o­lu­tion in content marketing. The practice of reaching consumers digitally at different touch­points and having to consider context during content creation isn’t new. Micro-moments are dis­trib­uted across the consumer journey or happen across different phases of the AIDA model.

Mobile op­ti­miza­tion has long been a standard component of any good online marketing strategy. Websites are in­creas­ing­ly designed using a mobile-first approach. And it should come as no surprise that technical, mobile SEO is becoming ever more important.

Google’s concept of four key micro-moments has raised awareness of the im­por­tance of smart­phones. It has also reminded many marketers of how quickly companies have to capture the attention of potential customers online. This means that marketers are required to pay more attention to the needs of their customers. Designing content to meet these needs should be a top priority for content marketing.

Many companies still aim for rapid lead gen­er­a­tion. They would like every piece of content to convert users directly into paying customers. But during micro-moments, the customer journey is often in its early stages, and users may not be ready to close a purchase just yet. You can win micro-moments if you have per­sua­sive content, stick to a pull strategy and trust in the strengths of inbound marketing rather than resorting to an ag­gres­sive push strategy.