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Nowadays, when people talk about community outreach, digital tools like social media and targeted ads often come to mind. However, there is just no substitute for carefully-planned and well-executed live events. That’s why Population Services International (PSI) chose to organise community events for Bloom, the non-profit’s campaign to raise awareness about non-communicable diseases (NCD) among Cambodian women.

As a social behaviour change (SBC) campaign, Bloom was designed to inform women in Cambodia about the dangers of hypertension and Type 2 diabetes and provide specific strategies to mitigate the risks of these NCDs. The importance of regular exercise and improving diets by cutting out salt and sugar intake were key messages of the Bloom campaign.

PSI, along with partner Brains Communication, settled on community events in these areas because, despite the massive increase in connectivity in Cambodia, there remain communities and individuals that lack resources like smartphones and internet access. So, in order to reach the campaign’s target audience of women aged 30-45 with children, in-person events were organised for women and their families. These live community events will be held in the provinces of Battambang, Kampong Cham and the capital, Phnom Penh, were all organised.

At the heart of the campaign, and these community events, is educating people about the shocking realities of NCDs. However, organisers realised that fun and engaging activities are some of the best ways to teach about subjects and ensure that participants retain this knowledge. To this end, each event was developed with edutainment in mind, consisting of games and activities that will appeal to women as well as their children and families, helping increase the long-term effectiveness of the Bloom campaign.

Organisers also understood that flexibility is important when it comes to live events. The events are scheduled to last between two and four hours, depending on the number of attendees. There were also a number of “overflow” games and activities that can be incorporated into the schedule depending on when and how many participants attend. Finally, all promotional and communication materials have been developed in line with Bloom’s existing branding, so that everyone is able to follow up with the campaign down the road if they want to tell friends or family about the importance of behaviour change in preventing hypertension and Type 2 diabetes.

Bloom’s live community events have been crafted to reach some of the people so often left out of the conversation. By getting out into the communities, speaking with residents and offering them fun and engaging activities based around NCD education, PSI continues to put the health of Cambodian families front and centre.

Check out our work with PSI Cambodia

Social media has evolved into a powerful tool for engaging with people and promoting your business in the ever-changing world of digital marketing. With so many content formats and platforms available, determining which strategy is best for your business may take time and effort. Let's look at some suggestions and techniques to help everyone discover the "maybe closest to perfection" content type for your audience on social media platforms.

First, define Your Goals and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Let's start with the acronym (S.M.A.R.T.) Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound objectives for content development should be defined here. To discover preferences and tactics, research your target audience and competition using methods such as surveys, interviews, and analytics. Analyze the content formats and platforms of competitors to find market gaps and opportunities.

Let’s try out different kinds of content formats and platforms.

Once you've determined your goals and target audience, it's time to play around with various content formats and platforms. Social media provides several alternatives, such as written articles, videos, voice chat, user-generated material, etc. Each format has its advantages and disadvantages, so while making your selection, always keep your goals, target audience, and budget in mind. Here are some of the content formats for your consideration:

• Written articles in posts or blogs

Written content, such as blog posts and articles, is an age-old method to show off your knowledge and build trust. Blogs provide a forum for readers to discover new things and feel connected or motivated. This method is pretty cheap to create, but it takes imagination to come up with new concepts and can be time-consuming. Consider the length of the content as well as the platforms where it will have the most significant impact, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, or Blog Page on your website.

• Short-form and long-form videos

From the latest trends nowadays, you should consider growing your business marketing with short video content, such as those offered by TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, which are extremely popular and provide an excellent return on investment (ROI). They quickly catch attention and are easily shared. Long-form videos, which are popular on YouTube and live-streaming sites like Twitch, allow for in-depth engagement/information and conversation with your audience.

• Understanding user-generated content

User-generated content (UGC) is an effective technique to highlight real-life interactions with your company. Encourage your customers to create and post content promoting/reviewing your products or services on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. People frequently rely on referrals from friends and family when making purchase decisions, therefore UGC increases trust and authenticity.

• Educating your customers by extending their beneficial knowledge

Infographics, videos, and text-based blogs are all examples of this content. Share your knowledge and support your audience by connecting their objectives and resolving their challenges with your product or service. For example, if you offer shoe odor remover, attempt to develop a short video instructing customers how to properly wash their shoes and connecting the procedure with the usefulness of your product.

• Always observe the jumping trends or any funny-related content

GenZ enjoys creating and sharing content/memes from the internet. Using this advantage, developing humorous, trendy, and relatable information will assist you in remaining up-to-date and engaging with your audience. Use viral memes, popular hashtags, and cultural events to produce viral content. Consumers find funny content to be highly memorable, and relatable information to be particularly relevant to their own experiences.

Last but not least…

Always strive for the finest possible quality of pictures, artwork, or video. These elements are crucial on social media platforms because they attract people and captivate their attention. High-quality materials are aesthetically appealing and may increase interaction, whether they are presenting your products or sharing a trendy meme linked to your brand.

Conclusion

Once you understand the customer, you will be able to assist them merge with your brand for a greater purpose and fully differentiate yourself from your competitors. Keep an eye on what works and what doesn't. Your audience is intelligent and evolving; they have plenty of sites to read and obtain information from across different platforms, thus it is critical that you experiment on a regular basis to keep your audience interested in your brand.

References: Which Content Formats Work for Your Audience? How do you find the best content format and platform for your audience? Learn How to Create Social Media Content with a Social Content Plan, The Most Effective Types of Content on Social Media [New Data]

See how we applied different content formats for our partners

We are pleased to announce the release of the current issue of Focus Cambodia magazine. The new edition will mix the publication's well-known business and financial material with the greatest elements of Discover magazine, our yearly travel and lifestyle guide. This reinvented publication will serve as the definitive guide to the Kingdom of Wonder, with information on who to know and where to go around the kingdom. Focus Cambodia will be published in early 2024 and will feature exclusive interviews, unique photography, and world-class design.

Once updated on a regular basis, the website and its social media channels will become a valuable resource for current information in text, video, and photo forms.

Get in touch to learn more about Focus Cambodia 2024.
📧d.marchette@globemediaasia.com
🌐focus-cambodia.com
Who says print is dead? Is it really a powerful marketing tool? Read more here

Let’s face it. An important part of every marketing strategy is pointing out the ways that your product or service is better than the competition. But this doesn’t mean that you have to turn negative or attack other companies for their shortcomings. A better strategy is to highlight some of your product’s positive elements, using the juxtaposition against competitors to shine a light on areas where their products lack. 

Known as de-positioning, this is a great way to reach your target audiences and let them form their own conclusions about why they should go with your brand instead of the alternatives. At the centre of any good de-positioning campaign are two key elements: desires and pain-points. A desire, unsurprisingly, refers to a want or need that a consumer has that can be met by your product or service. A pain-point, on the other hand, is a problem or issue that a customer needs remedied, with your product or service providing a solution. 

There are a couple real-world examples that can demonstrate just how effective de-positioning can be. Let’s start with Apple. During the company’s “Get a Mac” campaign, Apple made being a “Mac” a personal identity, making competitors look tired and out of touch in comparison. In the first year of the campaign, Apple saw a 39% bump in sales. More recently, in the wake of controversy over Google and Amazon violating customer privacy to train voice assistant algorithms, Apple positioned itself as a “Guardian of Privacy.” They continue to leverage this position and promote a brand story about designing privacy into every Apple product and feature from the beginning of development.

But de-positioning isn’t just relegated to the world of tech. Take for example, Chobani, the wildly popular yoghurt brand. Company founder Hamdi Ulukaya credits the brand’s massive success to a single decision – selling the product in the dairy aisle, not the speciality food section. This simple, yet ingenious, strategy allowed the company to de-position other yoghurt brands that Ulukaya felt were “disgusting, sugary and watery.” But rather than any kind of overt attack on competitors’ quality, Ulukaya let his yoghurt speak for itself. 

By positioning Chobani as more than just another yoghurt brand, while simultaneously placing it alongside competitors, Ukulaya was able to outshine larger brands in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) field and find success. The brand beat the 70%-90% failure rate in the CPG industry and was able to eventually capture 20% of the U.S. yoghurt market. In the years since, Chobani has continued to expand its presence in the dairy aisle, grow its portfolio of high-quality products and compete in a crowded and competitive market. 

These are just two examples of the power of de-positioning as a marketing strategy and the importance of authenticity and simplicity in this tactic. This approach to branding is about creating a strong association between a desire or pain-point your customer is experiencing and your product’s ability to deliver a solution.  To this end, any effective de-positioning campaign must focus on embodying a singular idea within consumers’ minds that places your brand as the first and best solution. In short, de-positioning is about letting your product speak for itself and standing out from the crowd. 

For more information about de-positioning, branding strategies and the world of marketing, check out Brains Communication.