Paving the route is a successful solution for content marketing

Louise Smith

Event Manager, IRX

A new content marketing solution is helping to showcase the behind the scenes workings of one of the UK’s largest online supermarkets.

“It’s a B2B proposition, but not just any B2B proposition”. Yolanda Valery says as she introduces her role as Head of Digital Engagement at Ocado Group. Yolanda and her team are tasked with sharing the relatively unknown story of the behind-the-scenes technical advances that power Ocado and enable the company to fulfil the grocery orders of their clients’ customers.

This is not an easy task as Yolanda explains: “One of the challenges we face is that most people know us as an online supermarket. It’s my job to make people aware of an entirely separate side of the business, which is essentially a tech solution business.”

Ocado Technology is home to a team of technology and engineering experts who have been innovating for over 20 years, designing ways to maximise the efficiency of the entire grocery delivery process. The in-house solutions include cutting-edge robotics research and the creation of an end-to-end e-commerce, fulfilment and logistics platform. 

It’s the role of Yolanda and her team to share this story with their wide-ranging audience – partners, investors, as well as employees and potential new recruits. She explains: “Our behind-the-scenes operation is truly ground-breaking – I need to be able to communicate the wow factor to our key audience and build the reputation of Ocado as a leading tech solution provider.”

Audiences will turn off from any content which isn’t genuine.

Paving the way

The question is – how? “The PAVE approach is a combination of everything I’ve learnt as a journalist combined with everything I’m learning now in my new career. We call it PAVE, it does what it says on the tin: it paves the way to great content. If you want to put something out there which secures the right attention and stands out in a crowded marketplace, these are the four things you need to consider.”

PAVE: Purpose, Audience, Value, Execution:

• Audience – this sits at the heart of the approach and should be the first element considered. Understand who your audience is, everything else stems from that.
• Value – what value will the audience receive from the piece? If you don’t provide value, it’s a waste of time and resources and much harder to determine the ROI.
• Purpose – what’s the reason behind the piece of content, what does the company want to achieve?
• Execution – what platforms will you use for your content?

Importance of authentic content

Yolanda’s step by step approach helps to determine what makes a businesses’ story distinctive and, crucially, provides a reason for the end-user to engage. Audiences will turn off from any content which isn’t genuine. Authenticity is the watchword here, particularly in this post-COVID world, as Yolanda explains. “What the pandemic taught us was the importance of humanity in the world of business: you’re not talking as one faceless corporation to another.

“At the heart of content marketing is a human being who is – hopefully – engaging with your content. How can I add value to this person’s experience of our company? is the question that should be at the forefront of any piece of communication.”

As Yolanda concludes: “There’s no room in this world for vanilla communications.”