Let's face it, quality content is hard to create and keep fresh, be it on a website or within a banner advertisement. We might all agree that a website or blog fed daily with fresh content will probably capture and keep more loyal fans than a web presence that never changes. Furthermore, content that engages visitors and creates a dialogue is even more powerful. But there are challenges and trade offs between static and dynamic advertisement content.
Let's take a look at some examples and list the pros and cons.
Examples: website pages; social media profiles; eBooks; whitepapers; ppc ads; social media ads; banner ads; videos and one-way webinars.
The eagle eyed amongst you may think that videos and webinars or rotating banners are ‘dynamic’ because they move or change over time, but each of them is really one event that doesn't change, with a beginning, middle, end and a single purpose.
PROS
Low time commitment: you create the ad once and publish it to multiple channels. The content can be repurposed and republished, but most static content just sits there and waits for people to find it.
Easy to control: people can read it or view it, but they can't change anything. In most cases, they can share or comment on it. Static ads are good for highly regulated industries in which all content must be carefully reviewed and approved.
CONS
One-time deal: good for first time visitors but bad for repeat visitors. Why would a visitor come back to your website if the content is always the same?
One-way communication: Static content is similar to a TV advertisement. There is no two-way dialogue, (with the exception of blog comments or product reviews), and even those are tightly controlled and edited.
Examples: blogs, RSS feeds, social media feeds, smart website content and emails (post-conversion content personalized for a lead), native advertising and personalized dynamic advertising.
PROS
Higher conversion rates: many studies have shown that personalized, relevant content converts at a much higher rate than static content.
Increased loyalty: studies have also shown that personalized content that changes with time and circumstance is far more likely to produce repeat visits and subscribers than static content.
Improved search visibility: Google and other search engines respond positively to fresh, dynamic content, especially content that is shared and subscribed to.
CONS
More Expensive: it takes time and effort to produce high quality blog posts on a regular basis, or to develop content strategies for multiple personas and buyer journeys.
Requires change: In most cases, moving to a dynamic content strategy involves changing from a product-centric broadcast approach to an inbound, customer-centric approach. This may be hard to swallow for senior managers and entrenched, old-school marketers.