Content Shmontent!
Everyone’s using the word ‘content,’ throwing it around like it’s a piece of garbage. Well, maybe it is.
There’s so much ‘content’ and everyone who authors it, believes they’ve written a masterpiece. Possibly so, but to me, ‘content’ sounds so impersonal, so harsh, so manufactured that it may be missing its intended mark.
Some firms roll-out ‘content’ for themselves or their clients like a factory trying to fill in a gap in the marketing puzzle. It’s content for the sake of doing content. And that’s their content strategy. And, the thinking that your piece of content will rise above all the noise, (I hope it does) is an illusion.
Since everyone’s putting out ‘content,’ then everyone, must think it’s working.
And that’s where I have an issue. Here are my suggestions to consider:
1. Get rid of the word ‘content’ and change it to ‘Insights.’
2. Write to ‘one person’ in mind, or to your community, rather than writing to a ‘category.’ One person’s issues can be different from the category’s problems as a whole.
3. Don’t write like you know everything, because you may not.
4. Don’t write information that’s ‘obvious.’ Write how you feel and put it in a story format.
5. Provide unique value to what you’re writing, rather than regurgitating the trade publications.
Is it time to re-evaluate ‘content’ and take a more effective slant on it than everyone else? I believe so. And, those are my insights!
Joel Cohen is the founder of CEO Stars – www.ceostars.com – a unique concept with a community of over 100 ad agency CEOs. .’
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