I just read a Content Marketing article which discussed whether Content Marketing needs to be rebranded now that it's been a buzz term in the industry for a handful of years. For those of you that know me, I absolutely loathe forced marketing lingo. I'd like to think that many people see right through it, but maybe I'm overestimating the “BS” meter than people are born with.
With that said, imagine ourselves in a professional situation. Let's assume we’re colleagues and we've come across one another at various events and we have a cordial professional relationship. At an industry event, I turn to you and say,”What are your thoughts on leveraging a synergistic approach to acquiring palliative hydration?” Translation: “Do you want to go grab a beer with me?” Of course, you wouldn't want to get a beer with me, because I've just outed myself as a giant arse.
For some reason, I feel that marketers are constantly trying to reinvent the wheel. I get it. Our job is trying to sell things, but whether we're trying to sell something to fellow marketers or the general public, a certain level of honesty needs to be involved. This notion is especially true in the case of content marketing.
Content marketing is pretty simple. Employ a value based entity with the desired outcome of positive absorption (Non- jargon translation: Write stuff that people want to read that provides them with value). Google has figured this out. Organic rankings are no longer filled with fluff results from SEO's overstuffing keywords and manipulating the latest algorithms. Sure, there is still an art to SEO, but organic rankings are now based on Google's machine-based algorithms, aka robots, who ignore all the cheesy jargon.
And while we are on the topic of cheese, let's talk about a real life example. If you're a brand that wants to sell more cheese, try positioning yourself as the ultimate authority on cheese. Answer all of the questions people have about cheese in a useful and valuable manner. Google will see you as being a purveyor of valuable content. People will start thinking of you as an authority on cheese and they'll trust your brand more than the brand that just tells you that their cheese is the best, and then talks about how great their founders are. If you don't tell them which kind of cheese pairs best with Pinot Noir, somebody else will.
What it comes down to, is that agency folks need to be honest with brands. Content about mission statements or awards is not what converts. People are generally not interested in anything aside from what they're typing into a search engine at that specific moment. Be their buddy and give them an answer they'll feel good about. Do your research to figure out what people are looking for. You just might be rewarded with free organic traffic for years to come.
