Long live the Content King?

I am a bit tired of writing a series so the next number of weeks on Business Wednesday I will be just topic writing. Unless I come up with an idea for a series, but that is not likely since they are a bit draining.

In a past post, I have written about Social Media Marketing based off of two articles I had read. The thoughts and opinions I have about Social Media Marketing (SMM) has not changed since then, but after looking back at the article I more so was in agreement with the two writers than actually stating my view points on SMM.

As much as it would be enjoyable to ramble on about my each specific view on SMM, I will be focusing on only one part of it: the content.

"Content is King."

Anyone else hear that overused phrase? It can be seen on a ton of marketing websites, has been used in many lectures, it pops up in the latest marketing textbooks and has turned itself into a cliché . Now having stated that the phrase itself is a cliché does not mean it is not true, right?

After reading multiple articles that much more experienced marketing professionals have written whom I follow on Twitter or receive their newsletter have stated that you should never use the phrase "Content is King" in your blog because it has become passé.  As much respect as I have for these people and as much as I agree that the phrase itself is overused, I believe we miss the heart of the phrase.

Content is key, but king is a too self-important word to use. Content is important but there are other factors that are also just as important like site construction, the graphic design of the site and the actual product/service that is being promoted. Each have equal importance, but let's get back on the topic of content.

So if content isn't king, then why is it important?

I have three general overarching points that explain why it is so key:

1. Informational

Content gives information. Simple, I know but it's a fact. Whether discussing content in the sense on Social Media or websites, it is there to give out information answering the basic questions of who, what, when, where, why and how. Where some of the difficulty comes into play is to avoid rambling. I know I am guilty with that in my blogs and need to take my own advice, but it is true. If there is anything that seems too long then people won't read it. It does not need an over abundance of verbiage, but a just enough to have your information come across well.

2. Emotional Connection

Writing evokes feeling, content should not be any different. This emotion should lead to inciting incidents, which leads to people taking actions. At this moment content should be able to be used to form a connection with users. Having interactive posts and actually replying to users can do this. Now the difficulty comes to play when a company sends out canned responses or posts. I can understand the consistency of these posts, but they can come off as insincere. With that insincere tone or perception, it can make it difficult to connect emotionally with the user because it is not helping personify the product/service. 

3. Endless Possibilities

This is undeniably vague and almost too general of a point, but it is true. The way content is being distributed is constantly changing and new sites are being created that are also changing the game. I love this about Social Media Marketing because of the constant change! It is enforcing the idea of looking for unique perspectives and can only urge for more progressive ways in the future. This is why I believe that as we move in this direction, marketing will be much more interactive, even more so than it already is.

Content is not king, but is important because it is informational, it builds an emotional connection and leads to endless possibilities. No matter how much you fight this change, this change is here and adaptation is key!