In content marketing, it is claimed, “content is king”. I’m not sure about the monarchical turn of phrase but that’s what they say. It is still news to many website owners who believe the technical challenges of design and site maintenance are more important. This means they often undervalue the content on their site. Content has to be the site owner’s first responsibility as it is likely their designer will have no idea what the owner hopes to achieve through their site. Of course the designer should discuss this with the owner but many are “techies” and have no idea. There are many wrong ways to approach content.
Is content really the most important thing? Well, yes although it does depend on which content you mean. If you have followed this sequence, you may remember the product launch sequence must include high quality content. This means content of real value. The reader or video watcher should be able to do something useful with the content and not find they are missing vital information. This is marketing based upon generosity. The idea is people are more likely to buy if they are grateful for the free content. And this works if what they buy is of equal or greater value. Perhaps it is easier to produce great value than it ever has been but it still requires hard work.
Conversion depends upon good content. If people arrive at your site and find it is full of high quality information, they are more likely to buy your products. This seems to apply just as much to information products as it does to products that arrive by post. So, someone who sells jewellery might blog about how they make it, the origins of the materials they use, the history of particular pieces, etc. Readers might buy out of gratitude for the stories and information they read. They can be encouraged to subscribe and so be invited to return to the site when you post something that interests them.
So, what benefits are there in providing high quality content? Well
- it shows you and your website are competent and able to deliver
- people are likely to return to your website if they trust its content
- they are more likely to sign up and comment, providing helpful feedback
- they may wish to reciprocate for the value they’ve drawn from your site by, for example, making a purchase or passing your url to friends
The aim of all of this activity is to build a tribe. That’s the usual term used although I would prefer community. Tribe to me implies conversations between a chief and various members of the tribe. Community implies a space where people can share with one another. These are the people who will help you design your online content, market it and purchase it.
One interesting emerging thought is much content marketing lacks one essential for building community online. The technical stuff is all in place but it seems one thing is lacking. Any ideas? Let me know what you think it may be. I’ll tell you next Tuesday.
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