Is Content Still King?

First of all, I want to thank everyone for all your wonderful comments, please keep them coming I love the feedback 🙂 Anyhow, I wanted to touch on a subject that’s been talked about for decades now. We’ve all heard the adage saying that “Content is King” that mantra has never been more fitting as it is today. We live in the information age and we’re literally inundated with information all around us so much so that Data Mining has become a new industry. So if you want to get your customers attention you have to provide the content that’s relevant, appropriate and most of all useful. I was surprised to find an article on the subject written by Bill Gates back in 1996 yes 1996, you can find the article @ craigbailey.net titled Content is King – Bill Gates, fast forward almost two decades later and that mantra still hold true, well sort of.
Let me explain, the debate among marketers about whether the idea of just having content on a blog, website, Landing page has long been over. The reality is in today’s hyperactive and hypersensitive digital landscape people are overwhelmed with content, in today’s world the content has to be invigorating, substantive and engaging in order to get the attention of the audience. In addition to the content, the information has to meet the needs in every aspect of a content strategy, including tone, style, timing, and relevance.
In today’s marketplace Context is King not content. Today most customers find out about a product or brand offline, whether it’s through search or display ads. For longer sales cycles, email, social, and search appear in the middle of the sales process. Which leads to the major reason why direct traffic frequently closes sales, it’s because at this point the customer is comfortable with the company or brand and goes directly to the website. However, the key is to ensure the messages are delivered precisely when the customer needs or wants it.
Although it’s still important for companies and entrepreneurs to produce relevant and great content, it’s more important for it to be delivered at the right place and right time, in order to rise above the noise.
So what are the keys to success?
Be aware that in today’s marketplace customer are using multiple devices to access content about your brand and company, to ensure the content is suitable for multiple devices i.e. ensuring your website is responsive (Great blog on optimizing your website).
They’re a multitude of Channels, where the customer finds content. i.e. YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, website, etc. The key is making sure you have the right content at the right place at the right time.
In today’s marketplace context is made possible by remarketing and marketing automation technologies (10 automation companies to watch).
Relevant content whether it’s videos, text, social posts, ads, etc., make content that’s relevant to your audience.
In today’s marketplace companies, entrepreneurs, and business owners need to be aware that customers can now talk back to you or talk about you to other customers so it’s important to listen to what they have to say and engage them wherever they are.