Content Marketing and the Creative Advantage
Posted by Beth Hrusch on Tue, Jun 08, 2010
I read an article the other day that caught my attention. It was titled "Why Artists and Creatives Have an Unfair Advantage at Internet Marketing". Now, when was the last time you heard someone say that creative people had any kind of advantage in the business world? Usually they are relegated to the low end of the totem pole, put to work doing graphic design for the brochures or drawing pretty pictures for the marketing campaign.
The author, Mark McGuinness, has a site that focuses on creative people in marketing, and it's an interesting topic. From the days when we were told to "stop daydreaming and get to work", we've been under the impression that creativity is impractical and that we'd never be able to make a living from it. So, how can it be that creatives have an actual advantage in the quite practical field of Internet marketing?
Well, the long and short of it is this-- in content marketing, the key to selling is to not make it seem as if you are selling. The days of the blatant pitch are maybe not gone, but fading fast. Who is best suited to writing in such a way that the copy doesn't seem like marketing copy? It takes a creative mind and artistic talent to turn marketing content into content that is interesting to read, engaging for consumers and even entertaining enough to hold their interest.
I think Mark put it in a nutshell when he said "The less your media content looks like advertising, the more effective it will be as advertising". I could not have said it better myself. In fact, I wish I'd said it first, though I have hinted at it.
Creative people don't already have a mindset of sell, sell, sell. They don't need to reprogram themselves the way that traditional marketers do-- you know, going from sell, sell, sell to engage, inform, entertain. These poor guys and gals don't know what to do when confronted with content marketing, because they aren't equipped to be subtle, to build relationships through engagement. They have been taught to push.
But, creative people are so equipped, inherently. Do you love to write? Illustrate? Compose poetry? Can you tell stories and are willing to share your own experiences with others? Check out the suggestions in this article for using your natural creative and artistic talents in the field of Internet marketing, and content marketing in particular. Content marketing lends itself to creativity, and people are making money doing it.
Like any business, building your creative empire takes time. But then again, everything worthwhile does.