It’s Time to Get Serious About Content
Posted by Beth Hrusch on Fri, Mar 18, 2011
The 2011 SXSW Music and Media Conference has got everybody talking about, among other things, content. That’s good, because it should be talked about more. We in the content marketing business tend to forget that the majority of marketers out there are either not aware or just becoming aware of the importance of content.
It seems obvious to us, right? Of course people want useful information on their sites, of course they want to snag customers with enlightening and useful content! That sounds good. The trick is to walk the walk. The truth is, many companies simply do not do what it takes to effectively implement content into their marketing strategy.
This could be a deeper issue pertaining to the company mindset. It could be confusion about just where content should be in the list of priorities. Joe Pulizzi, in his 2009 book “Get Content Get Customers”, said that businesses need to “think like a publisher”. What exactly does that mean? Well, when businesses understand this concept, they will start to find success with their Internet marketing efforts.
Thinking like a publisher means that you are getting serious about content, developing a content marketing mindset. We’ve talked before about how businesses of any size can market themselves with content as effectively as the big boys, right? Well, content—and the publisher mindset—make that happen. When you start to commit yourself to creating the high-quality, value-added content that usually only comes from the big budget corporations and publishers, you are on the path to increased sales, better ROI and better visibility to consumers.
There is much to be said about how to achieve these goals. If you are just starting out, one of the best things you can do is educate yourself about content marketing. Find out what it is (and isn’t) from thought leaders. Junta42 has a list of top content marketing blogs that makes it easy to find and join the conversations.
Get a feel for why so many marketers are going with content these days. Download Joe’s book. It will help you understand why traditional marketers have been reluctant to step away from interruptive methods and embrace content creation as a viable marketing tool, and why they need to adjust to the new way that consumers make purchasing decisions.
The good news for businesses that aren’t already set in their ways—if you start out as a content marketer, you won’t have to change your mindset! It will already be exactly where it belongs.
So, are you ready to get serious about content?