There seems to be a growing concern that the importance of content will wane because technology now enables everyone to be a content creator, and consequently, that there will be too much content for any particular piece to be noticed. While the situation is certainly changing fast and will remain very fluid, it is doubtful that we are moving to a reduced role for content. Here are six reasons why:
- More content is actually a good sign.
The proliferation of content creation actually indicates that there is a profound interest in content, so much so that everyone wants to produce some. This may be disturbing for those who have had a substantial lock on content creation and distribution, but it bodes well for the future of content overall. Yes, the quality can vary but… - The cream rises to the top.
We came from a world where mass communications were long monopolized by organizations that had the power to hire the best talent for advertising, for movies, for broadcast shows, etc. , so we are all used to rather high production values. It’s true that the public is now much more accepting of lower quality productions, but everyone knows professional quality when they see it. The elite of the communications world will be there to show what the cutting edge looks like: Superbowl ads, campaigns from Fortune 500’s , etc. But, as more people express themselves through home-grown content creation, the realization that really good content is not that easy to come-up with will only grow. Professional content producers will be able to differentiate their work. Sure, there is still a lot of content out there but… - Data filtering is better and data absorption is higher than ever.
It’s a truism that people spend a lot of time absorbing data in this information-rich world. There are more opportunities to view data from the omnipresence of TV screens to the ubiquity of portable data viewing and sharing devices. Also, the content is conveniently scaled up or down for consumption in different circumstances which maximizes absorption. Look at the ticker tape news displays that summarize entire stories in a single line. Absorbing data efficiently is a necessary skill in order to produce value in the modern economy. So, while it is true that there is a lot of content to go around, people consume a tremendous amount more too and they are getting clever at keeping only what they want, and what they want is content they like. - Brand equity is powerful and it is built with relevant, quality content.
In the long tail universe, it may be more difficult for content to get noticed, but content associated with a powerful brand is still going to get more traction. This means that building a strong brand which comes with the right, desirable associations in the mind of its target audience will require original, relevant, and well communicated messaging and content. - Marketing is getting automated which leaves content as a key success factor.
This may not be very good news to some experts in the marketing field but much of the marketing expertise that today consists in making sure that content gets seen (SEO, SEM, PPC, etc) is going to become increasingly automated. Marketing software will invariably continue to integrate the best marketing practices into increasingly sophisticated packages. When the dissemination process requires less and less expert human intervention, what remains is the importance of the content itself. - More targeting opportunities imply a greater need for specific content.
Look at Social Media. It is yet another tool that will allow marketers to target very specific groups. The fact that LinkedIn now allows firms to send promotional messages to LinkedIn Groups (just after removing the visibility of members’ email addresses “for privacy reasons”) is just the tip of the iceberg of their monetization efforts. Such targeted channels will soon be part of drag-and-drop, design-your-own-campaign software tools, or at least be offered as part of a package by savvy marketing firms. In a world of vast targeting opportunities, generating attractive content for the chosen target segment will be a key expertise.
All this points to the fact that employment opportunities for skilled copywriters, technical writers, graphic artists, 3D animators, video producers, music producers, should be there – as long as the economy rebounds…
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Tags: content marketing