I talked with Content Rules co-author Ann Handley last week about content marketing. She shared this insight:
“With businesses jumping on the Content bandwagon, they have a tremendous opportunity to do some great thing, to connect with their audiences, to be creative! But instead I usually see press releases recycled as blog posts. Or Twitter stream full of broadcast ad messages. And the like.”
Many businesses adopt a Ministry of Information approach in how they communicate with their audiences. It’s an old-school model, where approved messages are disseminated in one direction.
Social media tools are a godsend to businesses with content worth sharing and a connection worth making. Yet those tools don’t work merely as amplifiers to a Ministry of Information model. The audience is no longer captive to three broadcast networks or a “For Immediate Release” press release. Content marketing only works when the content is valued by those who receive it.
Content Rules is a great handbook to get started.
I’d love to hear any examples you have of content marketing well done or poorly done.