There has never been a better time to take the stage as a brand and share content with our audience. Every night can be open mic night.
Yet the rise of content marketing has created an avalanche of really generic branded content. There is still a far greater emphasis of quantity over quality. Much of it reads the same, as if it could be from any brand, starting with the same formulaic top 10 lists. Worst of all, much of it seems clearly created for the benefit of the brand rather than the audience.
And while our audiences are more accessible than ever before, it is easier than ever for our audiences to tune us right out.
I like this assessment from Sam Slaughter at Contently:
“So if the most clichéd of media pronouncements is in fact true and content is truly king, then nascent and unchecked content marketing risks being labeled the joker, endlessly performing the same knock-knock gags and cat listicles to the general opprobrium of the court while beautifully crafted yet ineffective banner ad campaigns remain the coin of the realm … One of its central problems is that the term “content” is so ill-defined that anyone with a keyword generator and seventh-grade English can claim to be a content creator without challenge.”
Publishing is a privilege. Just because we have a soapbox doesn’t mean there will be an audience to listen to us. Content marketers need to create content worth sharing.
I’d love to hear your thoughts and examples on ways to connect with our audiences with useful and unique content.
(Marketoonist Monday: I’m giving away a signed cartoon print. Just share an insightful comment to this week’s post by 5:00 PST on Monday. Thanks!)