Understanding the power of content

With so many brands out there, understanding that content play a vital role in the digital marketing industry is crucial. This means that we must understand the significance of content and why content is largely referred to as king.

According to Wikipedia, content In publishing, art, and communication, content is the information and experiences that are directed toward an end-user or audience. With the basic understanding of what content is, we can now finally acknowledge why it is being referred to as king.

Content is king is one of the phrases that still hold true today. This is because content is everywhere. Social media platforms depend on it to stay relevant. Why would you be on Facebook if you are not there to see what your family and friends have shared? In simple terms that which is drawing you to the platform is content.

With the rise in digital technology and advancements, both brands and customers are now interacting online. This is enabled by the current technology we possess. As much as technology has simplified the way we share content, we must understand that brands must not fall into the trap of “Too much content, Not enough substance”. Too much content with not enough substance is basically what most brands tend to focus on. This is the most common misconception that if you need your online presence to skyrocket, you need to share as much content as possible. Well, Theoretically, this sounds like the best idea, however, in practice a different story.

We are going to explore a few reasons why brands end up with “Too much content, Not enough substance”.

  • No Plan/Strategy

Every great idea must be written down and strategized for. “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” –Benjamin Franklin.  Brands need to understand that to efficiently communicate with their customers they need to plan how they will interact with the client and further anticipate a certain response from the customer. This can be easily done by creating content calendars.

  • Not Selling what sells

Any successful business man will tell you that relevancy is the name of the game. Selling what sells requires brands to study how their customers feel about certain types of content over others. With this data a brand can easily create content that they know their customers are most likely to resonate with. This means the brand needs to build genuine relations with their customers to better communicate and serve them efficiently.

  • No consistency

Consistency has to be part of your branding. Anything that you share on social media must be consistent in order to keep your audience’s attention longer, while effectively serving them the relevant content. Being consistent is one of the best practice recommended out there, it further shows that your brand cares.

  • All over social networking platforms

It may come as a surprise to many but, being on all social media platforms does not guarantee you any success. It further adds to the workload faced by the actual community managers. Being on multiple social media platforms that are not working or suitable for your brand can be frustrating as social media managers and compels them to create content for the other channels to further  interact with an audience.

In conclusion content is the main driver of any brand and efficiently using it can set you apart from your competition. However, incorrectly utilising it and overloading your customers with irrelevant content can further discourage your audience to engage with the content and overall your brand. How you project your social impact develops your audiences and conditions the narrative of your brand.

Louis Kulani Khosa