Who wins the battle for King - content or conversation? Catherine Novak and Michael Greenberg indirectly debate this question in their articles. Novak makes the case that content is just what is talked about on social media platforms, and the conversation is truly what is important. Greenberg, however, argues that without good content there is no conversation. In an effort to be bipartisan, I believe there is something to be gained from both arguments.
Before a conversation can be started, marketers have to give the consumers something to talk about, and good content is where it is at. According to Brian Davies, Managing Partner with Movéo Integrated Branding there are five laws of content marketing.
First, The Law of Consumption, which is that consumers want the latest and greatest content. “There is now more information to read, watch, analyze and share than at any time in history. Yet, for many, simply consuming these vast tides of information is not enough. We now place a very high premium on the currency of information (Davies, n.d.).
The Law of Complexity, is the second law, and states, “The amount of chaos in a system tends to increase with the complexity of the system” (Davies, n.d.). The more complex content is, the more challenging it becomes to manage the content. For example, one a company embarks on an e-newsletter, readers come to expect it and will have expectations about the type of content, how and when it is delivered, the length, and other variables, as they become accustomed to receiving the information. Given that, Greenberg shares that companies must create and adhere to a publication schedule in order to live up to consumer’s expectations. It is important to be timely and provide regular content.
The third law is The Law of Reputation. Consumers have learned that while information is readily available online, finding credible sources is of the utmost importance, particularly as even reputable news sources race to be the first to “break the news.” Given the race to report, news sources are making more errors and such errors can easily damage a source’s reputation, on and offline.
Fourth, is the law of evolution, and the ongoing race to keep pace with technology. According to the Content Marketing Institute and Marketing Profs study, “41% of those queried found that producing the kind of content that engages prospects/customers was their biggest challenge. This percentage will likely go up as technology — and the production value of content — continue to advance” (Davies, n.d.).
The last and arguably most important of the five laws is The Law of Exchange. “’Thought leadership’ has been defined by Gartner as ‘the giving — for free or at a nominal charge — of information or advice that a client will value so as to create awareness of the outcome that a company’s product or service can deliver, in order to position and differentiate that offering and stimulate demand for it’” (Davies, n.d.). If companies are providing valuable content that positions themselves as the answer to consumer’s needs than have successfully mastered content marketing.
Once a company has mastered these laws on content marketing the conversation should come naturally as a result of the content. As a result of the conversation, the content will reach more consumers and become more popular, creating more demand for great content and the cycle is repeated.
References
Davies, B. (n.d.). The 5 new Laws of content and what they mean to your organization. Moveo. Retrieved November 12, 2012, from www.moveo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/MoveoWhitePape
Greenberg, M. (2009, October 20). Content is king of social marketing. MultichannelMerchant.com. Retrieved April 12, 2012 from http://multichannelmerchant.com/social-media/1020-content-social-marketing/
Novak, C. (2010, July 27). Why conversation, not content, is king. SocialMediaToday.com. Retrieved November 12, 2012 from http://socialmediatoday.com/wordspring/152636/why-conversation-not-content-king
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