Content is King

Content is king. Remember that saying? You still might hear it from time to time but more so now I hear “Content is king, but it needs to be authentic and true.”. Well, what does that mean exactly? For many of you the answer is obvious, just be real about what we are saying in your content strategy. That’s easy enough to say, but as a marketer I often find myself struggling with finding a story that feels authentic and true in the content pieces that I put together. Moreso, if I’m creating an ad for display advertising or a billboard, I don’t have the real estate to tell some elaborate story.

So what is the answer? Campaign it. What I mean by this is to find the medium that works to tell the whole story – usually video or a long format blog. The video can be for a website, a post on social media or even YouTube. The blog is, well you know, a blog, but make sure you use some multimedia in it. This is where I can get away with telling an authentic story, whether it’s a testimony from a customer about their buying experience or someone telling the benefits of a service. Video has matured over the years in such a way that anyone with a cell phone can become a content creator. Long-form video is highly engaged if the content is compelling. Blog posts are no longer glossed over and readers have no issue reading through squinted eyes on their cell phone.

Once you have your main authentic content marketing piece, use multi-channel marketing to promote it. Use the subject as the visual, the headline as the pitch. Direct all of your traffic to the main content piece and make it easy for your audience to find it. Do not write click-bait titles or headlines because you are already misleading your audience.

Be Patient in the Process

If you are the content creator, meaning you are producing the content as a video director, interviewer, writer or even an editor, make sure you are asking the questions that tell a story. Be patient with the process of creating content so that you can ensure you have the big picture at the end. Having holes in your content can leave the viewer feeling cheated, leading them to not trust the content.

If you are blogging, think through the media of the piece. What photos are you using? What’s creative about the frame beside the subject? What’s in the background? How is it contributing to the story? With video the tactics are the same, but lighting, sound, background sound and the flow of the edit play an important role.

Practice Your Craft

If you are just starting out my advice is to practice. Practice every aspect of what I just described and do it over and over again. You will naturally get better at interviewing, setting up equipment and finding your own style. Style is something that identifies your content to you, whether it is your style of shooting, the questions you are asking or the consistency of subject matter, developing your own style takes time, practice and patience. If you put all of this together, the authenticity of your content will naturally come through to your audience, just ensure you are creating content for them, and not just you.

I can tell you that after being in marketing for 14 years, I still do not have a perfect recipe for the content I produce, but just like this blog about marketing, I am practicing.

What do you consider your challenges with creating authentic content? What do you think you get right? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.