The Problem With The Word Content

It’s time to make a confession: I’m tired of the word content. After years of working in the industry, it seems like there is this notion content will save us from everything. Every meeting, every project, every marketing plan is full of the word content. Content, content, content.

Look, I’m guilty of using the word content all the time too. Content IS a critical component to marketing, but that really isn’t anything new. Good ads have always been good content. Social media and digital have simply enhanced the opportunity for more distribution — and also more competition.

The problem with content now is that it’s become a catchall and an action. The always-on digital landscape, along with the fact that it’s easier and cheaper to create and distribute content, has created pressure for us to produce, produce produce.  We’ve gotten so caught up in producing now that we don’t take the time to define our value, our story and our why.

This constant need to produce has created a content problem in the industry. We’ve created so much content that we’ve cluttered the space. We scream for consumers’ attention without putting ourselves in their shoes. And, rightly so, they’re starting to tune us out.

As marketers, the best thing we can do is resist the urge to simply produce. Content for the sake of content isn’t a win for anyone: Not for you, not for your brand and certainly not for the consumer.

Here’s the thing: Your consumer isn’t waiting for you to push out a piece of content. They aren’t the ones putting pressure on brands (and us as marketers) to produce. We put the pressure on ourselves. We are responsible for this content problem. And, we can fix it.

Instead of starting with the word content, start with your why: What’s your story? What do we want the consumer to take away? What’s our value, the unique value? If you can’t land on a strong story, value proposition and why, then there isn’t a need to produce.

The word content isn’t really the problem. It’s the pressure we feel to produce when we hear the word. To combat this, we must think value and story first before we think about producing.  It’s okay to not be in your consumer’s face everyday; it’s not okay to continue to clutter the space.

Let’s get back to the heart of what matters. It’s about the story, our value and our why. Define that first before you even think about the content and producing.

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