Living in a Noisy World
Living in a Noisy WorldMost of us have developed a filter to block out all the noise. Do you even listen to commercials anymore or do you just block them out? Do you pay attention to the labels on your clothes or the logos on your food products? Most of us have blinders and don’t notice the brands we interact with on a daily basis.
The average American is exposed to 4,000 to 10,000 advertisements per day (Red Crow Marketing 2015). We are all constantly bombarded by a multitude of advertisements. If your doubtful, try an experiment. Go about your daily routine to or from work and count how many advertisments you see.
Why Authenticity Matters
It is more important than ever to share authentic and creative content that is original and engaging. If there is a disconnect between your brand identity and your content, you have already lost. Content that looks as if it was borrowed from another company dilutes the credibility and trust in your brand.
Whatever you do, do not purchase a monthly subscription to content. In just about every industry, there is that one content source that allows you to use and share the content for a low price of $30 per month. Similar to everything else in life, you get what you pay for. Most often, the cheap content is cheesy, inauthentic, and does not align with your brand.
Many businesses have gone down this route, only to see their engagement and following metrics decline. Publishing poor content to keep your profile active does not help build your following, rather it has the opposite effect. Poor content leads to a decline in engagement and following. Think about it… What if your favorite brand starting sharing another brand’s content? You would lose interest, disengage, likely unfollow, and maybe even unlike the page.
If you want to win with content, you need to make an investment and hire a professional. Marketing agencies are equipped with a variety of perspectives and expertise to deliver the content you need. However, sometimes, it is just not feasible for the small business owner to make such an investment, but don’t worry you still have options! Work with a contractor who specializes in content marketing.
Creating Great Content
When you are scrolling through a social feed, what makes you stop? Is it a photo of a friend or family member who you care about? Is it a special promotion for the new tech gadget or clothing item that you have been wanting? Something makes you stop, look, and care.
Great content is authentic, creative, and engaging. Authentic content is credible and on brand. It promotes trust and loyalty in your business. Creative content is original and different. It is something unique, not a clique or replication of someone else’s work. Stand out from the rest! Just like the pink lemon surrounded by all yellow lemons in this post. Engaging content is interesting, useful or fun, or relevant to your user. It provides some value to the user – a resource, a feel-good moment, a reason to smile, etc. The key to creating great content is balancing all three and providing value to the user.
It is not about you or your sales. It is about the observer, the user, or visitor and what matters to them. In such a noisy world, you have to give people a reason to stop, look, and care about your content. If the content is not authentic, creative, nor engaging, they will continue to filter through. The best way to measure the success of your content strategy is to observe other’s interactions with it. The best content is shared with others!
