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Posts Tagged ‘content’

Google can’t do it all: a call for content curators Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

I have been reading quite a bit of late about the concept of content curation, a term coined by marketing strategist and blogger Rohit Bhargava to describe the role of “someone who continually finds, groups, organizes and shares the best and most relevant content on a specific issue online. The most important component of this job is the word ‘continually.’…  (It is s)omeone whose job it is not to create more content, but to make sense of all the content that others are creating. To find the best and most relevant content and bring it forward.”

He writes that, “In the near future, experts predict that content on the web will double every 72 hours. The detached analysis of an algorithm will no longer be enough to find what we are looking for…. The future of the social web will be driven by these Content Curators, who take it upon themselves to collect and share the best content online for others to consume and take on the role of citizen editors, publishing highly valuable compilations of content created by others. In time, these curators will bring more utility and order to the social web. In doing so, they will help to add a voice and point of view to organizations and companies that can connect them with customers - creating an entirely new dialogue based on valued content rather than just brand created marketing messages.”

Robin Good writes on the Master New Media blog, “I think, that at least for now, curating content is the one thing that Google can’t take your place in doing. When it comes to researching, selecting, picking, editing, juxtaposing, illustrating, complementing, referencing, crediting, commenting and introducing, Google can just pack its stuff and go home.

“….Unless there is a growing number of active newsmasters, content curators and editors/publishers checking, digesting, filtering, grouping and organizing information inside vertical information silos you will be either submerged by information or you will be left behind when it comes to staying on top of the information you need to operate in your field.

“Business-wise, content curators could also offer an interesting marketing opportunity and a new business model that makes a lot of sense to me.”

Meanwhile, Australian digital recruiter David Jackson writes on the Digital Ministry website, “There are already a few people performing this task for companies, and it will only grow in importance. The problem I see with content curating is that most companies find it hard to place much value on the role. Although it requires a skill set that combines the sharp mind of a research analyst with the communications flair of a journalist and the commercial nous of a marketer, curating content, like creating content, often attracts a wage more akin to a junior administrator.”

Links on this topic:


How people respond to your content online Thursday, June 11th, 2009

A great piece has been posted on the Lateral Action blog about the ways that people respond to your content online.

Rajesh Setty writes, “Use your creativity to generate content that will inspire and transform the lives of the audience in a positive way. Remember that it costs time (and indirectly – money) for your audience to read what you write. And, they expect a good return for that investment.

You will know whether you are succeeding in influencing your audience in a positive way because the audience will tell you. No, maybe not directly but by the way they respond to your content.”

Worth a read.


The write stuff, and other appropriate cliches Sunday, April 19th, 2009

Always on the lookout for good articles about the importance of copywriting for online projects, I came across this posting by Shane Atchison on the ClickZ site, in the form of an interview with the lead writer at the ZAAZ agency in the US, where Shane is the CEO.

Pithy quote from the article: “Even though copywriting is an art form, it’s firmly grounded in logic: the clear communication of a concept or call to action. As such, agency writers are keenly aware of usability, analytics, and optimization, factors that drive our project goals and metrics. Words heavily determine how a site is used, therefore analytics help determine the kind of content writers develop for any site.”


We are all publishers Monday, January 5th, 2009

In the digital age, if you’re a marketer you’re also a publisher. Rebecca Lieb has written a great piece in ClickZ which was republished the other day, and is well worth a read.

She argues that “Marketers have been creating content in all sorts of media in all kinds of channels since the beginning. But now that virtually every brand, manufacturer, service, and product you can think of is online (and likely runs its own Web site), content has blown wide open. Almost anyone involved in any type of online business can no longer hope to survive without a solid content strategy.”

In the 21st century equivalent of custom publishing, big brands such as Budweiser in the US even have their own online TV channel. Lieb writes: “Think of it as the online equivalent of a Disney or Warner Bros. theme park. You know the rides and merchandise are selling you something, but few people care about the church-and-state divide on branded territory.

“….Strong, well thought-out and executed content strategies create rewards for marketers. They go viral. They attract community. They can blow out SEO (search engine optimisation) to epic proportions. Rather than a company’s Web page showing up in organic results, content can generate page after page of relevant results.”

She concludes: “As an editor/marketer hybrid, I may have some bias here, but I’d be hard-pressed to think of a marketing problem that couldn’t be tackled head-on with a solid content strategy.”

Couldn’t agree more.


Online content strategy - in a nutshell Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

Heidi Cohen has written a terrific piece on ClickZ explaining why an integrated content strategy is a must in 2009 for companies looking for effective marketing spend. The article is well worth reading in total and saving/printing, but here are some highlights:

When creating a communications strategy, “your content must address consumers as people. You should supply them with relevant and engaging information without sounding like sanitized marketing-speak.” If you get it right, you will 1) extend your brand; 2) drive traffic to your site; 3) diversify the ways you engage with potential customers; 4) make it easier for people to find your site via search engines; 5) provide product support; and 6) build community.

Heidi outlines nine content formats to consider, including online video, podcasts, webinars and Twitter. She also discusses three ways to stretch your marketing resources online and five metrics to track (hint: page views are not on the list).

Attention potential clients: this is a preview of what we’ll be talking to you about next year. Thanks, Heidi!


Don’t interrupt; instead, facilitate Monday, September 22nd, 2008

As we say on the home page: “Markets are conversations”. Irish web content expert Gerry McGovern writes in his blog this week that, “Marketing used to say: ‘Don’t go down that road, go down this road. My destination is much more interesting.’ On the Web, we choose our destination and will not change it. Marketing must now say: ‘I can help you get to your destination faster and easier.’”

In the information-rich 21st century, McGovern says, the Internet succeeds because “it helps us make better decisions. We go to the Web to get more details. We go to the Web on a mission. When was the last time you went to Google and said, ‘I wonder what should I search for today?’ You go to the Web wanting to buy a lawnmower. The chances of your attention being caught by some clever ad for a vacation in Greece is very, very small. ”

“The Web is the land of the skeptic, the cynic, the impatient, time-starved, information-overloaded consumer who is on a mission. The mission is to solve a problem, answer a question, get a good deal. The Web is the land of the comparison shopper, the person who wants to read reviews to see if the product is actually any good.

“Trying to grab the attention and tug the sleeve of this information-rich consumer is much more likely to irritate than to interest them. Presenting them, on your homepage, with the big, smiling face of some actor who has never used your product, is a good way of getting them to sneer at you.”


They call this promotion? Thursday, September 18th, 2008

This blog deals with all aspects of Internet content, and sometimes strays into more general content issues. Here’s one that’s a bit out of left field, but I think is worth discussing. I belong to a US-based academic institute related to my postgraduate study (I won’t bore you with the details now, but maybe in another post). Anyway, a sub-group of that society (which shall remain nameless because the issue I have has nothing to do with them, but with the tourism commission which undoubtedly fed them information) is having a conference in Oklahoma City. Here is a verbatim description of the conference city sent to me in an email today:

Oklahoma City is the capital of the Great State of Oklahoma.  This city ranks 31st among United States cities in population and is easily accessible by land and air.  In 1995, Oklahoma City experienced the most destructive act of domestic terrorism in United States history when the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building was bombed by a disaffected U.S. Army veteran.  Conference delegates to Oklahoma City can now join the over 3 million people who have visited the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial and Museum that was established on the site of the blast that killed 168 people and damaged more than 100 nearby buildings.  In addition, delegates can also enjoy visits to Myraid Gardens and Crystal Bridge as well as recent MAPS developments such as the new baseball park, the civic center, the fairgrounds, and the canal to the Bricktown entertainment district, in particular.

Is it just me, or does anyone else find that ’sales pitch’ for Oklahoma City decidedly creepy? Why on earth would you lead off the description of your beautiful city with a detailed description of your worst moment? Maybe if I was going to visit Dachau I would be sent similar information, but that seems to be no way to pitch Oklahoma City. By all means, it was a terrible tragedy, and, just like my recent visits to New York included a visit to Ground Zero, I would no doubt visit that museum if I visited Oklahoma City. But to base your entire promotion around the details of the bombing? I suppose the context jarred me as well - following a very brief description of this conference, it launched into this long screed on the bombing. Maybe the fact that I first read this on my Blackberry influenced my reaction, as I was sitting there scrolling through this weird description to get to the detail of the conference. Interested to hear your comments on this.


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