The Future of Content Marketing in the Age of Information Overload
Posted: December 20, 2010
It’s fair to say that the Internet has completely transformed our lives and the “age of information overload” is upon us. With it comes tremendous marketing opportunity, as these four tips from Douglas Idugboe suggest.
It’s fair to say that the internet has completely transformed our lives and the “age of information overload” has finally dawned upon us. Radio took 38 years to reach the landmark figure of 50 million users. The idiot box came along and managed to do the same within 13 years. The World Wide Web took 4 years to do so. And Facebook did it in less than 5 months after it left its college fraternity. And it’s not social media alone which has benefited from the content revolution. A staggering one billion iPhone apps were downloaded in less than 9 months. It’s all about the content!
Though we stay in the age of information overload, people are hungrier than ever for quality content. Therefore, I strongly believe that content marketing offers a tremendous opportunity for businesses of all kinds and sizes. Though it offers various flavors such as social media, app stores and World Wide Web, the internet is by far the biggest source of content in today’s modern age.
Relevance
Information overload comes at a cost. While it widens the overall knowledge base, it also makes it difficult to find relevant information amidst a vast pool of all sorts of content. From a business perspective, it’s very important to focus on the “relevance” aspect in its marketing efforts to connect with your customers.
It’s all about creating informational & compelling content and then distributing it through innovative means. As a business, you must strive on providing relevant content which helps your customers either by solving their problems, assisting them with additional information or even bringing a smile on their faces. If the information isn’t relevant and usable, your content marketing campaign seriously needs to be re-assessed.
New Media
The growing popularity of Facebook and Twitter has meant that businesses are open to embracing “New Media” as alternative avenues for advertising, marketing and customer service. New media offers two primary advantages – speed and reach. New-age digital media methods are lightning fast and instantaneous. They provide an unparallel reach and have transformed the world into one global family.
Print Media
It’s easy to get obsessed with new media and ignore print media altogether. Unfortunate as it is, a number of businesses make this fatal mistake and end up with dire consequences. Conventional media techniques have stood the test of time and will continue to co-exist with new media. The digital explosion has meant that people are now forced to pick and read rather than go all out an exhaustive reading spree. If content is the king, print media has played the role of the king maker. Though digital press releases have gained traction, they can’t replace conventional press releases.
Value
I strongly believe that a marketing campaign can be successful only if offers value to the customers. And content marketing is no exception to that rule. Businesses need to ensure that their sites offer valuable knowledge to users. People don’t just need any content, they need quality content.
Biz Tips Source: Smedio
About the Author: Douglas Idugboe is a New Media and Social Web Evangelist, Bestselling Author, Marketing Strategist, Speaker and Trainer. You can find Douglas on Twitter.