Jon Wuebben is the CEO of Content Launch and presented at SXSW today. From the first minute he focused on raising the banner of content as the canary in the ointment for all the opportunities of today and tomorrow. However, his approach is complex and extensive, so it is only appropriate for those who want depth and breadth.
The truth is that most customers do not yet understand it. This is why we have stressed time and again how important it is for advertising clients to invest in bringing their people up to speed. In fact, we are constantly dealing with topics that are not yet understood by most of them, so it is urgent that they evolve with the times and get up to speed.
Wuebben commented how it is true that content for many is the filler. However, he argues that it is the content that attracts, engages and acquires audiences. This is why it is vital to focus on generating content that is brutally engaging, relevant, and that provokes loyal relationships for years to come. I would always add design and experience, otherwise the content will not stand on its own.
What kind of content are we talking about? Blogs, websites, videos, e-books, cases, podcasts, webinars, e-newlsetters, digital reviews and so much more. Analyzing the content we generate on behalf of, for and by brands is today more important than ever, because let’s be clear, tomorrow there will not be less people connected to the network. There will simply be more and many more people connected.
As we heard yesterday, no company will be in a position to pay the price it would cost to be an offline company. Therefore, the content we generate must be attractive to readers, visible to search engines, linkable and viral. Both for the big screen of your laptop or PC, as well as for cell phones, tablets and all the services available today, from geolocation to all the resources available for integrated social marketing.
As in many other areas, the content cycle starts with Planning and Strategy. It continues with Creation, then Marketing and Distribution to close with Management and Curation. Then back to Planning. Jon also talks about three pillars of content creation: content, design and usability.
The considerations are several: what kind of content are we producing. How we are placing it in front of our users’ eyes and how we are supporting the dissemination and awareness of the content. However, to achieve impact it poses a list of imperatives:
- Reciprocity
- Engagement and consistency
- Consensus
- Affinity
- Authority
- Lack
Hooks for relevant content go with humor in videos or refined attack, contests, interviews and anything else that is right to make engaging. We cannot ignore that we are in a global competition to generate engaging content, and perhaps this is why Cannes will have this year’s inauguration of this category.
It is clear that we must make our content relevant, optimized and shareable. We must use our content and design it to be scalable and of course, profitable. In Wuebben’s time I think there is a lot of material to understand the extent of the resources available.
His previous book has the video below. His new book is“Content is currency“. If you want the deck of his presentation, you can find it at www.contentiscurrency.com. Here you go.
