[This post originally appeared on my LinkedIn profile in August 2014. I'm re-posting it here in the hope it will be of value to the Silicon Beach community, and helpful to all you entrepreneurs out there trying to figure out what content you should be producing.]
A lot has been written about the many Google algorithm updates (46 in the last 3 years, in case you're counting), their impact on organic search, and the rise in Content Marketing as a result. And while this is all very relevant, it's often easy to forget that Google is simply forcing companies to think in the way that the best brands have been thinking all along... as Storytellers.
Storytelling, and the ability to do it well, is a trait you'll find in the make-up of any marquee brand. Think of Disney, Coca Cola, Intel, SAP, John Deere (seriously, how come everyone in the word knows about a company that makes tractors?). Great brands tell great stories. Period. But those that really get it, also understand that it's not just about telling your own stories, it's about helping your audience tell their own by serving up content that is authentic, relevant and contextual.
[ibimage==33463==Original==none==self==ibimage_align-left]
Let me explain: I subscribe to the same school of thought as Rob Walker, who contends that we buy the things we do "because we're telling a story (to ourselves) about who we are, and we and choose those products fit the narrative". [Very loosely paraphrased of course, but you get the point... apologies to Mr. Walker]. If you do too, then you'll recognize the value that content - well produced, well targeted and well-distributed - plays in driving a loyalty-building narrative with your target customers.
In providing your audience with compelling content that they can integrate into the story they're telling about their own lives (as an individual or as a company), you're making small deposits to the loyalty bank that each of your customers guards carefully in their heart. Those that do it well win in the long run. This is a game of base hits, not home runs.
So what makes content compelling? Well, that's a subject that probably warrants it's own post, but a useful rule of thumb I've learned and applied to good effect is that great content does one (or more) of 4 simple things: it makes you LAUGH, it tugs at your heart strings (LOVE), it helps you LEARN something, or it's simply is so remarkable so as to AMAZE you. [Shout out to Scott Alexander at Oakley for teaching me this]. If that's helpful to you, please use and share it too!
What do you think?
-dcf
