I’m going back on my word, y’all. Content’s not king.
Or queen. Or prince. Or princess.
Content’s not royal at all.
This contradicts everything I’ve told my clients for the last 9+ years of building online brands. And it will probably piss a few people off.
But the more I’ve learned about what it takes to connect with today’s audiences, the more I realize that telling people “Content is king” is hurting them.
Here’s the thing about royalty:
- You can spot a royal a mile away. A king announces himself by how he acts, dresses, and the entourage that comes with him.
- There are strict rules for every aspect of royal life.
- Royals are disconnected from the general population.
And here’s the thing about (good) content:
1. Good content doesn’t announce itself as content.
Content that exists for the sake of itself is not worth our time. You know what I’m talking about — the blogs people write “because I have to blog.” The newsletters people send “because RKA said I should build my list.”
The “I heard content is king, so here goes” content is a royal waste of time — yours and your customer’s.
Not only won’t it move the needle for your business, mediocre, phoned in content that exists for the sake of itself has the power to reduce your prospect’s confidence and trust that you’re the best person for the job.
Plus, let’s be real: no one wants to interact with your “content.”
When was the last time you heard someone say, “Wow! That’s some content ya got there!” or “Dude! Get a load of this content.”
But give your audience a funny joke, a compelling story, a helpful piece of advice, and now you’re onto something.
Good content is inherently valuable on its own, whether it’s tied to a business or not. Its main job is to inform, entertain, or uplift, not fulfill a quota your marketing strategist set for you.
2. Good content doesn’t follow a formula.
In fact, the best content breaks the rules. It surprises and delights us. It shows us something we haven’t seen before. It helps us look at the world through a different lens. It contributes something new and novel to an ongoing conversation.
There are 2 million+ blog posts published every single day. Bland, rule-following content is immediately swallowed in a sea of sameness. Your formulaic content is getting lost before it ever can be found.
At a time when your customers have access to greater variety and sheer quantity of content than ever before, you need to give them.a reason to pay attention to you.
3. Good content connects with its audience.
Kings sit on thrones and wave from balconies. Good content touches its readers, viewers, and listeners.
Kings are inaccessible. Good content makes a real connection.
This is why personal brands are astronomically more popular than ever before. People are sick of being marketed to from afar by companies that don’t understand them or care about them.
We want to feel something. More importantly, we want to connect on a human level.
Good content facilitates that connection. It’s the beginning of a relationship with a brand, not a proclamation we receive from CEOs on high.
You heard it here first, folks. Content ain’t king.
Good content is more like a conversation with your best friend. Advice you take from a trusted mentor. Wisdom you learn from your favorite teacher. But it’s not a king sitting rigidly high atop a throne.
And this, my friends, is why I started Awkward Marketing.
To create “content” whose primary job is to entertain and educate and make people feel glad they gave me a few minutes of their time. Videos you can look forward to precisely because they’re NOT formulaic excuses to sell you something. Because in the world of content “kings” bellowing their tone deaf proclamations, we need a little bit more fun.
