From PR Newser: The Future of Content: Takeaways from the Council of PR Firms
The Council of PR Firm’s latest event on content marketing concluded with some rock solid takeaways according to Mediabistro’s PR Newser,
“Despite what critics say, “content” isn’t going anywhere, and we’re only going to be making more of it.
We need to be as flexible as possible with our definition of the word.
Multimedia approaches are crucial, but good writing still lies at the heart of the content equation.
We need to prove ROI, but pageviews and Facebook likes won’t cut it.
Authenticity is the most important aspect of everything we produce. We can’t disguise our content as traditional journalism.
The most authentic sensation around is humor. A brand that can laugh at itself will instantly win attention and, hopefully, respect.”
I too believe we have only seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to content marketing. Writing well truly helps but compelling writing helps even more. The Council’s point on metrics is right on. I’d much rather see an increase in sales, fundraising or participation than the number of Facebook likes you get. PR is PR, blogging is blogging both can be genuine and trustworthy. Journalism is about professional writers that are paid to write without opinion or bias on a subject, more often than not have no connection to. PR firms are working for a clients benefit. Bloggers have to continually prove themselves when it comes to trust. Bloggers that have a history of bias will carry that reputation. Bloggers that consistently prove they are unbiased will be welcomed into the fourth estate.
Now we come to humor…I’m all for humor. If you are successful at making them laugh and see an increase in sales, use the humor hammer sparingly from your tool chest. One must remember the class clown, he was a nice guy, everyone liked him but no one ever took him seriously. Too much of going to the funny bone can result what I call a false positive campaign. It’s like a TV commercial that’s creative and funny. Everyone remembers it…even talks about it… but no one remembers the product that was for sale. Humor like a strong spice can really make a dish unless it’s used too much then all people can remember is that you cook spicy food.
Content will be with us for a long while. It’s going to be interesting to see how PR firms handle it.