Content marketing is on the lips of, well, everyone. Brands are being pushed harder than ever to create and share digital content. But how much is too much? Some would argue there’s no such thing. With a veritable ocean of tweets, posts and blogs out there, information doesn’t float for long, even if it’s interesting. Getting information in front of consumers must be a continual process.
So does a brand go for content quantity or quality? According to Mitch Joel, in his blog post The New Face Of Content Marketing, wine guru and master content marketer, Gary Vaynerchuck, thinks the question should actually be why not both? He has vowed to “triple down” on the content he shares across his many platforms, including twitter, books, a video podcast, his own social media marketing agency and more. Not everybody loves his plan, prompting the term “digital clutter” to be thrown into the mix. Prophecies are flying that this strategy will create a total information overload.
By pumping out valuable content, he is giving his followers what they want, they are lapping it up and his brand continues to grow.
But will a lot of digital content send your audience running for the hills? Not if you are producing quality valuable information. And what is valuable? Simply, it’s not spam. You are not selling “stuff,” like the thousands of other digital messages consumers are bombarded with on a daily basis. According to the Content Marketing Institute, you’re giving your audience something that they can really use (everyone likes free information they can use as their own) – something that they will actually think about and that might even affect their behavior.
That’s not to say that pumping out scads of content is always going to get results. But if you offer something of substance, frequent posts have a better chance to garner attention. It’s the hit ‘em hard and hit ‘em often approach … which just happens to build your brand. Take Vaynerchuck. People like him; they want to hear from him. By pumping out valuable content, he is giving his followers what they want, they are lapping it up and his brand continues to grow.
The key to the whole thing is knowing your audience – knowing who they are, what they want and when they are most receptive to content. Smart content marketers will continually analyze that formula and tweak it for the best results, relates Joel. And, if it’s not working, change it … when it comes to digital content marketing, sticking with the wrong strategy in hopes it will work one day is precious brand-building time wasted.