Videos, blog posts, articles... running an online business turns us all into content producers. You just wanted to sell tea cozies! Yet suddenly you’re directing a 10 part video drama behind the scenes at your tea cozy warehouse! What happened?
Simple. It’s the Content Curse. And we’re all under its spell...
Online, content is king. For search engines to find you, you need fresh, compelling content. You have to post every 20 minutes on your content rich, search optimized blog. And spread it all over the Internet with a distribution service. Then you’ll own Google, get a boost in traffic, and become a bazillionaire.
So the thinking goes. As a result, people have invented shortcuts to cranking out as much content as possible. You can hire people who barely speak English to write articles for pennies on the word. Or you can get a cheap camera and make a dozen poorly lit videos. Some of the worst offenders are article spinners and text to video robots. Anything that gives you a shortcut from content poor to genuinely rich. It’s a machine gun mentality: something’s bound to hit.
Well, the thinking is wrong.
At least in the long term. I don’t know about you, but I have a hard enough time watching a lot of TV. Which is made by actual people, not an article to video robot. So how many actual people do you think will watch read waste time on all that content you’re producing?
See, the curse of content is the same curse of traffic and SERPs and every other buzzword in Internet marketing. These words hide the truth. They distract you from what you should really focus on. It would be a conspiracy, if it weren’t so obvious.
What’s obvious? This. How many people go online looking for content?
NONE.
How many business and marketing types go online looking to fill it up with content?
Judging from the way we talk sometimes, EVERY SINGLE ONE.
So we’ve got a mismatch. And that means opportunity. Because people go online with hopes, dreams and prayers. Because they want to be entertained. Because they’re lonely and want to connect with someone.
None of which they get from content.
All of which they DO get from stories.
So tell stories. Don’t produce content.
Now, you might say, oh, that’s just semantics. The thing is, words have meaning. Don’t walk around all day worrying how you can get to the top of Google. Worry how you can find your ideal customers right where they are. Because your business lives and dies with people, not computer tricks.
If you do find ideal customers, and tell them a story they want to hear, you don’t need to worry about content. They’ll become a part of your story.
And ten years from now, when Google has wiped out all those spun articles and videos no one watches, your story will still matter.
What’s your story? What’s the story of your business? And how do I fit in?
Answer those questions before you spend 500 bucks to make a video no one’s going to sit through.
Author Resource:
William Randall of DIY Video Marketing helps you turn customers into fans using online video. He offers courses on producing your own web videos and web video production for select clients. Visit his site at: http://www.DIYVideoMarketing.com
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