A local church recently quoted Gandhi in its signage, truncating his original statement to: “Be the change you want to see.”
Marketing geek that I am, I was reminded immediately of a correlation with content management: “Be the media you want others to see.”
Yes, in a pre-Internet world a huge chunk of our society couldn’t even imagine, consumers relied on traditional media companies to fill their information needs. Today, of course, this is no longer true, and companies can deliver tangible benefits to prospects and customers through relevant, useful content.
From offering solutions to challenges to sharing news of interest to offering insights on issues to (my personal favorite) bringing a smile to someone’s face, corporate Web sites are becoming the media of choice for many buyers.
And this makes sense. Consider: No one knows more about you and your business or organization than you. And objectivity? People gave up on that long ago. They don’t need buffers any more, believing in their own abilities to see through the “sell” to the product or service being sold.
Of course, companies in some industries have been doing this sort of thing for years. An obvious example can be found in home-improvement store sites, where you can learn to do all sorts of do-it-yourself projects – and, of course, buy all the products you would need to complete them.
Given this example, why doesn’t it make as much sense for consumers to find trusted commercial providers for all their other information needs?
So take a look at your own web copy and ask, “If I were a customer or prospect, what would make me come back to this site?”
As with so many things, it’s all about relationships, which reminds me of another quote I saw recently, this one on Content Marketing Today: “By delivering content that is vital and relevant to your target market,” it said, “you will begin to take on an important role in their lives.”
That’s pretty powerful stuff.
And catnip to marketers such as us.
