We don't need another blog post: Content beyond the Thunderdome
Did you know over 2.7 million blog posts are published every day? That's a sobering fact for anyone who works in marketing and is trying to get the attention of a consumer. Or at least it should be.
But there's a kind of madness that overtakes marketers when it comes to creating content. There are things we all know and accept but choose to ignore.
We know that everyone is a publisher and it's never been easier to create content. Content creation has been democratised and now everyone from big corporates to teenagers armed with a smartphone are publishing at will.
We know that competition for attention is huge. We know nobody goes home at the end of the day and says "Sheesh, I really didn't see enough content today. If only there was more content available that I could consume - especially the branded kind."
Yet, too many marketers labour on in the belief that what the world needs is more content. That people need their content specifically. That everyone out there is poised and ready to drop everything they're doing to read and share their latest poorly-researched, cobbled-together top tips blog post. There's a kind of vanity that overtakes, especially in bigger businesses. "Well we're the market leader so of course everyone will read it and love it and love us. Right?"
Get real everyone. If you're not prepared to put in the time, effort and resources and what you're pumping out isn't better than the competition - and you need to realise that your content competitors are everyone who's publishing in your space and not just your direct product competitors - then forget it. You might as well spend your time doing something fruitful. Learn a new language or go read a book.
So, with apologies to Tina Turner and any fans of Mad Max here is my plea in the form of alternative song lyrics for the next time you think about churning out some content:
We Don't Need Another Blog Post
Out of the ruins, after ad blockers
Can't make the same mistakes this time
This is the content, the last communication
This is the one that’s left behind
But I wonder when we are ever gonna change?
Churning out more and more, till it all seems the same
We don't need another blog post,
We don't need to know your info
All we want is life beyond the Thunderdome
Brilliant content, we can rely on
We know there is something better out there.
Mmmm, truly great content, your day is coming
All else are castles built in the air
And I wonder when we are ever gonna change?
Snackable content, till nothing else remains.
All the children say,
We don't need another blog post,
We don't need to know your info
All we want is life beyond the Thunderdome
So what do we do with our lives
We leave only a mark
Will your story shine like a light
Or end in the dark
‘Cos it’s all or nothing
We don't need another blog post,
We don't need to know your info
All we want is life beyond the Thunderdome
All the children say,
We don't need another blog post,
We don't need to know your info
All we want is life beyond the Thunderdome