I blame Bill Gates. Mr. Microsoft is credited with the “content is king” phrase back in 1996. And I heard it then when I was a young magazine editor. Our publisher gave us writers video cameras so we could create more content, on top of the writing and photos, when we traveled for stories.

I have served the king and created content as a writer and corporate marketer and independent consultant. And content has been good to me. Maybe I should thank Bill Gates? His comment on content surely elevated it to an art form, all the way to the throne. Content reigned for years.

Everybody is talking about content. Google loves content, especially “helpful content,” even long-form content. Podcasts are the bunny rabbits of content, multiplying rapidly. Streaming and OTT video sharing is replete with content. People love to “consume” content and that’s why businesses love to create content.

Around the world, online content consumption spiked in 2020. According to Double Verify, a digital ad technology company, “Daily time spent consuming content has doubled globally since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, from an average of 3 hours 17 minutes to an average of 6 hours 59 minutes.” Like many pandemic-related stats, this spike might settle a bit, but the world’s content appetite is healthy, no doubt.

Businesses are responding to feed this hunger. According to the Content Marketing Institute, 73% of B2B marketers and 70% of B2C marketers use content marketing as part of their overall marketing strategy.

And we all love it. Demand Metric, a marketing resource agency, says that 70 percent of consumers feel closer to a company as a result of content marketing.

Content Never Was King

But content is no longer the king. In truth, it never was. I’m a content creator, and one would think I embrace this model, and that I am benefiting from this content-rich marketplace. But I realized it’s not about content. It’s about relationships. That Demand Metric data begins to tell the story. Content makes consumers feel closer to a company. That’s the goal.

Think of it this way. Do we say that food is king? Food is important, vital even. But it’s not king. Your health is king, and food is fuel for that.

Content is important, vital even. But it’s not king. By creating and distributing content, you share information, build credibility, and establish relationships. Relationships are king; content helps build them.

How? That’s the question. Not all content builds relationships. (Not all food builds health). To help you build relationships, content needs to be:

3 Things

Helpful

Create content that people want you to create. If you’re a banker, create and share content that helps people manage their money. Don’t create content that says you won a banking award, that’s not helpful. Consumers want to learn, they have problems to solve, and they could benefit from a helpful relationship. Give them that.

Personal

When you write or make a video, imagine you’re talking to your neighbor. They want to hear from you, personally. They want to know what you’ve experienced. Share opinions, if they’re relevant. Take a stand, if it is helpful. You would do that in a relationship, right? Personal content is relatable.

Continual

Create content again and again. I struggle with this one; a blog or podcast calendar is a hungry beast. You need to feed it. It can get competitive for businesses. Think of the relationship aspect. Good relationships thrive on communication, and they fail in silence. If you communicate better and more frequently than your competitors, you’re more likely to build and keep relationships.

Content is a means to good relationships.

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Content is King? No, it's Not.

Content Never Was King

3 Things