Content over Conversation

Content creation is an important part to social media and online marketing. Many marketers argue it is the driving factor to building a brand relationship. However, there are some marketers who believe conversation is more important than content. In other words, they think content is just something to talk about and the conversations that follow create the relationship. Conversations are built on content and if content is not created correctly, it may not encourage conversation. Content is necessary to drive engagement and increase interaction among consumers, users and brands. Conversation is that engagement put in motion by content creation. In the content versus conversation debate, content is the winner.

Content can be as simple as a status update on Facebook to a short film posted on YouTube. The idea behind it is that the content grabs the attention of the audience enough to cause a reaction or start a conversation. A great example of this is a recent Coca Cola short film. CAA Marketing, a division of Creative Artists Agency created this film as a way to generate interest online. The film starred the animated polar bears that have become a standard brand icon. It was created as entertainment and not as an advertisement. One strategist questioned the ad, wondering what it was supposed to be selling her. There are no links or promotions offered in the ad, so what was the point? The point was to promote the Coca Cola brand persona. Branded content marketing is not necessarily about clicks and sales but about the brand image itself. The short film is for consumer entertainment but also helps increase brand awareness.

Another great example is Red Bull. They are content marketing kings and marketers are unable to figure out how they do it. Red Bull started out manufacturing energy drinks and has turned their brand into a world of extreme sports empire. The content they produce screams interaction and that is prior to conversations. On RedBull.com, there is a button on one of the side bars that says “JUST EPIC”. Immediately, the word epic is inviting and just draws the consumer in. After clicking, the world of extreme sports is displayed. This comes in the form of 12-year-olds doing almost impossible skateboard tricks or men skimming tall treetops. They are not marketing their sports drink; they are marketing a feeling and more importantly, their brand. Red Bull creates content specifically not focusing on their products. They built a media house for the purpose of content creation and not just for themselves. Red Bull houses other brands within their media house as well. They have taken to helping others with content creation. This is why content is the winner. Red Bull uses content marketing to start conversations and not the other way around. They are leaders in the industry, not followers.

Content will be the focus of marketing strategies in years to come. Brands will be breaking news as it happens instead of waiting on PR or publishers to react to the news. With the instant nature of social media, brands will need to own their content and deliver what the audience wants. They will want to lead the conversations with their content just as Red Bull did with their Stratos campaign. This campaign of pure content broke social media records. The number of conversations created was like no other campaign. This is why content is the winner and other brands would be smart to follow the lead of Red Bull and Coca Cola.