I consider the whole content/conversation debate a non-issue because there is no need to take sides. Conversation develops because of content. Conversation that develops about your content among the people that are most important to your brand or business leads to conversion. Neither content nor conversation reigns supreme in the social universe.
Before the emergence of the Web and social media platforms, the process worked similarly. We’d watch the network news, listen to our favorite radio program on our way to work, or read the daily paper, consuming the content, and we’d enter into conversation with our friends and colleagues about what we had seen/heard/read. The content was the reason for the conversation. We’d act on what we heard, or we wouldn’t.
Fast forward to the democratic playing field of the social web and people are not just having conversations about content but are inspiring, directing and influencing it as well. The masses are also creators of content, sometimes without even being cognizant of it. Likewise, it is not unheard of for relevant, targeted content to develop as a result of conversation. Ideas are always being shared, improved, amended and updated. This is the social part of “social media!”
Greenberg (2009) affirms that “social marketing efforts need to be driven by content, not vice versa. Without content, there is not a whole lot to talk about.” I am in agreement that content is the start of everything, and the thing that holds it all together. Content development is essentially making strategic decisions about the messages that we are going to put out into the universe and considering, in advance, what the response to that content is likely to be.
Taking a different point of view, Novak (2010) writes that “content without conversation is just broadcasting, or just advertising” and suggests that content is enhanced, improved, and made more memorable via conversation. This is absolutely true. But, the content IS the conversation starter. The platform where the content is published matters; you have to go where the people are and you must help them find you.
So in discussing whether content or conversation is “King,” perhaps we should instead ignore the debate and view them as more as Co-CEOs, or like Batman and Robin, each with a distinct role to play in the path to a desired objective.
Taking into account the “many to many” communications channels offered by the social web, I believe the more relevant and productive discussion should be about how content and conversation help each other thrive. From a marketing perspective, we need to understand the relevance of both points and how we might incorporate this understanding into a sound communication strategy.
A report entitled Public Media 2.0: Dynamic, Engaged Publics from the Center for Social Media affirms that content and conversation are both relevant and symbiotic, making these points:
Many-to-many digital technologies are fostering participatory user behaviors: choice, conversation, curation, creation, and collaboration.
Quality content needs to be matched with effective engagement.
What does this mean for marketers? Evans (2008) says that the Web offers marketers and consumers an equal voice. All parties have a chance to participate and create, shape, develop the content. And let’s not forget the vital link between content and conversation – listening. Listening to what people are saying improves the quality and viability of content, and also provides an indication as to the right time to participate.
Nate Riggs of The Karcher Group, an Ohio-based web services firm, was quoted in a Content Marketing Institute article saying “The content you create, as well as the content you curate and share, helps you build a following of individuals who fit your customer profile” (Crossfield, 2012). If you are doing it right, that content you’ve created will lead to conversations in which you can continue to participate because your content will be trusted and welcomed.
Great content that remains hidden on a web site or blog is not doing a lot to grow business, or to develop evangelists for your business or brand. It exists simply to be found (maybe) and leaves a great deal to chance, missing a large percentage of the whole universe of potential customers. Reaching sales goals requires more effort which Riggs (2011) describes as “building an online conversation around the content products you produce.”
So what do you do? Take that great content and share it via other platforms and channels and you are starting a conversation with infinite viral and sharing possibilities! Pinterest opened up a realm of new possibilities for posting (“pinning”), following and sharing. Brands that lend themselves to great visuals work especially well on this platform, such as Whole Foods Market or Martha Stewart.
A quick glance at the Solis Conversation Prism 3.0 demonstrates just how many paths exist to reach the universe of potential customers. Notice how, in the center of all of those opportunities for communication and conversation, is the brand.
The social marketing plan of any company must employ both content and conversation to ensure it will be both heard and understood. To assume that one is more important than the other is a strategic mistake.
References:
Clark, J. (2012). Public media 2.0: Dynamic, engaged publics. American University Center for Social Media. [White Paper]. Retrieved from http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org
Crossfield, J. (2012, November 2). Turning social media follows into content marketing leads. Retrieved on November 11, 2012 from http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2012/11/social-media-follows-content-marketing-leads/
Evans, D. (2008). Social media Marketing: An hour a day. Indianapolis, IN: Wiley.
Greenberg, M. (2009, October 20). Content is king of social media marketing. MultichannelMerchant.com. Retrieved from WVU eCampus.
Novak, C. (2010, July 27). Why conversation, not content, is king. SocialMediaToday.com. Retrieved from WVU eCampus.
Riggs, N. (2011, October 14). 10 content marketing principles for the corporate marketer. Retrieved on November 11, 2012 from http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2011/10/content-marketing-principles-for-the-corporate-marketer/
Solis, B. (2010, October 13). Introducing the conversation prism version 3.0. Retrieved on November 10, 2012 from http://www.briansolis.com/2010/10/introducing-the-conversation-prism-version-3-0/
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