The saying 'content is king' is almost overtaking 'cash is king' as a basic principal of business (which is mad really).
In a quest to ascend to the newly created throne of thought leadership, every business is on a content crusade.
But quantity isn't adding up to quality and the internet is becoming overloaded with generic, un-original posts and comment that add little value to anybody. Unfortunately, I have to agree that marketing is among the worse offenders.
A recent article by Max Tatton-Brown in EConsultancy (which does add value) hit the nail on the head for me when he said: "The world doesn’t need more content, it needs better editors".
Max goes on to say:
“Content creation is not a skill that everyone has and [businesses] need to get a grip on this fact. Too many marketing teams are kidding themselves that they can write, interview, or unlock the extra essence that takes the finished product to the next level.”
How true.
A good article will combine substance and form. The substance comes from the insight, information or ideas it provides to the reader. The form comes from presenting it in a way that the reader is going to find easy to read and navigate.
Headlines - the topic of numerous blog posts in themselves - need to attract and inform, but they mustn't raise expectations to a level that the article itself doesn't deliver.
A good editor, with journalistic training, will know how to do all of this. He or she will be to able to identify the angle and present a point of view. They will understand what to put in and what to leave out - and when to drop the idea altogether, and they will understand that they are running a brand and create a consistent style.
And yes, they will pick up the typos and grammar errors too.
In short, they will bring standards.
Standards come with experience. The skills can be learned and some people are more natural writers than others, but your blog shouldn't be treated as a classroom.
The final word goes to Max:
“The art of telling great stories that generate value for your business deserves a more dignified and confident approach. But the first step is admitting you have a problem.”
Take the advice on board. Save the world. Before you publish content, find yourself a decent editor!
The Marketing Eye employs trained and experienced journalists to help clients with quality content generation. If you need help in this area, please give us a call.
Neil is a Chartered Marketer and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing with many years' experience in marketing, brand and communications.
CEO / The Marketing Eye
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