What will be the biggest challenge to your content in 2017?
By: Keith Mcmean
Tags: Social Media, Content Marketing, Digital Marketing

Before we get in to this I would like you to view the video below, if you haven’t seen it already:

Here’s a thought…”algorithms can only take us so far in our journey to better content” the problem from me is they aren’t human so they don’t really give us what we want, they give us what they think we need, you only have to search Google to see that.

So what’s the future? None of us have a crystal ball but I would say content that is original and shareable is the way forward. Why would I say that?

The reason, it’s what separates us from the noise. I see lots of copy cat posts and articles where it’s really easy just to cut and paste someone else’s work and claim it for your own, there is very little original thinking out there and that’s because we are still in the mindset of “the more followers I have the better” and “if I build they will come”. Wake up and smell the coffee, they won’t, especially using someone else’s content.

Original content is the way to go, or at the very least your spin on any given subject, something that screams ‘you’.

I started banging on about this stuff around 2009 when only a few were saying a similar thing, at that time it was still to be heard you had to shout the loudest and have the biggest following, that doesn’t count in my book. I would much rather have a small loyal band than 20 squillion followers that do bugger all.

We should be aiming for brand advocates, those fantastic souls who shout our names from the rooftops, those who buy our stuff and attend our events, where ever they are, quality over quantity.

This is where fantastic content comes in and influencers to. If you can ‘ride on the back’ of an influencer with content that really resonates with their audience or at least a part of it you have a chance. This is a quick way to stardom, if that’s what you want. Or you could take the slower route and build up with organic content and search.

I think too much emphasis is placed on algorithms and how they return stuff to us, I like the conversational route and no better place to see that in action is Facebook. You can go on to Facebook at anytime and view some really deep rich conversations, but then in amongst all this fab content is an advert for drumsticks or a size 36B bra, ops maybe not 😉 because it’s what you searched for 2 days ago and the algorithm remembers.

My point is, algorithms are great but it’s not the be all and end all, to me conversations are.

Conversations that resonate and have purpose are even more special and if you ask a question then you better be ready to answer it, pet hate I’m afraid. I hate it when people say “oh sorry I didn’t have time to answer I’m so busy”…bugger off if you ask a question at least be courteous to answer when someone takes the time to reply to it. Rant over!

So think of your content as the start of a conversation, why, because we are all tired of being talked ‘to’ or ‘at’.

It’s far more productive and helpful to either start a conversation around a topic, or answer questions that are causing a problem for your audience. This is a great way to grow your audience with people who like what you have to say and who you can help. If I start a conversation more often than not I will wait for the questions and answers to come roiling in as I find them fascinating and helpful plus it gives me a chance to find out what’s bugging them.

“Surround yourself with people smarter than you” is a great piece of advice plus you will have some fantastic but challenging conversations.

This is niche marketing at its best, a small tight group that interact and converse, that’s so much better than listening to some idiot who likes the sound of their own voice, and lord knows there’s enough of those out there.

So back to the original question “the future of content.” quality content that’s original and shareable is the answer. Don’t treat your audience as fools, there not, if you do they won’t stick around for long.

But enough of me…I would love to hear your thoughts on content and how you see it changing in 2017.