Thanks for clicking through to this post,
I’d appreciate a few minutes of your time,
To address a burning issue that’s
Best delivered in the form of a rhyme…
There’s a word that’s become quite common,
You probably use it every day…
I find it quite offensive
And it needs to go away.
Yes, I’m talking about the “C”-word…
(even writing it makes me blush)
Because it’s a blight upon our language
That we need to expel outright and flush.
“CONTENT” is the expletive,
That we’ve been uttering of late,
Seven letters to describe a false king
That before which we all prostrate
Content isn’t king, you know…
It doesn’t deserve a special status.
It’s not the end-goal that is used
By our clients to judge or rate us.
This toxic distraction needs to end:
The word itself we should dethrone,
Because the true king is “CONVERSATION”,
(that’s the “C”-word we need to own).
Content’s just a message form,
That we then contextualise
And use to connect to our audience
To engage, delight and surprise.
By obsessing about the medium,
The outcome’s overlooked…
What good is a piece of content,
If it doesn’t get people hooked?
And what is content anyway?
A word both impressive and quite scary…
A concept without definition
That’s hijacked out vocabulary.
They’ll tell you it’s something “visual”:
A video, GIF or pic….
Or perhaps a fancy infographic
That on Pinterest we can stick.
But what about an article?
Or a long-form blog that’s posted?
Maybe content describes a press-release?
Which on our website can be hosted.
Even the 280 characters
That can make up a single tweet,
Could be called a content asset
However pithy, short or sweet.
A podcast, a PDF…
A downloadable presentation…
The point is: Content is just “interesting stuff”
That drives positive conversation.
And let’s not forget, we’ve always done this
As communication pros,
Creatively seed a good idea
And watch as it spreads and grows.
You can create an epic video
Spending huge budgets you can’t afford…
But if nobody really sees the it,
It won’t win an Oscar Award.
YouTube is a graveyard
Full of content that nobody saw
Because it had no value
No one knew what or who it was for.
The pics posted to Instagram
Were swiped past without a thought
Consider the wasted budget spent
And the other things it could have bought…
Content without purpose,
Is like a castle without a king
You need to direct the masses
Towards the next big thing.
We’re undisputed masters of storytelling,
Not all books need illustrating,
The message can often be just textual,
Yet still be invigorating.
Don’t misunderstand my rantings,
To mean that content isn’t required,
It’s a key part of our strategy,
But never the reason we’ll be hired.
Our USP in PR
Is our skill in fuelling chatter,
So let’s focus on objectives
And things that really matter.
The “C”-word’s only powerful,
When we use it to get a reaction.
If we obsess about stylistic form,
We risk losing interaction.
If you want to learn some more
In a training session by the PRCA
Click here to sign up to my course
That runs on the 28th of May.
I’ll be highlighting the many ways
In which brands may be advised
The best way to deploy a balanced mix
In which content is legitimised.
So use a bit of caution,
Don’t believe the hyperbole,
The “C”-word’s a complex paradigm
That takes our eyes off the true goal.
Book your place on Rax's upcoming training session, The “C” Word: Using content to drive conversation, by clicking here.
Blog Image: Content by Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images