Producing content and using social media techniques have not been a fad – something that will go and come on a whim. Before the Internet, people were using other types of marketing methods. It was not until recently, “social media” became a popular term in exchange for “marketing” in general.
As Mike Spakowski pointed out in his article Content is the New Black people do not have to have a Public Relations job to utilize the concepts behind social media. You can share your content on social networks like Facebook and Twitter any day at any time and as frequently as you wish.
Content and Design balanced together is a great tool to reach people. It takes adhering to web standards, and search engine optimization methods to make a site stand out. However, it is the content that people come to see the most. Good design is great, but flashy design is not always necessary.
Without content, you cannot attract people who might be interested in what you would like to say, teach, or even sell. On top of that, you have to make sure that people can relate to what you are saying and provide valuable information to set your site apart from the thousands of others in your niche.
So all those just noticing how much content is being passed through the social network streams, it is nothing new. If these sites had been around 10 years ago, it would have been the same story today.
Are you still getting the terms “social media” and “social networking” confused? Still learning the ropes? What kinds of things are you hoping to learn in this area? How do you make sure that your content is the king on your site?
Marwan says
Yes, content is King indeed. My new websitehttp://www.ebook-ebuch.de is merely 12 weeks old and has got a google rank of 4/10 because I write daily at least 2 articles into it. I allways new that content is important, but never expected it to be so urgent. I can only say, write, write, write.
My recent post eBook vermarkten & eBuch verkaufen
Nile Flores says
That is great news on your page rank! Even though the search engines really like to place content… make sure to check your other stats like visitors to make sure you are getting the traffic too. Page Rank does not determine traffic amount.
Grace says
your right on all points! ๐
Nile Flores says
Thanks! ๐
Latoya Hackett says
Really good post. This is something that I try to drive the fact that "Content is King" to all of my blog readers. I teach my readers how to make money online, but a lot of it has to do with writing their own information products, writing online, copywriting, etc. and content is important in every aspect. Even in social media!
My recent post Uh Oh Not the iPad!
Nile Flores says
I do not get to teach people how to make online as much as I would like, but I do actually speak a lot with people locally and those I do come into contact with. Some of them want an easy fix, but I tell them if they are going to do it right, you have to invest the time to do it, including the writing. How can others know about your product if you do not write about it and show them why you are selling it. ๐
MotionTech says
Great post. Our website,http://www.motiont.com sells desktop search programs. For the longest time, our website just sold those programs. But, we have recently started marketing more. Before doing so, we focused on content, content, and more content. For example, one of our programs is the Leads Finder and it can be used to find good deals, gig leads, sales leads, and more. So, I thought about each of these areas and made a long list of articles I can write for site content. We also recently added a blog and it does help. Thanks for the tips.
@Atomicdust says
Thanks for the Atomicdust shout out!
Content is more important than ever these days. With the way SEO works, you need to content in order for people to find your site. And, in my opinion, more importantly, you need the content to keep people at your site. As Mike pointed out in the post, it used to be all you needed was fashy design. Now, that might get their attention, but if you're site lacks valuable content, they'll leave.
I don't think it is limited to social media or online marketing, but just a shift in the way people want information. They don't want to be sold, they don't want big, flashy design. They are smarter than that. People are looking for honest, valuable information, and our content- online and off- needs to provide it for them.
Nile Flores says
I cannot argue with that. ๐ Amen!
zach says
I agree with you 100%
Unique content is King…
I wonder if i keep posting daily is it consider like spam?
I never thought of using autoblog…
Maybe some autoblog s/w can set 2-4 time posting per week…
But i never try it
ileane says
Nile, I'm glad you talk about the importance of design alongside content. I have very little design skills in terms of using code and CSS to make changes to my blog themes. I think this is an area that I should focus on for growth. When I'm visiting other blogs, if I'm turned off by the design, I never make it to reading the content. ๐
In a way it's great to see all of these social networking sites vying for our attention. They provide another vehicle for expression of our content is various formats. I'm exploring Google Buzz and I admit it has my attention in terms of growth potential. This is one place where content rules and design has no influence. We are all stuck with the "design" of Buzz, which shines the spotlight on content in a big way.
My recent post Chrome Extension For Improved Readability
Nile says
I think people are turned off more when they want to hire a designer and find out it costs gobs of money. I hate that and try to be reasonable.
I do think a lot of sites can be distracting because they have not really found a good plan for their website in design itself.
Even if your site is minimal or without design, I like to see good content any day. I am not there to review a site unless someone pays me for a consultation (for my time spent.) However, for those seeking to brand themselves well, they will have to seek out a way to be unique… especially in your case when you go to free to self-hosted, if you do. You could always hold a graphic contest and the winner can get a prize and of course, they would get a credit link somewhere in the theme. Just an idea for you Ileane for the future. ๐
shans says
Content is king, but then almost everything has been written about. I believe Content along with your own experiences and learning go a long way.
Sutton says
The most important part of a site is content. I would say the second is the design of the site. If you have good content but a horrible looking site visitors aren't gong to stay to read your content. I often see people complaining about their sites not getting traffic and if you look at their content it is usually lacking.
Writing good content is not easy and it takes time getting familiar with creating it. But once you do it is worth it for the traffic you will receive from it.
Veronica Cervera says
There are other fundamental aspects but content is most important. Users search for information, information is most important to them so as long as a blog have good content readers will keep pouring in.