June 2001
The Comeback Kid that Never Left
Rediscovering the power of good content can help you connect with your customers
By Celia Canfield
It's only natural that a headline suggesting reverence for content is bound to catch my eye. "The Next Big Wave," "Content Is King," and "Content Stages a Comeback" are a few of the gems I've seen recently.
While I applaud the fact that columnists and business executives are excited about using content more effectively on their websites and in their marketing pieces, it does annoy me just a bit that the use of content is considered "new and improved," like the latest version of a detergent.
"Without the proper words to convey excitement, enthusiasm, or enlightenment, there can be no sense of connection." From where I sit, I never noticed that content went anywhere. However, it has been underappreciated and grossly underutilized. Many recently departed websites suffered because they thought a series of product offerings and a couple of well-placed clicks were all it took to build a brand and create a community. What they missed was that the Web should be viewed as a reading medium. Without the proper words to convey excitement, enthusiasm, or enlightenment, there can be no sense of connection.
We publishers know better. If creating publications were easy, then people like Malcolm Forbes, Tina Brown, and Bill Ziff wouldn't stand out so prominently in an industry littered with failures. Knowing how to create just the right combination of voice, look, and content is truly a science. You know when you get it right because readers flock to the newsstands to buy copies—and a franchise evolves. When you get it wrong, you build it but they do not come.
So I don't believe that compelling and appropriate content ever went out of style. The only new trend is that marketers have come to appreciate that as long as their customers need or desire information about the products they buy, the best way to communicate is with words. Not just any words, but the right words, as well as images.
About the author:
Celia Canfield is the CEO and founding partner of Tendo Communications. email her with your search successes and failures.
