Who is the Real King - The Content vs. Conversation Debate?:

The great debate is on and often we as marketers struggle to decide who is right. 

Writer, Michael Greenberg, swears by content and believes that it is the way to go.  It can be quite simply added onto a marketing calendar and treated as another to do in your company’s overall marketing plan. As long as you are meeting three requirements, content will take you to the top. “Have something to say. Say it often. Be interesting.” (2009).

Catherine Novak, a writer for Social Media Today, is on the other side and believes that conversation is the answer to the great debate. She says that “Content is just something to talk about” and can be useful in starting a conversation sometimes. If we set up our communications as a way to interact and start conversations we will be much more successful on all social platforms (2010). 

As a social media marketer I think that they are both important to help build a successful social market. There must be a delicate balance. You must have good content to drive people to your blogs, whether it’s through search engines or a push through your other social media channels. You must also have conversational posts on your social media channels to help relate to your clients and prospective clients. People want to feel like a brand is a real person and the best way to do that is to get personal.

Being in the photography business I see many types of methods for trying to produce great content and have great conversations. One photography studio that I follow has a great example of how both content and conversation are important. Let’s look at their blog Zach & Jody Photography. They use their blog to communicate about their products and services, share images from the weddings they photograph, gives reviews on products, share tips on photography techniques, and to share inspiring stories about their journey as photographers, husband & wife, becoming parents, etc. 

One recent personal post from their blog is about their maternity session. It is definitely a little look into a big part of their lives. The conversation tone is such that you feel like you are friends seeing a part of their journey. Some other conversation posts that they have contributed were about setting goals for the year and actually working towards them.

The other side “content” has a special place in Zach & Jody’s world too. Each week they post their “Photo Tips & Tricks”. These posts teach a variety of photography techniques for things such as Creating the Image and Background Lighting. This valuable content helps them to be seen as experts on photography and caters to the B2B part of their business, teaching photographers.

As you can see, there is a time and place for both content and conversation. Why don’t we put the debate to rest and embrace each part as something that is great?

References

Greenberg, M. (2009, October 20). Content is King of Social Marketing. MultiChannel Merchant. Retrieved November 11, 2013 from WVU Lesson 3 readings.

Novak, C. (2010, July 7). Why Conversation, not Content, is King. Social Media Today. Retrieved November 11, 2013 from WVU Lesson 3 readings.

The Blog. (2013). Zach & Jody. Retrieved November 11, 2013, from http://www.zachandjody.com/blog/