As the story goes, several years ago a rookie reporter was sent to cover a story about a dispute at a local business establishment. The only problem was, of course, that there was no dispute. But she wrote about the non-problem because, she said, “I had space to fill.”
She later said that her editor looked at it, laughed, and said, “Girl, you are trying to make chicken salad out of chicken poop. There’s nothing there.”
The Lesson: You need substance to make something of substance. And when it comes to business, that means having content that matters.
According to Ann Handley, (chief content officer at MarketingProfs and co-author of Content Rules), the three qualities of good content are that it’s:
- Relevant: It helps your customers share or solve, and doesn’t shill.
- Engaging: It’s fun, enjoyable, or even occasionally surprises.
- Shareable: Has wings and roots. It’s rooted in your brand and voice, but has wings to be shared freely, all across the social web.
There’s a great on-demand webinar over at MarketingProfs entitled “MarketingProfs University: Content Rules! How to Create the Right Kind of Content.” Check it out. Finding, writing, and creating content that grabs your audience and changes them (whether in heart, mind, soul, viewpoint, or, heck, even their mood) isn’t easy. But there’s never been an easier or more painless way to learn the basics of good online content.
According to notes on the webinar page over at MarketingProfs, “You’ll get answers to the questions that have you tossing and turning at night: What does it mean to create content that’s “compelling”? And how can you do it consistently? How can you be heard above the noise?”
MarketingProfs is, in my humble opinion, worth every moment you spend on their sites. Great stuff, great content, great hints and tips on how to do what you do in the marketing arena better. If you ever wanted to learn how to make great chicken salad, this is the place.
