Does the world need more marketing content? Do I really need to write another blog? Why should I bother creating another podcast episode?
I hate to break it to that little voice inside our heads, the one that really enjoys the status quo and the avoidance of hard yakka, but the world is a long way from having too much marketing information.
This might seem counterintuitive when you think about the flood of content in your Facebook and LinkedIn streams, let alone Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube, but to think otherwise is to ignore the evidence all around us.
How many people complain about discovering another great new series on Netflix or about going to the movies to see a new blockbuster?
How many people complain about having another chat with their friends or listening to their favourite radio hosts?
Not many.
We are social beings and we are, generally, inquisitive. Through evolution, a strong survival mechanism has been our internal drive to assess the new or novel. It's a default behaviour that makes sure we have sized up anything new in our world to determine whether it is friend or foe, safe or dangerous, etc.
This means humans will always have an inclination towards the new, which is good news for the marketer inside you and bad news for that "lazy" or "cynical" voice that wants you to take the easy road.
Things I have learned from developing new marketing content this week
I am writing this artle as part of my Week of Blogging Dangerously, in which I have publicly promised one new blog per day throughout the week.
As the idea for this week formed over a few weeks, I had that little lazy voice whispering into my ear and then screaming into my ear that I don't need to do this, that my marketing has become based on word-of-mouth and on-going relationships with some amazing clients whom I also count as friends.
There is a certain truth to that BUT it misses a few key points.
Firstly, we blog and produce marketing content for our own professional development as much as for producing marketing collateral. So while I might not be in a situation of deperately needing to tout for work, I believe in lifelong learning and this blogging exercise has been invigorating.
Secondly, I have been surprised by some of the warm responses I have received, not only from friends and clients who have taken away a few thoughts to ponder but moreso by hearing some people say that through my blogs they've discovered more about what I do. While I had made the mistake of assuming everybody knows about my range of services, it takes something as straightforward and practical as a blog to shine a light into your world on behalf of your existing clients and customers. As a direct result of this, a client has set up an introduction for me to a new client now that they know I do facilitation, which was referenced during a previous blog this week as an aside.
Thirdly, these areticles are new. That means they are getting a fresh dose of attention within my various circles. I am giving people a reason to consider me again. None of my articles have been earth shattering this week but that was never the point. What they are trying to be is honest and transparent. I have been using these blogs to share a glimpse into how I think about the world and marketing so that current and potential clients might have a better idea about what makes me tick and whether such ticking matches the beat of their drum and is in harmony with the way they want to operate. This even includes deciding whether or not they'll tolerate my occasional mixed metaphors!
Do I consume marketing content myself?
The short answer is yes.
There is no way I would have been able to have written and delivered the first social media marketing workshops in South Australia back in 2005, had I not been someone who was immersed in reading about and experimenting with the latest tools and ideas in the marketing world.
I have maintained a solid diet of podcast consumption and reading and even this week I bought a new book by one of my marketing thinker heroes, Seth Godin. Is there likely to be anything new in that book? Probably not. What there is likely to be, though, are some old ideas refreshed. And it is in the act of repurposing and reframing old ideas that new insights can arise or, at least, new bursts of energy to apply what was once known.
So, there's my thinking on this topic. Yes, we all get overwhelmed by content overload from time to time AND we see flaky Facebook ads promoting new systems for generating Insta videos and Facebook lives every day with 365 pre-packaged ideas and our eyes roll. However, when we take time to think deeply about how we can help clients and customers, ideas for more marketing content will arise, will be produced, and will be appreciated by some.
But even if your new marketing content is not found by your audience directly, remember you have sharpened your thinking in the act and created a resource that will always have value waiting to be re-used again and again.