There's a saying that's been going around among content marketers since the rise of the internet. It's whispered in hushed yet angry tones, passed secretly between one zombified content marketer to the next. Creativity is dead. Hard sell is the way to go. It's the only way... way... way... (echo)
Forget what you've learned during your Content Marketing lessons. Hard sell is the easy way of doing things. So why bother with complicated strategies and step-by-step procedures when you can do things without even flexing a muscle?
In this dog-eat-dog world of the internet, the key to survival is to be forceful. So it's time to unlearn things you thought were "good" marketing methods and start failing at content creation.
Thinking out of the box is for squares
What is creativity? It's just something online editors say they incorporate in some content to attract people to visit their page. All the gimmicks of relating one concept to another to present a point, like relating Freudian psychology to content marketing, they're just there as embellishments. They're good to look at but if you just want to get pageviews, why waste time and effort thinking when you can just write and post "buy our products!" all over the internet?
It gets pageviews. It gets people to look at what you have to say. That's all you need and want, right?
Why even look for inspiration for a "great" content?
This bloggers says you should take a walk, that blogger says you should take a shower. Some say you should also read, watch TV and movies, and even go to theater performances to stimulate creativity. Others say you should read scientific journals and studies to find facts that could back your content up. But why?
Why not just do it like how the conventional telemarketers do it? It's easier to just get random email addresses online and bombard them with emails about your products, services and links to your website. Ask them to take a look at what you have to offer, even if they have absolutely no idea who you are or what your company is about. The only content you have to write is a line or two asking them to buy from you. Don't even give them a reason why they should. It would make them curious and would make them want to reply "why"? This can be your cue to bombard them with more unsolicited emails.
The Lesson
If you're already doing these, then you should be ashamed and should be calling your strategies as "spamming the internet" instead.
If you haven't noticed the sarcasm on the above writing, you should realize it now. Content marketing and social media Interaction is a vital part in today's businesses. Their purpose is to not only garner more money online but to educate customers and clients about the need-to-know things about a certain industry. These marketing strategies are ways of developing interactions and relationships between business managers and customers. Content and social media marketing are such important aspects that they have set the bar higher in the marketing world.
So why is it important to be creative in these aspects?
Remember that old book that you wanted to read but didn't and couldn't finish because of its writing style? Or perhaps that ad about this product that was very informative but you didn't even see more than 3 seconds of it because it looked boring?
The same goes with online content. Today's marketing, even SEO, revolves around good content. Like it or not, quality content is really the way to go while spamming is called a nuisance. But even if you create the most informative and the most persuasive content on the face of the internet, your efforts will be useless when no one even bothers to read it. Here's where creativity comes in.
Since a lot of businesses are competing to be better than their competitors, it pays to have a more playful mind. It's a way of being one step ahead of competition. Most importantly, it's one of the best ways to get an online audience. A post about how Eminem could help you in writing sounds more attractive than a 12-page essay about the history of marketing. While you may not be a fan of Eminem, the unique way of relating him to writing will at least pique interests more interest than a long history lesson.
Creativity can not only boost the number of your audience but can also help you establish your business as a credible source of information.