I Have A Secret… Content Is Not King

DANGER: Extreme rant ahead. Proceed with caution!

*START RANT*

Is content king? I think that’s overrated.

The way I see it…

Marketing is king.

Let me throw some examples first:
Case 1: Coca Cola vs Pepsi

Since 1975, Pepsi has been running “The Pepsi Challenge” wherein they hand 2 blank cups to bystanders in malls – one containing Pepsi and the other one, Coke, and then they’d ask which tastes better.

The result? Pepsi topped the challenge.

But Coca Cola is still the number one soft drink. Why? Advertising.
Case 2: Problogger.net

It’s widely accepted that Darren is the #1 blogger who blogs about how to make money blogging (And I amen to that) but does Darren give “the” best content about blogging to make money? I’m not saying that Darren’s content sucks, Darren gives high octane info. But does he give the best content around the blogosphere?

Of course not, there are a lot of bloggers out there who give hard core advice on blogging but they’re unnoticed. Why? Because they didn’t market themselves enough. They haven’t positioned themselves properly. Darren positioned himself as THE Problogger.

Case 3: McDonalds

Let’s face it.

They don’t have the best tasting burgers.

They don’t have the best tasting french fries.

But they do know where to put their branches.

One of my dad’s MBA teachers once said “McDonalds is not in the fast food business, they’re in the real estate business.”
Content is just a part of marketing

I personally believe, and the way I apply it to my business, content – is just part of marketing.

There are a lot of people out there who are topping the charts but are not really “the” best or don’t really posses the best skills – but they know how to market themselves.

Another quick example: Bruce Lee, not the strongest, not the quickest but the most popular martial artist ever.

There are a lot of people too who have “the” best content, but are unknown.

Of course, I’m not saying that you should just put all your efforts into marketing – again, content is part of marketing – you have to deliver.

Not necessarily the best content, but “good enough” content to keep them coming back.

So in conclusion: Marketing is king.

*PHEW! END RANT*

 

I agree with you.This is 100% truth.

 

Thanks bro..

 

I had to laugh with all the analogies. You're right though. hahaa

 

its more like "I Had A Secret" right now. once you spill out the secret, its not a secret anymore

 

In on line marketing, content is just using the right keywords in the right position and embed them in relevant text.

It only needs to be relevant, instead of being good. ^^

 

Hey,
I always liked Coca Cola better. Probably they had to pay people to prefer Pepsi
And... did anyone claim Bruce Lee was the best martial artist?

Of course, you'are basically right, but content is still king! Well... or queen at least

I'd say, it's harder without content... or you'd have to have REALLY good marketing to STAY on top without content. Mostly, marketing without content does only work well for a limited time.

Also I think that it's more satisfying to not only be after making the most money, but to do something that has a meaning (to you).

Cheers!

 

yes, but SEO is a marketing tool

 

Yeah. Content is just 20-30% of rankings while Links (linkbuilding) is 70-80% of rankings. What do you think guys?

getting links are very crucial. I have seen duplicate content sites that ranks (meaning copied) through link building only. Lol.

 

This is not a secret. Content is fundamental and marketing is the bridge to more traffic.

 

I agree with you bro but seo is also like marketing with different way

 

Journal: "Science and Life 1986"

 

What the heck are you talking about? That's the ONLY thing I like at "Mickey D's". I'm not saying they're healthy though...

Good post though, you can look at VHS and Betamax as well. Betamax was the better product (smaller tapes, better video and sound quality), but VHS won over with marketing/advertising.

 

hmm... good post, but your facts are actually semi-wrong, re: the reason why coca-cola really wins in the battle between pepsi vs coca-cola, and who came up with the quote on that mcdonalds is in the real estate business.

however, if you have really great marketing but have really poor sales or customer service skills, work of mouth will kill you.

 

The comparison between physical and digital business model is not something that can be used as a reference for "the content is the king" argument except for the Problogger example which can also be argued with. I still believe content is the king and the rest will follow.

But for the sake of argument let us look at Case 1: Coca Cola vs Pepsi. If marketing is the king (and by looking at the whole picture) how come the overall soda sales that includes of Pepsi and Coke is declining (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/09/business/09soda.html?_r=1). Perhaps because people are now looking for something that has real content in it like teas and juices?

Likewise, The US sales of Mcdonalds is down (http://www.americanconsumernews.com...es-increase-globally-decrease-in-the-u-s.html).

The Bruce Lee reference of being "not the best" can still be argued with. Just ask a fan or someone who knows Bruce Lee's history.

Just my two cents.

 

Content is king in natural placements. If you have a marketing budget like Coke or Pepsi, than may be yes. You can build up brand awareness through Super Bowl commercials, radio, billboards etc. Otherwise, do not dismiss the value of content. And to ThunderBolts point, I don't know where you are getting those numbers, but I think they are misguided.

 

Well you are right and you are wrong

In your analogies you are are correct. As those have to do with business in general.

However you are wrong in that your premise is flawed from the begining.

The phrase "content is king" is specifically in relation to Search Engine Optimization

And the truth is, he who has the most relavent content, becomes king for search terms related to that content. (among other factors)

in the end, good content, consistent content, relavent content etc is what dominates SEO. But SEO is not the same as running a business.

Hence Mickey D's vs BK and VHS vs Beta

so IN CONTEXT - Content is, in fact KING


Anjd OH YAH...bruce lee was the fastest martial artist

 

If you have no content it's going to be difficult to market because you have nothing to hang your hat on. Most of the marketing done online is content developed specifically for marketing purposes i.e. press releases, articles, link bait. All of those are content based items generated for marketing purposes. I think they go hand in hand.

 

Without content (or product) there is nothing to market.

 

I could not agree more... I think content is extremely important in SEO techniques and practices. Nonetheless, many IMers, beginners and old timers, seem to fail to understand that there needs to be a balance between Content and Marketing. And as a matter of fact, when using email marketing, CONTENT is extremely important, because if you have a very badly written copy you would have wasted your valuable time and money. SO in essence, CONTENT IS KING!!!

As far as Bruce Lee is concerned, he was the fastest... I have had to hear about Bruce Lee's style for almost ten years (my husband is a fan). He was so agile and fast he often appeared to climb like spiderman and seemed to be flying or walking on air with certain moves. I am not a fan, but have heard it all...