If You’re Saying “Content Marketing is Dead” — You’ve Missed the Whole Point

I’m blessed to speak all over the world on a subject many folks refer to as “content marketing.” Of course, that’s what marketing folks call it. A huge portion of CEOs and business owners still haven’t even heard the phrase, much less understand what it is.

Heck, I wonder if most marketers really understand what it is.

I say this because, when it comes to all things digital, we love to throw stuff in a grave, claim it’s dead, and then watch our social media vanity metrics explode simply because we decided to ride the “it’s dead” train.

Sure. Fine. I get it.

But, fundamentally, what is content marketing? To me, here’s what it is:

1. Obsessive listening to your prospects and customers
2. Knowing the fears, issues, worries, questions, and wants of your prospects and customers
3. The willingness to then do something about this awareness — by addressing these issues/questions/wants on your website, social platforms, traditional publications, etc. in a way that truly helps, teaches, and informs your prospects and customers.

Although it makes many “marketers” cringe, when I speak to CEOs I always define content marketing as:

“Your company’s ability to be the best and most helpful teachers in the world.”

Some folks in the industry have mocked this definition.

Yet, I can say will full certainty, even at the risk of sounding arrogant, that I have converted more hard-headed CEOs to embrace “content marketing” than 99% of the world.

I get buy-in. It’s what I do. And I do it well.

But I do it well because I don’t see it as complex. For me, it ain’t about “Big Data” or all that other jargon we like to speak of.

Rather, it’s about listening, teaching, addressing, answering, showing, etc.

That’s the essence of content marketing.

And those are traits any CEO, or Sales Manager, or Business Owner can assuredly get behind.

If we truly look at it, will listening, teaching, addressing, answering, and showing be relevant to businesses in 5, 15, or 50 years?

Yep. All day long.

So no, Content Marketing isn’t dead. It has been around since the first printed word thousands of years ago and it will be around well past our limited time on this planet.

To close, I’d just like to offer up a suggestion to the doomsdayers:

Instead of spouting about what’s dead to get a few more likes on Facebook, maybe we should discuss that which matters most — the principles that will truly impact businesses and brands for a lifetime.