4 Content ‘Must Dos’: #1 Visible Value to Create Competitive Advantage

With 2017 right around the corner, I am undertaking a four piece blog series focused on the art-and-science of content. The components will include:

1. Creating Content to Visualize Competitive Advantage
2. Aligning Value with Customer Business Outcomes
3. Mobilizing Content as a Discipline in the Organization
4. Monitoring, Managing and Adjusting Based on Content Data & Results

In this first post, I will focus on point 1 above.

What do I mean by “Creating Content to Visualize Competitive Advantage?”

Creating content to visualize competitive advantage speaks to two components. First, the importance of creating compelling, relevant and stimulating content that attracts the attention of the consumer is obvious. Elements of design are important, including:

• Color
• Shape
• Texture
• Space
• Form
• Unity/harmony
• Balance
• Hierarchy

The design and general branding are paramount to attracting eyeballs as primary offensive strategies.

Secondly, and from a business perspective, the content and contextual experience (medium, channel, timing, message) you create should make your brand stand out. Evoking emotion and achieving impact to captivate a consumer in a world of limited attention spans results in a competitive market advantage.

Thinking about the content you create and the story you tell as media that entertains and establishes the quality and tenor of your relationship with customers should govern your content planning and execution.

A recent thought-provoking content question I read that Coca-Cola utilizes as they calibrate their content reach and frequency is:

Can we use our assets as content, and can we create content out of our assets?

Insights / Take Aways

• How well you tell your brand’s unique and authentic story and scale the quality of marketing narration to share your novel message and value is your challenge to own, and your opportunity. Content can serve to be your strategic differentiator and facilitate the storytelling when developed correctly. Embracing creativity is as important as the assets with which and evolution of how you tell the story.
• You are your best brand steward. You own the story and management of the brand promise. Look after the way in which you narrate the content and realize that it is better to be proactive and in an forward posture than it is to be late to the content game and trying to close the gap with market leaders. 

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