The Lion and the Mouse of Effective Content

What's the most important thing you need to know to develop effective content?

I was thinking about the various statements we hear and make these days about how engagement is king, content is queen, context is the umbrella that makes it all happen, etc. It all sounds fairly complicated. Let a person with a long corporate history tell you: simplicity works.

Think about it:

• clarity of purpose simplifies what you want to transmit
• putting your message in plain words creates a stronger signal
• storytelling and simplicity go hand in hand and make content more sharable for that reason

A week ago, we talked about social content. Does all content need to be social to be effective?

Content that works drives conversation because it is emotionally compelling, tells a story, and for that reason is easier to transmit, to pass on. It also does something else. Greek mythology, for example, is filled with simple, memorable stories that are easy to remember and tell, and teach us something.

Once when a Lion was asleep a little Mouse began running up and down upon him; this soon wakened the Lion, who placed his huge paw upon him, and opened his big jaws to swallow him.

“Pardon, O King,” cried the little Mouse, “forgive me this time, I shall never forget it: who knows but what I may be able to do you a turn some of these days?”

The Lion was so tickled at the idea of the Mouse being able to help him, that he lifted up his paw and let him go.

Some time after the Lion was caught in a trap, and the hunters who desired to carry him alive to the King, tied him to a tree while they went in search of a wagon to carry him on.

Just then the little Mouse happened to pass by, and seeing the sad plight in which the Lion was, went up to him and soon gnawed away the ropes that bound the King of the Beasts.

“Was I not right?” said the little Mouse.

What was he right about? I bet you could finish the story without the help of Google, and explain what Æsop teaches us -- his call to action.

Making the content "social" is not a special kind of voodoo you do to words. It's not putting a "share this" widget next to it, either. It means reaching out and connecting with a deeper need and inspiring the conversations and actions of others. What else does effective content have that drives action?

• it's relevant -- speaks to us, right now
• it's realistic -- thus motivates us to act
• it's substantive -- it's got something in it for us

And by virtue of these main characteristics, it's valuable to save, and share. What can you do with your content that will make it attention grabbing? How can you tell a story that delivers a great punch line?

Do you believe there's no money in content creation?

[illustration by Jerry Pinkney]

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Comments

[Eric Pratum]

Leaving out broadcast, interruption, etc, the most effective way (and perhaps the most difficult) to make content attention grabbing is to make it relevant to the audience. TV commercials, billboards, magazine advertisements, etc almost never grab me because they generally speak to someone else, someone who is paying attention in those media. However, if the same or similar points are made in a medium I am interested in, they might grab my attention because they are suddenly more relevant than previously. For example, I'm thinking about buying a new smart phone, but I mute the TV when commercials come on even if I see a commercial for a phone, so they never grab my attention. However, if I'm reading this blog, watching twit, or whatever else and a smart phone is discussed, that content has suddenly become more attention grabbing to me, and not only that, the value of that content may have doubled in my mind because I have not only already shown interest in your content just by consuming it, but at the same time, you are delivering something additional to me that I've been looking for.

[Joey Strawn]

KISS, that's the acronym I've heard for content creation throughout my life as a writer, PR professional and marketer. Keep It Simple, Stupid. It's been a war cry of mine for some time, so I was tickled when I saw your post today.

It seems to me that there are a lot of bloggers and digital communicators that want to be the James Joyce of the Internet community and I see that as a waste. Should you craft an effective story? Of course. Does it need to be so complicated that it takes days to decipher as if it were the Da Vinci code? No.

The questions I ask myself with each post are:
- Am I getting the point across that I intended?
- Will this be beneficial to my readers/clients?
- Is there a way I could make this easier to digest?

People will thank you by continuing to read what you have to say.

[Don Lafferty]

The more sharply focused your target audience, the easier it is.

We all love an underdog story (at least in Philadelphia), or a David and Goliath tale of hope and justice, but sculpting these tried and true storytelling devices into a value proposition takes, well, good writing AND good storytelling craft.

That's why it's critical to identify and develop an intimate understanding of your target audience before crafting your message and story, and then have somebody with some genuine skills write that puppy.

And no, I don't think there's a broad opportunity for revenue simply from content creation. There are pockets of opportunity where funds are available and decision makers see the value of excellent writing, but most corporations begrudgingly fund marketing, because ROI on marketing dollars isn't always crystal clear, and it's too easy for sales to scoop the credit for revenue capture.

[Lisa Stockwell]

The lion and mouse parable is perfect for describing the true potential of social media. Many businesses still don't get the give and take of it. They are using social media to listen or to promote their own content. But I think the majority still don't trust or understand the benefits they can derive from interacting in a personal way and answering specific questions and concerns with honest responses.

As to money in content creation, I don't think all businesses need to pay professional writers to write comments on other blogs or forums, or post on FB or Twitter. If this is all someone does, it's hard to avoid the conversation sounding like a PR pitch.

But I do think there is money to be made in writing other content, such as articles, case studies, videos, audios and, in some cases, blogs. The quality of the writing reflects the quality and professionalism of the organization. And good writing is still a skill, if not an art, that most people haven't developed.

Unless a business is so wonderful and unique that it sells itself, it can't compete on the internet with untargeted and sloppily written copy. There's too much competition. Successful companies know this and still pay good money to get good content.

[Glenn Friesen]

On point, as always! :)

You know, I think everybody needs to just sit back and read the cluetrain manifesto.

http://www.cluetrain.com/

It's easy to over-intellectualize all this stuff. Really, it's just time to give real people really good content - like they've, like we've always deserved.

[Valeria Maltoni]

@Eric - the challenge for marketers with the fragmentation of media is scale. It's hard to justify building a platform, which takes time, when they've got to show results this quarter. That's why advertising is not going away, it's just changing in mature. You still need a mechanism to drive attention to a place, to them build audience, etc. This blog is almost four years old and 1,200+ posts. It has standing power because of the work.

@Joey - "the James Joyce of the Internet community" I love that! Yeah, for a Liberal Arts major like me, for whom English is a second language learned on Shakespeare, Chaucer, and the lot, writing simply takes practice, writing a lot, and editing down. I'm saving your questions for reference. Thank you.

@Don - indeed, the more detailed we can make our appeal for the attention of a specific person or group we want to attract, the better. My first true affiliate post was a disaster, so yes, writing well and writing well with a value prop that sells are two different things. Words of wisdom on sales getting the credit. Even poets and artists whose word endure through time mostly barely made a living.

@Lisa - good observation. Yes, companies behave like lions anxious to get the mouse and be done with it. There's no patience for curation, yet. As there is little appreciation for writing that sells. Maybe because may projects start with good intentions and end up as the product of a committee, each putting in a word or two, until the copy is so filled with them that it says nothing by trying to say it all.

@Glenn - thank you. Did you read the expanded edition? When I interviewed Doc Searls, he talked about it.

[Ike]

Use the principles of the greatest pickup line ever: http://ike4.me/o49

;)