The following is a snippet from an upcoming White Paper I'm writing around influential drivers impacting Interactive Strategy. I thought it would be interesting to give you sneak peak into the section around Content. Enjoy.
Content (in all its forms) is not just king anymore. It's king, queen and the court. A compelling visual design, cutting edge functionality, even an easy to use web site are nothing without a serious approach to not only create great content initially, but on a steady, continual basis that provides value to your customers and prospects.
Content is Not Just the Written Word
When you mention "content" to most marketers, they think of the written word. The evolution of the internet has really changed that. Content is the culmination of many moving parts, certainly copy in the form of the written word is the key element. But the interplay of that copy with graphics, charts and photos on the page demands that they work in coordination to maximize the user experience. Even the layout (frequent headers, use of bullets) and choice of typefaces will impact the user experience.
Audio, video, animation and motion are also critical elements in the content mix as well. Their elevation in importance has been brought about by the confluence of several factors:
- Cheap, high speed broadband
- Ready access via multiple devices, especially mobile
- Portable cameras like the fliphone or iPhone 3GS
- Cheap video editing software
- Platforms like YouTube and Vimeo
When taken together, the barrier to entry for using video has been lowered dramatically. There are numerous examples (e.g. SEOmoz's White Board Friday's) of organizations effectively using short, informal clips to do Q&A, promote a product or shoot a testimonial.