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Where's the Beef? - Jul 26, 2010

Posted by: Edward Baloga in Articles

This memorable line spoken by Clara Peller of Wendy’s fame came to our attention in January 1984. The campaign ended the following year. It referred to an imaginary competitor’s enormous looking hamburger. In fact, that bun only had a minuscule hamburger patty inside. The line even made its way into politics during the 1984 presidential election.

In today’s online, web-connected world, the line that marketers need to ask themselves is, “Where’s the content?”

This question is answered in an interesting article called The 10 Commandments of Content Marketing by Eric Anderson, VP of Marketing at White Horse, a digital marketing agency based in the Pacific Northwest. He contends that it is no longer enough to have just a web site. The idea that advertising and social media are mutually exclusive is no longer the case. A summary of these Commandments is outlined below:

#1 Content shall be shareable

Advertising is about creating something worth passing on. Broadcast advertisers that top the viral video charts week after week don't shout -- they amuse, entertain, and inspire.

#2 Content shall be malleable

How does the message fit the medium? Brands are built on trust. And trust is built on relevance. Good content is always relevant.

#3 Content shall be collaborative

Doritos let consumers create the brand's Super Bowl ads. These ads were the most-favored and most-recalled of the Super Bowl, and they were the most-shared (see #1).

#4 Content shall be measurable

When you put content out on social networks, on YouTube, on blogs, etc. -- you can measure the traffic that comes back.

#5 Content shall be fearless

Content concerns itself with an exchange of ideas, so it morphs and evolves as new ideas are added.

#6 Content shall invite comment

Most content produced for our customers will fail. This is a good thing; success depends on knowing when things fail, so we can try something else.

#7 Content shall start everywhere

The marketer's core expertise will no longer be knowing how to produce marketing content; it'll be knowing how to channel marketing content in ways that keeps the conversation going.

#8 Content shall go everywhere

Today’s consumers visit blogs, message boards, review sites, and social networks to get the real scoop on the brand. You need content in all of those places.

#9 Content shall be sponsored

It used to be that PR content went to PR outlets and advertising content went to advertising outlets. Not any longer, they go hand in hand.

#10 Content shall be forever

In the past, advertising only lasted as long as you paid for it. Content marketing lives well beyond a campaign because it shows up in archives, on sharing sites like SlideShare and Scribd, on blogs, in tweets, and in content aggregators like Digg and StumbleUpon.

Feel free to email me your thoughts at ebaloga@b2bcfo.com. Ed Baloga is a New York based partner and small business advisor with B2BCFO®.