We are in the middle of working on a video about content marketing and one of the key phrases we are using is "Why lease when you can buy?"
If you are looking at a car or at a house, their are pros and cons to buying versus leasing (or renting). To make a decision, first you have to understand the differences between buying and leasing:
"When you buy, you pay for the entire cost
of the [asset] regardless of how [much you use it or what you get out
of it.] When you lease, you pay for only a portion of [the real asset's
cost], which is the part that you 'use up' [while you are occupying
it]."
Buying is Creating Your Own Content
Think about that for a second in relation to the creation of content. By creating your own content, publishing it, then distributing it through print and online mechanisms, you've bought yourself an asset. Once you buy it, you could do nothing with it, or distribute the heck out of it. Regardless, you still pay the same for that asset. Getting ROI out of it is ultimately up to you.
If executed correctly, you can leverage and re-leverage that asset to continually communicate with customers and prospects. The majority of top tier content does not depreciate either (what publishing folks call "evergreen" content), unlike a car. Great content works more like buying a house or property. If it's good and can be found (location), it goes up in value.
Traditional Advertising is Leasing
Although more and more companies are "buying" content, a good portion of marketing budgets are still spent on leasing or renting activities such as print advertising or online banners and buttons. Like in the definition above, you, the marketer, pay a small portion of the true asset cost or value (owned by the publisher or content distributor) for the area that you are "using up" during that particular time.
Since the publisher owns the asset, which is essential the community they bring to the table for your benefit, they have the right to charge you for the space you are taking up.
Now, advertising has its place. We at Junta42 use traditional advertising all the time. But understand that once it's gone, it's gone. You have paid for renting the space and there is no asset created, in and of itself. The activity generated from the advertising may ultimately create an asset, but the space you occupied with your brief message is essentially worthless after the period of "occupation" is over. Poof...gone.
Why Are More Marketers Buying/Creating Content Today?
It's quite simple if you think about it. As we see more technological advances, the consumer of content has more and more control over what they engage in. In the past, there were limited options (television, radio, newspapers, consumer and trade magazines). Today, a buyer can go to a search engine and find exactly what they are looking for in a second. And, since Google has democratized content, ANY company with good content and a little search engine savvy can distribute it to that targeted buyer. (Here's a good white paper that spells it out from A to Z.)
Content is also worth more today since it is constantly "alive" on the web and available for consumption, even years after it was first distributed.
So, as the value of traditional marketing vehicles declines with the number of media choices increasing, the lower technological barriers for content creation, and greater content accessibility, corporate content marketing becomes more valuable for the same reasons.
Some "To-Do's" for the Traditional Marketer
Don't worry if you still spend a boat-load on traditional marketing. If you are, you also realize that the tide is moving away from traditional media and you may not be sure what to do next. Here are a couple easy steps to take:
- Don't go canceling all your traditional print and online advertising (I'm sure you won't). But do leverage those communities to distribute valuable, relevant and compelling content that can entice a behavior. Microsites, white papers, webinars, video shorts are all good ways to engage with a target buyer. IBM, Seimens, and Unilever are all leveraging traditional media outlets with big investments to drive consumers to their own content. Unilever's DegreeRookie content campaign was promoted all over DirecTV this weekend (on channel 116 I believe). Note that they are also leveraging a traditional media outlet (Fox) to get the job done.
- Get serious about content in your organization. The title of Chief Content Officer is starting to pop up in more and more businesses. Why? Because content is a strategic marketing device that can drive substantial revenues, so it must be taken seriously. Content is the asset you create that becomes the foundation for your customer relationships. Give ownership to someone that can help guide your content ship. The future of marketing is in the content you create and distribute. Be prepared.
Buy and Build Your House
A great content strategy does not happen overnight, but it's very similar to buying and building your house. The more investment in skilled builders (journalists, content experts, custom publishers), the better your house will look (customer relationships, loyalty and increased sales).
There are always situations where leasing works, but if you can buy the asset of content, and you know that, if done correctly, the asset will grow in value, why would you ever miss out on that opportunity?
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