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You are here:   Home Blog Content Is Not New, But the Hype Is

Content Is Not New, But the Hype Is

April 8, 2015 by Jessica Lee Leave a Comment

I find it interesting all the fuss that’s being made over content right now. Don’t get me wrong, I’m elated that brands are putting so much focus on the quality of the content they produce, but it’s amazing that an industry can elevate the idea of content as the greatest thing since sliced bread in just a short couple years … especially when it’s been around in marketing for ages.

Content as a Form of Marketing is Ageless

Question: What’s a common way brands have been advertising and marketing for hundreds of years? If you guessed through “words,” you’re right. And in fact, whole disciplines were created and careers launched around this type of marketing. Think copywriters at ad agencies and marketing-communications professionals on a company’s marketing team. Before it was online, it was somewhere else.

Writing

And “content marketing” is not a novel concept, either. You only need look to traditional publications historically to see this in many forms. Take John Deere’s magazine, “The Furrow,” as an example of old-school brand publishing or branded cookbooks like Nestlé‘s to see how content marketing worked in the days of yore.

I was asked the other day by a reporter at Digiday (the article is here, although what I’m about to say didn’t make the cut) if brands, in their pursuit of becoming content marketers, publishers and even launching media companies, were somehow finding new ways to mask their intentions of marketing to appear more consumer-focused with these methods of communications.

And my answer to that is: Not anymore than brands have ever done (if you’ve seen “Mad Men,” you know what I’m talking about). The art of persuasion has taken many forms over the years.

The only thing that’s changed is the technology, the delivery and the accessibility of it all. And that makes it a great time to take advantage of available publishing methods. Now that we, as businesses, have the means to be as creative as we want with our content, and not be limited by the traditional media gatekeepers or to publishing only if we have a big budget for print, that puts us in a unique position.

Now Everybody’s Doing It …

Today, content has not only become a buzzword, but it’s also become this thing that everyone does. I read an email by Erika Napoletano the other day on this; she really despises the word “content.” Here’s a snippet:

I never set out to create content. I tell, every day, in some form or fashion, the story of my life. Some days, that’s business. Others, it’s dating. Others, it’s about getting your heartbroken or giving yourself the credit you’re do (because you’re fucking fabulous). Yet somewhere along the line, someone decided that all of that should all be called content. Which got confusing. Everything got all muddied up because everything became content. Blogs and articles and web copy and landing pages and images and videos and infographics and your stories and the things you love and the things you did and the things that happened to you and the heart you broke or got broken and…and…and…

It all became “content.”

I can empathize. Suddenly, everyone in digital marketing is in the business of content, and what that means is sometimes vague.

The other day, a friend and colleague mentioned how funny it was that everyone who was once doing [insert digital marketing discipline here] is now doing “content.” And here we are, she says, doing the same thing we’ve always been doing: content.

It’s true that creative marketers can come up with countless ways to make content visible online. And it’s very true that those same principles they’ve been applying for years to get content in front of the right people at the right time online still work in most cases. In that sense, these folks now touting content as the weapon are well qualified to talk about those practices that help market content.

But is “content” really what they’re doing? The description is a bit too vague.

On the flip side, we see people who traditionally would have fallen into the camp of content creators all-of-a-sudden becoming content strategists who perhaps may have no hands-on experience in executing strategy. Some may very well be suited to do this, but again, I think the term “content strategist” leaves much to the imagination.

But wait a minute, Jessica — don’t you say that bizbuzzcontent offers “content creation” and “content strategy” services?

Yep, I use the terms. Because this is what the industry is identifying with now, but how I define it may be very different than the next. And herein lies the problem.

So I think the “ugh” feeling we all get when it comes to the concept of content is the general lumping in of everything to the word, the vagueness around the practices within and the hopping on the bandwagon.

Defining Content

Yes, there are still some gray areas when we talk about content as a discipline and who does what, and it’s really up to us as an industry to help define it. Does everybody do it? Is it everything online? If we can start looking at the parts of content versus the sum of its parts, we might be better suited to make sense of it all.

Jessica Lee
Jessica Lee is founder and chief creative at bizbuzzcontent Inc., helping B2B and B2C businesses realize the value of quality web content to their marketing plans. Sign up for tips on content strategy and writing delivered to your inbox directly from Jessica and the bizbuzzcontent team.

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Testimonials

Professional content agency

Jessica leads one of the most professional content agencies I’ve ever worked with. We target a very niche industry, and Jessica and her team were very thoughtful in their approach. From planning thoughtful pieces, to researching and interviewing SMEs, to brainstorming promotion strategies, Jessica and her team maintain a high degree of professionalism and efficiency.

Steven S., Senior Manager, Demand Generation, Rentlytics

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2018-07-31T17:22:53-04:00

Steven S., Senior Manager, Demand Generation, Rentlytics

Jessica leads one of the most professional content agencies I’ve ever worked with. We target a very niche industry, and Jessica and her team were very thoughtful in their approach. From planning thoughtful pieces, to researching and interviewing SMEs, to brainstorming promotion strategies, Jessica and her team maintain a high degree of professionalism and efficiency.
https://www.bizbuzzcontent.com/blog/testimonials/professional-content-agency/

Tailor-made content strategies

Jessica dedicated her time as a pro-bono volunteer with VolunteerMatch to help us with some key content marketing needs. What impressed me most about working with Jessica was the way she tailored her approach to accommodate the needs of our nonprofit with the resource constraints of our team. Jessica developed personas, one-pagers, case studies and website content that has resulted in an increase in traffic to our site and improved our ability to communicate to our key audiences.

Bree v.F., Director of Marketing and Engagement, VolunteerMatch

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2018-07-31T17:22:20-04:00

Bree v.F., Director of Marketing and Engagement, VolunteerMatch

Jessica dedicated her time as a pro-bono volunteer with VolunteerMatch to help us with some key content marketing needs. What impressed me most about working with Jessica was the way she tailored her approach to accommodate the needs of our nonprofit with the resource constraints of our team. Jessica developed personas, one-pagers, case studies and website content that has resulted in an increase in traffic to our site and improved our ability to communicate to our key audiences.
https://www.bizbuzzcontent.com/blog/testimonials/tailor-made-content-strategies/

Highly targeted and relevant content

I've worked with Jessica at her company bizbuzzcontent for years. It's my go-to provider whenever my team is looking for high-quality content. What differentiates bizbuzzcontent is that they not only have superior writing skills but a rare ability to completely understand our industry, our company positioning, brand voice and tone, and customers. This just makes the content highly targeted and relevant, and goes a long way in achieving our marketing goals.

Nag P., Sr. Manager, Product Marketing, Salesforce

bizbuzzcontent
2018-07-31T17:22:31-04:00

Nag P., Sr. Manager, Product Marketing, Salesforce

I've worked with Jessica at her company bizbuzzcontent for years. It's my go-to provider whenever my team is looking for high-quality content. What differentiates bizbuzzcontent is that they not only have superior writing skills but a rare ability to completely understand our industry, our company positioning, brand voice and tone, and customers. This just makes the content highly targeted and relevant, and goes a long way in achieving our marketing goals.
https://www.bizbuzzcontent.com/blog/testimonials/highly-targeted-and-relevant-content/

Compelling content that drives results

I love Jessica and the team over at bizbuzzcontent. Within just a matter of a few interactions, she was able to understand, in depth, our complex solution and business model. Since then, she's been critical to us in driving compelling, engaging content via our blogs and white papers. She's a wonderful, thoughtful person to work with, and the work she's done has been a key factor in increasing our conversion rates.

Collin S., Angel Investor and Technology Executive

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2018-07-31T17:22:41-04:00

Collin S., Angel Investor and Technology Executive

I love Jessica and the team over at bizbuzzcontent. Within just a matter of a few interactions, she was able to understand, in depth, our complex solution and business model. Since then, she's been critical to us in driving compelling, engaging content via our blogs and white papers. She's a wonderful, thoughtful person to work with, and the work she's done has been a key factor in increasing our conversion rates.
https://www.bizbuzzcontent.com/blog/testimonials/compelling-content-that-drives-results/

Outstanding process

bizbuzzcontent helps me efficiently leverage my own subject-matter expertise to create original content on timely topics. Together, we are able to distill complex topics into client-friendly articles that I can use across multiple platforms. I especially appreciate bizzbuzz’s super-efficient process because it keeps me on track for timely production of new content. Jessica Lee is a pleasure to work with, and I rely on her to bring a strategic eye to my publication efforts.

Priya H., Partner, Woodruff-Sawyer & Co.

bizbuzzcontent
2018-07-31T17:23:04-04:00

Priya H., Partner, Woodruff-Sawyer & Co.

bizbuzzcontent helps me efficiently leverage my own subject-matter expertise to create original content on timely topics. Together, we are able to distill complex topics into client-friendly articles that I can use across multiple platforms. I especially appreciate bizzbuzz’s super-efficient process because it keeps me on track for timely production of new content. Jessica Lee is a pleasure to work with, and I rely on her to bring a strategic eye to my publication efforts.
https://www.bizbuzzcontent.com/blog/testimonials/outstanding-process/

Strong content values

Jessica is a great content creator, writer, reporter and partner to work with. Highly articulate with strong content values and work ethos, Jessica adds great value to all projects she works on. I would happily recommend Jessica to people who wish to scale their content marketing efforts.

Andy B., C-Level Marketing and Strategy Consultant

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2018-07-31T17:23:14-04:00

Andy B., C-Level Marketing and Strategy Consultant

Jessica is a great content creator, writer, reporter and partner to work with. Highly articulate with strong content values and work ethos, Jessica adds great value to all projects she works on. I would happily recommend Jessica to people who wish to scale their content marketing efforts.
https://www.bizbuzzcontent.com/blog/testimonials/strong-content-values-highly-recommended/

Added value

Jessica is a guest speaker of Microsoft internal training program. She made an awesome presentation of how to create marketable web ages to Microsoft Bing Ads product team and services team. Attendees found Jessica very engaging during the presentation. Microsoft Bing Ads is eager to apply the learning in our daily works, and look forward to partnering with Jessica to bring more value to digital advertising community.

Ping J., Product Manager, Microsoft Bing Ads

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2018-07-31T17:21:44-04:00

Ping J., Product Manager, Microsoft Bing Ads

Jessica is a guest speaker of Microsoft internal training program. She made an awesome presentation of how to create marketable web ages to Microsoft Bing Ads product team and services team. Attendees found Jessica very engaging during the presentation. Microsoft Bing Ads is eager to apply the learning in our daily works, and look forward to partnering with Jessica to bring more value to digital advertising community.
https://www.bizbuzzcontent.com/blog/testimonials/added-value/

Critical extension of the marketing team

Jessica has been instrumental in building our content strategy from ground up, educating our stakeholders and increasing our exposure across all lines of insurance. I can say with confidence that she has been a critical extension of the marketing team, always producing timely deliverable. She has always been enthusiastic about creating new formats for us and new vehicles of information to help the marketing team raise awareness and drive internal adoption. Her most impressive feat from my perspective is how quickly and seamlessly she dived into our 12 lines of insurance. The dexterity and the level of expertise she demonstrated although she had never worked with insurance B2B client was absolutely incredible.

Stephanie M., VP Marketing Communications, Woodruff-Sawyer & Co.

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2018-07-31T17:21:33-04:00

Stephanie M., VP Marketing Communications, Woodruff-Sawyer & Co.

Jessica has been instrumental in building our content strategy from ground up, educating our stakeholders and increasing our exposure across all lines of insurance. I can say with confidence that she has been a critical extension of the marketing team, always producing timely deliverable. She has always been enthusiastic about creating new formats for us and new vehicles of information to help the marketing team raise awareness and drive internal adoption. Her most impressive feat from my perspective is how quickly and seamlessly she dived into our 12 lines of insurance. The dexterity and the level of expertise she demonstrated although she had never worked with insurance B2B client was absolutely incredible.
https://www.bizbuzzcontent.com/blog/testimonials/critical-extension-of-the-marketing-team/

Excellent content program

We can't imagine how we managed without bizbuzzcontent before! Working with Jessica Lee is a dream. She is very creative and understands new concepts quickly. The content creation process at bizbuzzcontent is the most efficient we have come across in our many years of working with other writers and agencies. If you want an excellent content program and a company that goes above and beyond, hire bizbuzzcontent today!

Pauline J., CEO, Group Twenty Seven

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2018-07-31T17:21:10-04:00

Pauline J., CEO, Group Twenty Seven

We can't imagine how we managed without bizbuzzcontent before! Working with Jessica Lee is a dream. She is very creative and understands new concepts quickly. The content creation process at bizbuzzcontent is the most efficient we have come across in our many years of working with other writers and agencies. If you want an excellent content program and a company that goes above and beyond, hire bizbuzzcontent today!
https://www.bizbuzzcontent.com/blog/testimonials/excellent-content-program/

Trusted partner for years

Jessica and her team at bizbuzzcontent have been a trusted partner for years, and have helped us with our blog, web copy and email marketing, in addition to providing lots of guidance on other content projects. The team is able to quickly get up to speed on any content project's requirements and create quality content that's on target. Over the years, they've helped us educate, drive brand awareness and website traffic. I would definitely recommend bizbuzzcontent for content services.

Ashley G., Digital Ad Management, SearchForce

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2018-07-31T17:18:31-04:00

Ashley G., Digital Ad Management, SearchForce

Jessica and her team at bizbuzzcontent have been a trusted partner for years, and have helped us with our blog, web copy and email marketing, in addition to providing lots of guidance on other content projects. The team is able to quickly get up to speed on any content project's requirements and create quality content that's on target. Over the years, they've helped us educate, drive brand awareness and website traffic. I would definitely recommend bizbuzzcontent for content services.
https://www.bizbuzzcontent.com/blog/testimonials/trusted-partner-for-years/
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