Importance of original Content

Content not only has to be readable, findable and product/service focused. Content also has to be original. Why? Because consumers, users, readers etc just don't buy made up superficial stories anymore, and if they do, its mostly because there are discounts to be had or other goodies that answer to the average human demand of wanting things for free. The Storytelling trend is one of the most important drivers for original content. I work for a brand that has original content. I.e. not artificial made up stories behind the brand by some marketeer, but a genuine story of how the brand came to be, its successes, its heritage. It's a story of hard work, creativity, more hard work, new customers, dedicated customers, glamorous customers, riches, new lines with old ones....  This makes this brand interesting, different, enticing to read about, new, , trustworthy, recognizable, in other words original!
Originality & time

Two of the biggest challenges in content marketing seem to be being and staying original and investing time in it. Original depends on a writer's creativity and the information he is fed with. For instance, writing for a brand with a heritage instead of no heritage makes it easier to create original content. If marketing planning however, does not provide content marketers with sufficient time to write, the outcome will be poor.

Product specs
Since content does not only revolve around great branded stories but also around product data, delivering original content will be quite the challenge. In addition to writing findable, readable, product focus is key in content marketing. One of the recurrent mistakes I see companies make is copying the actual dry product data as content such as: shirt, long sleeves, cotton, buttons etc... Hardly original.

My approach
In content marketing you should approach each product you sell online as a story. A short one, but nevertheless a story. So what could be the story behind the content of a shirt? Probably what a potential buyer sees or wants in that particular product. Find out what he thinks of the shirt. What he tells to his friends about similar shirts. What he hates, likes, enjoys.

Social Media
The channels to find out about this are obvious: Social Media! Through Social Media you'll find out what a potential buyer wants to 'read' about the shirt. Adjust your content to that and click thru rates will rise for the simple reason that your potential customer finds something he likes, agrees what he thinks and tells his friends. From this angle, the content you create will be original since it is based on an individual's opinion.

TimeTimeTime
Obviously (online) marketing departments hardly have the time nor the money to spend so much time for each product they sell online. That's why smart content marketing is key. With smart content marketing I mean, content that is marketed in categories. Categories that connect product categories to client segments to relevant Social Media Channels. A content strategy that is characterized by parallels.

 Below a hierarchical list of content marketing pin-points.