As my turn to write our blog approached a few weeks ago, I struggled with meaningful content. What usually appears as writer’s block was transformed into a dilemma as the deadline lapsed. I searched for inspiration in the usual places: work, community, cooking and travel. However, I came up empty headed.
Growing up, my mother used to advise me, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” She would proceed to tell me stories about my great grandmother, a very petite lady we referred to as “Little Granny.” One story involved my aunt gossiping about a friend of the family that had a fondness for adult beverages that caused him to miss church on the occasional Sunday. As my other aunts quickly engaged in judging this gentleman, Little Granny simply said, “Well, he sure is a great whistler!” Basically, I haven’t had any relevant content for the blog, so I have procrastinated until now.
Recently, Grant Design Collaborative expanded its web development capacity with the addition of CB Smithwick, founder of Atlanta based koopedia. While this endeavor will strengthen our web site development capabilities, the more exciting by-product will come in the form of content marketing. The Content Marketing Institute defines the medium this way: “Content marketing is a marketing technique of creating and distributing valuable, relevant and consistent content to attract and acquire a clearly defined audience – with the objective of driving profitable customer action.” After recent conversations with CB and the Grant creative team, I’ve come to the conclusion that quality is much more critical than quantity when it comes to content. With the proliferation of online marketing avenues and social media, meaningful content is often diluted and eclipsed by mindless communication. In this era, our clients can no longer simply push information to their customers through corporate websites and sales collateral. This is where content marketing and social media come into play. Strategic content marketing directs customers back to branded websites for more in-depth conversations and information. Post Modern consumers require such conversations and desire to be co-creators in their preferred products and brands. They need assurance that the brands they support reflect their values for quality, sustainable design and humane business practices. Brand trust has never been more critical.
Thirty years ago, I entered the graphic design and branding industry as a copywriter, and content has always mattered at Grant Design Collaborative. However, our firm is embarking on a quest to supplement our clients’ brand strategy and great design with pertinent branded content. In other words, what content can they own and deliver in a relevant and competitive manner? So as they used to say in a previous era of communication innovation, please stay tuned to our blog and social media channels for more information about how we are using branded content to advance our clients’ business success.
