So much of communication is BEING THERE. By being in a room with someone, you get to stare into each other’s eyes, guage sincereity, interpret body language, and get an impression for who they are. This is all extremely helpful when establishing a relationship and turning a contact into a client. But we can’t always be in the same room with the people we are communicating with, so what can we do?
Original content marketing is the next best thing. By creating original content you’re not only establishing yourself as a thought leader, but you’re also building trust with your audience. You provide visibility into your firm by engaging and informing your audience about what you do, what you stand for, and how your firm brings value to your clients, business partners, and employees.
Original content – it’s more authentic. When readers get that authenticity (which they don’t get by clicking links and going to other unrelated sites), it builds trust. Let’s be honest, we are all less likely to click on what we know to be 3rd party content. We are more likely to engage with original content, and it helps with SEO.
But we certainly aren’t recommending you just write article after article – that could get boring for everyone! By using multiple media types to communicate your original content (words and pictures, videos, audio, intellectual exercises like white papers, themed series’, humor segments) you really do have the next best thing to looking your audience in the eye.
Wondering which media type is the best for your company and audience? Well, in our opinion, no one is best. All are appropriate, and which to use is a function of what you’re saying, who you’re speaking to, and what environment they’re in at the time.