Content Creation Alone is a Dead End

It's tough to come up with original content to promote your organization; it's even tougher to develop a strategy to assure your message is consistent, and deliberate. I've been part of teams that develop a "content strategy," provide everyone the messaging to promote it, dedicate resources to create that content and pronounce a job well done. The content creation engine is running, more content is created and placed on the website or the PR team begins pitching it to the media. What this reflects is a stagnant implementation. Ultimately, 80% of the content is dismissed by media as an unworthy story. An editor is making that choice for the thousands and maybe even millions of readers. Their criteria for inclusion is usually based on interest in a topic, not the need to know. That's the flaw in this "build it and they will come" syndication strategy. They won't come; not unless you develop a syndication strategy that moves past the single editor. There are many ways to get content distributed, whether using broad platforms such as PR Newswire's web content distribution, or Reddit, to social communities and even email. Increasingly, I find the syndication by individuals via social communities to be the most effective. People want and trust content from those they know. This is the most difficult form of syndication because you depend on each individual in your organization to get it done. With the right training in how to socialize your content, your peers in the organization can surpass the reach of any one publication, plus they can create dialog and engagement on a topic that a singular publication cannot. The impact of individual syndication along with the traditional pitching drives SEO, conversation and usually targets a more qualified and needs-based audience of readers. The internet has democratized distribution, and while many still cling to traditional means of sharing knowledge, those with a better compass, aimed at social networks, prove to reach success faster.