“Okay, you keep saying content matters so much. Then what content should I have on my site?”
This is a common question, and it reflects a common and unfortunate search for tactics before strategy.
Which is why it’s followed by this common strategy-free question:
“Who’s doing a really good job of this?”
What you do with your digital assets is a reflection of strategy, not tactics. To do otherwise is not only to put the cart before the horse, it’s to chase your own tail and the tails of all the other radio digital assets you mistakenly use as points of reference.
It leaves you in a hunt for ornaments rather than the tree on which those ornaments are supposed to hang.
Behind every “what” you could do should be a “why.” And “because the competition is doing it” is not a good enough “why.”
Asking what stuff you should put on your website is like asking how to make a hit song or a hit movie. Content is a creative endeavor and is thus strewn with all the usual risks. Hits exist only because misses also exist. They are yin and yang. There is no cookbook. If I tell you Iron Man is a great illustration of what works, does that mean Daredevil will be, too?
Ask Jay Z how he makes a hit, and good luck getting an answer you can use.
I’ve asked several people connected to hugely successful digital platforms related to media icons where the ideas come from.
And do you know what they all tell me?
The ideas come from the talent themselves. Ideas tend to pour out of talented people like a waterfall. Then it’s just a matter of bringing those ideas to life.
The strategy in that case is to extend the vision of the talent through his or her digital assets towards some predetermined goal.
So the answer to the question “what content should we put online?” is a another question:
“What is your strategy, and where are the ideas from the talent (on or off the air) who drive your brand?”