Without Big Content There Is No Big Data

It used to be said that 'content is king.' But if the rise of Big Data has accomplished anything it is changing the notion of who or what is king.

Data and the content it informs is a tool. It's purpose is to entice the real king - the consumer - to pay for whatever the owner of the content is selling.

Data informs content, but without the identification, interpretation and transformation of data into information, knowledge and wisdom, data is just another load of detail clogging the system.

Content creation, content mapping, content strategy and all of the other exercises associated with the application of understanding have one purpose: convincing customers to buy. They are not ends in themselves. Data is only big to the extent it helps formulate strategy and informs tactics. Content is only big to the degree it advances strategy and enhances performance.

As we have seen with dotcoms, social media and the rest of technology's wonders, we love the promise that data and content betokens, but we are less enthralled with the hard work of applying it in a practical, productive manner. It is in that effort, however, that the value resides. JL

Steve Kerho reports in Fast Company:

The single most important factor in generating Big Data: creating Big Content that is then widely distributed and deeply engages consumers. Without Big Content there wouldn’t be Big Data.
Major marketers such as Coke and Red Bull have made content strategy a priority and are charting a bold path in content creation across a vast online and offline ecosystem. A content strategy is now a critical part of every marketer’s short- and long-term planning process.
Every marketer should understand how much content they have, what type it is, where it resides, and how it is performing. A detailed content-mapping exercise for your brand and key competitors is a must.
Big Content and the Agency Model
Are traditional agencies or digital ones better equipped to help clients deliver on big content? One could argue that they are not, especially if a brand is looking for something similar to the Lowe’s example mentioned in my last column. Content in this sense is much more complicated than finding new channels for a TV ad. A great deal of content strategy and expertise is required to deliver on a Lowe’s-type program because it requires a different staffing model, creation and delivery approach.
Some large digital agencies have content strategists but their numbers are often not sufficient to continually feed the diverse channels and touch points that comprise big content. Having a content “ninja” on your agency team may help create a content strategy but then the question is who will populate, maintain, and refresh it? Lowe’s, for example, employs a team of content specialists who function more like magazine writers and editors than traditional ad-agency copywriters. While this approach may not be right for every marketer, it does point to a need for new, evolving content-creation solutions.
Tracking and Measuring Big Content
Brands must track and manage all of their content and apply detailed attributes to each piece. The two primary attributes of content are “descriptive” and “performance.”
Descriptive attributes require an understanding of discrete pieces of content. Obvious attributes are content type, format, size, etc. More sophisticated attributes include mass, density, and the number or variants within the overall ecosystem.
A four-minute video has significantly more mass than a 30-second video. An email with an embedded video, four articles, and eight links has more density than an email with two articles and three links. We can add various meta-data descriptors to boost SEO performance and sharpen content mapping. That’s not to say more “mass” or “density” makes for better-performing content. Content relevance is what determines success.
Performance attributes require an understanding of the number of exposures, shares, and other engagement measures. We can calculate the acceleration of a piece of content because of how we defined our descriptive attributes. Content-acceleration measurement provides unique insights into how quickly content spreads. To calculate content acceleration, apply this formula: Force = Mass x Acceleration.
This equation means it will take less force to create momentum behind a small vs. a large piece of content (assuming both pieces of content are of comparable quality and relevance), such as a tweet about Oreo cookies during the Super Bowl versus a two-minute commercial. Relevance is the biggest driver of content quality, so strongly relevant content requires less force to distribute because audiences will likely share it.
Another performance measure is engagement. But again, relevance drives engagement. Marketers must define and aggregate performance measures to accurately ascertain engagement. Calculating content ROI is much easier if a solid methodology is in place for measuring engagement. Ongoing ROI measures are critical to determining future content investments in your media ecosystem.
Big Content = Big Budgets? Not necessarily
Marketers have increased budget allocation to content creation in order to keep up with increasing consumer demand. The growing use of social media has also increased the need for original content even though many consumers are themselves generating original content.
Marketers used to dedicate a large percentage of their budgets to broadcast media. Increasingly, some of these resources are shifting to digital content. In digital, however, marketers must spend to create rich destination experiences that can be dispersed to other channels. Additionally, CRM communications are increasingly personalized and vastly increase the amount and variety of content needed to support sustained engagement.
Creating digital content has gotten much cheaper and in turn, has increased content creation and boosting the potential ROI across more channels and touch points. Fewer brands can afford a robust network TV plan so media dollars have shifted to fund growth in digital. It makes more sense to spend money on a piece of content that has a long shelf life and is part of an efficient “pull” ecosystem than one that has a one-time use as part of an expensive media buy.
Method, a maker of natural soaps and cleaning supplies, is a great example of a small brand that successfully created a large content ecosystem. Method does not have the large marketing budget that competitors like Clorox or SC Johnson have. Yet Method has created a content ecosystem with rich experiences on its brand site, YouTube, Pinterest, Facebook and blogs. I especially enjoy their fun-filled videos.
How To Approach Big Content
The concept “content is king” has changed. We are better served by saying the consumer is king and that content is the coin of the realm. Getting started with Big Content is not as overwhelming as it may seem. In fact, many marketers are already operating in this world and just don’t realize it.
A good place to start is by conducting a content audit of your brand and key competitors. Looking at existing efforts against a new paradigm will clearly identify content gaps. If your content doesn’t have appropriate descriptive and performance attributes, then create them immediately and begin tracking engagement across all touch points.
These initial steps will put your brand on the path to structured content and perhaps even to content modeling. While we are all contemplating the future of marketing with Big Data let’s devote a little time to thinking about Big Content, how one drives the other, and how this new paradigm can help us to better connect and engage with consumers.