What Most Companies Get Wrong About Content Strategy (And How To Fix It) [Rose-Colored Glasses]

What Most Companies Get Wrong About Content Strategy (And How To Fix It) [Rose-Colored Glasses]

In business, content is water. Content is every business's core operating system. It's the communication between the social group and the customers it creates. It's the body of knowledge that describes the method by which the business operates. It's the main ingredient of the experiences created to showcase products in the marketplace, and it's the core to helping customers derive the most value from the product or service.

However, many companies make the mistake of creating content without a clear purpose or understanding of how it affects the overall business strategy. Content gets created with little purpose and without understanding how it affects the business's big picture. This is where most companies go wrong with their content strategy.

A content strategy's entire purpose is to improve the quality of the water. It's not just about creating content for the sake of it. Content expresses a business's strategy – it's the byproduct of any one function (whether that's brand value, lead generation, sales enablement, customer service, or internal knowledge management initiative). The answer is to elevate content strategy to the level of business strategy.

To fix this issue, every content strategy needs a planning and prioritization step – an awareness of what the teams will create, not simply a measurement of what they created. They need a process for making deliberate choices about what content they should create. Differentiating your brand comes from having the awareness and processes to direct all of the business's knowledge into the most meaningful communication and experiences.

The real value of a content strategy has almost nothing to do with the content itself and everything to do with the awareness of how content is essential, how it connects everything all around us that makes up the business.

In a similar vein, the mechanism that drives a sense of taste is the transformation of effort into entertainment. When we become passionate about something, the effort put into it no longer feels like work. Even though it may appear to others that we are putting in a tremendous amount of effort, to us, it feels like a form of entertainment. By perceiving effort as entertainment, we can continue to put in the necessary work and refine our taste.

In essence, "practice makes perfect" is crucial. While results are everything in business, those who genuinely enjoy what they do will find fulfillment in the process itself. The beauty of having a genuine passion is that there is no room for failure. Passion cannot be forced or commanded onto someone. Ultimately, the things that money can't buy are the most valuable.

Combining these two perspectives, we can draw a parallel between the importance of content strategy in business and the impact of passion on personal growth. Just as businesses need to elevate content strategy to the level of business strategy, individuals need to find what they are passionate about and turn their efforts into entertainment.

To fix content strategy and improve its impact on the business, here are three actionable pieces of advice:

1. Understand the purpose: Before creating any content, take the time to understand the purpose behind it. How does it align with the overall business strategy? How will it contribute to the customer's experience? By having a clear purpose, you can ensure that your content is meaningful and impactful.

2. Plan and prioritize: Don't just create content for the sake of it. Instead, have a planning and prioritization step in your content strategy. This will help you make deliberate choices about what content to create and ensure that it aligns with your business goals.

3. Follow your passion: Just as businesses need to align their content strategy with their overall strategy, individuals need to find what they are passionate about and pursue it. When you genuinely enjoy what you do, the effort you put in will feel like entertainment rather than work. This will lead to personal growth and the refinement of your skills.

In conclusion, content strategy is essential for any business, just as passion is crucial for personal growth. By elevating content strategy to the level of business strategy and following our passions, we can create meaningful content and achieve personal fulfillment. So, let's fix what most companies get wrong about content strategy and turn our efforts into entertainment.