My Frustration with Internet Marketing Culture 7/31

Content is king. Write good content. Make viral content.

These are all very empty statements that seem like go-tos for any self-titled “internet “guru.”

Sure — I work in marketing and digital marketing, so I hear these things more than most. But to think, for one second, those three above-listed statements are immediately tangible; you’re out of your mind.

Content is King.

Sure. This is said by someone who has never written a blog post, published an article, or taken an SEO 101 course. It’s a statement said by a higher-up to A) make it sound like they know what they’re talking about, B) try to move the needle internally, or C) sound profound and original even though this paper-thin statement has been uttered since the first WordPress domain was purchased.

Yes — you need to create things for people to see them. Does that mean what you create is content? Is a woodworker making content? How about a radio DJ? First, define content for you or your business and get started.

How do you get started? You just…do. Throw proverbial — or actual — mud at the wall and see what sticks. You could film yourself throwing mud at the wall and make that a piece of content.

A good question to ask is — what’s valuable to you? Or, to rephrase it, what is something you’ve looked for that is hard to find? Can you create it? If so, start there.

Write good content.

Tell this to someone who got their degree in math, and let me know how it turns out. I’m not saying those with a background in numbers can’t write; I’m not saying only good content comes from someone with an English degree. I’m saying this is just the dumbest blanket statement in the entire digital marketing realm.

Of course, I doubt a C-Level exec is walking up to an intern on Day 1 and saying, “Write good content,” — but I’m sure it has happened.

Becoming a good writer takes time. I’ve been writing online for 12 years, and I’m still awful. This is why AI is becoming such a boon for marketers: plenty of marketers simply resort to artificial intelligence to write their LinkedIn updates, for example.

It takes a lot of time and work to write good content. The Gary V’s of the world simply saying this and using it as a tip and/or talking point minimizes the work that goes into refining a writing craft.

Make viral content.

I’ll never forget an interaction at one of my previous jobs. One of my former coworkers approached me with a piece of content and said, “How do we make this go viral?”

Agast, I stammered and likely didn’t answer. My non-answer was enough of an answer.

Now, this was in the early days of viral content. The Harlem Shake videos were a thing. I think Vine was still around — you get it. It was a while ago. We barely knew what an Instagram algorithm was.

I can’t fault this person for asking the question — things going viral can be great! But, as you likely know, there is no sure-fire way to make something go viral. If there were, everything would go viral, and we’d push the goalpost out further and ask how we make things go uber viral.

I blame it on the talking-head-ness of internet culture. Everyone wants to be deemed an expert, and if you’re not, well, then we’ll find someone else. It’s as easy as clicking a button. These “simple” ideas and sentences are dangerous because they make difficult things seem easy.

None of these three ideas, however true they may be, are simple.

What does all of this do with my hate of internet marketing culture? Simple — none of what I just wrote about is simple. Those three three-word sentences I mentioned at the beginning are what thought-leaders say to make it seem like what they — or, more likely, their team — do is simple.

They each take time — making your content “king”, writing good content, and making content go viral. Sometimes, these goals won’t be met. That’s not a failure; you compete with millions of other creators.

Some things will get seen and deemed a success. Others won’t. It's kind of what we sign up for as internet marketers.

The best you can do is fully jump into a niche you’re either interested in or have enough interest in to become an expert, and you’re off to the races.

Don’t let a lack of “success” throw you off course.