Value Is King – New Marketing Reality

In the online marketing conversation we have been using the phrase “Content Is King” for a very long time. Even 5 years ago most of the experts agreed that creating content for contents sake was central to any online strategy. New content, when formatted and syndicated correctly, drove both direct traffic and indirect traffic through increase search engine optimization. Today we live in a deluge of content where little if anything actually sticks out above the crowd. The search engines are constantly tweaking the algorithm to drive results based on useful and quality information and the SEO gurus are trying to embrace that reality while searching for tactics that can facilitate shortcuts.

After all the years of human existence we are finally getting to a climax in society that requires that people actually create real value for others in order to stand out. Marketing is no longer a shouting match that requires large ad budgets. It has instead become a match in utility. How can be the most valuable to the end consumer? The big brands have known this for some time and they are working hard to become integrated into lifestyles of their consumers by putting resources behind non-sales related utility and value. The most common examples include mobile apps that help solve a common problem without directly promoting the companies products.

The new marketing reality is (as it has always technically been) “Value is King.” He who creates the most value for the consumer wins. Value could still be content as we have been traditionally thinking about it as blog posts, eBooks, YouTube channels, etc but it could also go a different direction. Marketing still has the same formula of identifying the target consumer, determining what problem/pain you can solve for them, and then solving it. Now, particularly in the online world, we must stop creating content for the sake of content and work on a solution that creates value.