The consequences would be vast to say the least, right?
Massive flooding to start and a total reshaping of the world’s geography in the end.
The point here?
Capacity matters and there is such a thing as “too much of a thing,” whatever that “thing” may be.
Is the same true for creating content on the internet?
Here is a question to consider…
…how much data is created online every day?
In 2021, it’s estimated that people created 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day online, which amounts to 1.1145 trillion megabytes per day.
According to statista.com, one million hours of content were streamed by users worldwide every minute in 2022.
And more content is on the way!
What do you think the implications are here?
Clearly, we’re in a race to the bottom.
But marketers seem to have found a solution – more content.
Just the other day I came across an article on how to create hundreds of pieces of content for your __________, (for now, let’s call it your personal noise pollution machine.)
Amazing.
What’s even more amazing is the people who pretend to be empathetic marketing folks that tell you that producing more content for your brand will cure everything.
If you could only 10X your content outflow, you’ll build a huge audience and be rich!
Yup.
Look around, almost every content strategy being peddled today is about creating more content.
What got lost in the translation here is what Author Jeff Cannon offered way back in 1999 in his book “Make Your Website Work for You: How to Convert Online Content into Profits,” when he wrote:
“…in content marketing, content is created to provide consumers with the information they seek.”
Yet, here we are, almost a quarter of a century later and most marketers still get this wrong.
The moral of this story…before you spray more content across the world wide web, ask yourself this question first…
…Is this information that anyone is actually looking for and will find helpful?
This Just In…
With a surplus of content and a scarcity in attention demand, content marketers must pull out all the stops to get past the “attention gatekeeper.”
Today, everything must be breaking news and urgent…
…and shouted out louder and louder to be heard above the morass of content pushers.
All this, while attention becomes scarcer than ever.
Silicon Valley, we have a problem.
The internet and all the subsequent connected devices have become the ultimate attention thief.
The content wars are here and the race for cheap, unearned attention is gaining speed and momentum.
But it’s a race that can’t be won.
Media outlets have even joined the race with over-the-top headlines and biz models now reliant on come-ons, clickbait, and trickery.
If you want to lose customer trust and surrender your self-esteem in the process, join the race for content’s sake and you’ll fit right into the mainstream like everyone else…
But I would rather see you do the opposite – buck the status quo!
The online world doesn’t need more content.
If anything, it needs more context, curation, and dare I say, useful information!
How the heck else are we to sift through the quintillion gallons of digital trash that now pollute our everyday lives?
Here is an alternative…
…do not spend your precious hours populating social media channels with useless content in the hopes that someone will like you so you can get that dopamine hit…
…it’s highly addictive and a total time suck.
Do something different instead.
Like starting conversations with the people who are actively seeking guidance in the areas that you can help in your own unique way.
You don’t need a big audience, just enough people who care.
Focus on them and overdeliver.
It’s how less becomes more.
Stay unruly ~