In 1996, Bill Gates wrote an article entitled “Content is King” – don’t ask me why, but someone has gone through a lot of trouble to try to delete any trace of that article. Ironically, content IS king, and you can never really delete a digital footprint – here’s a link to the article thanks to WayBack Machine. I personally agree with that statement 100%, but I think it’s incomplete! After all, Bill did write the article at the dawn of the digital age, so I can really blame him for not knowing the full story! Content is the King of nothing without Engagement!
If Content is King, then Engagement is Queen … and both male and female readers of my blog know the answer to the question: “guess who wears the pants in this relationship?” Obviously, the Queen, aka Engagement! In a previous post, I presented an argument that’s very similar in nature – I challenged the infamous quote “Knowledge is Power“! On it’s own, knowledge is useless, it needs action to convert it into real power. Similarly, Content is as good as a book on a shelve in the darkest corner of your library – if this content is not shared, not communicated, not discussed, then what good is it! One of my favorite books on the subject matter is Engagement by Brian Solis – in his own words, Brian explains engagement as “Actions, Reactions and Transactions; something that I refer to as A.R.T.”.
Social media is intended to bridge the gap between businesses and their intended customers. It’s where content is shared, but more importantly, it’s where content is created! There are different forms of content as briefly introduced in Bill’s post, but the most important of all contents is that which is generated by you and me, the users, the consumers, the audience. It’s the content that is generated form our experience and interaction with the brand. That’s the content that really matters, that’s the engagement that builds relationships, generates money, and creates a legacy. After all, it might seem redundant, but isn’t “social” the most important element of social media! It’s all about engagement.
Long live the Queen 😉
You could also argue that self expression and play is needed in order to stop creative and welcoming growth and new ideas. That ‘play’ must be expressed to clients and mirrored; there must be a generation of reactions that one can receive and thereby grow from. Without the spirit of play and creativity, there will be no growth in one’s content and branding and there will be no freedom to engage courageously.
stop= *be