Hope you find this one interesting – be sure to view full screen so you can read everything:

How (And Why) To Create Remarkable Digital Content is from The Future Buzz, a Blog Covering Digital Marketing

What does this mean?  If you play to the middle you’re likely to be more popular than doing something which challenges people and pushes them outside their comfort zone.  The truth is, most don’t wish to be pushed outside their comfort zone.  They want what is familiar and predictable.

A-list marketing blogger Chris Brogan gets criticized for his work frequently.  That’s no surprise, most popular bloggers do.  But what’s interesting is the universal truth Chris expresses in his recent post, although unintentional:

One repeat criticism of my work is that I’m not telling anyone anything new, that it’s all common sense. That’s actually reasonably true. You don’t spend time with me, read a few lines, and then smack your forehead and say, “I’ve got it!” Most of my ideas are basically reminders for us to do the things we don’t do, but know we should.

And this truth – that people want what’s familiar – it’s exactly why Chris’ content is so popular.  He knows it, and has a content strategy behind the ideas he publishes which have enabled his own rise to popularity.  None of this is by mistake.

Content or ideas that are daring or takes chances scare most people.  They’re not ready to hear it and shut down when exposed to it.  I’ve seen it time and time again as someone who has worked with aspiring artists – their work is so raw, creative and original that others aren’t sure how to process it.  Only after they have iterated enough times and been exposed to opinions of others who are creating for the middle do they too begin to gravitate to the middle.  Their work takes less chances, follows accepted and anticipated norms, and starts to become aurally pleasing to others.  Think it’s coincidence that only four chords are needed to write so most pop songs?  It’s normalization, and what (most) people want.

Chris is far from banal or common, but it’s obvious when he writes he’s dialing himself down for his audience. He could easily write content that challenges readers and pushes them out of their comfort zone.  He could speak to the industry specifically and create ideas that those of us super close to marketing and PR would praise.    But why would he do that when his strategy of common sense is devastatingly effective?

At the same time, it’s all in what you want to attract in an audience.  Personally I would prefer to have a smaller, yet smarter audience deeply interested in the subject matter.  Popularity at the macro level is nice, but you’re likely to have a closer, tighter community at the micro.

With that said, it’s a delicate balance.  If you go too deep, you risk falling into obscurity.  Go too broad and you’re skip-able.  Find the point that works for what your goals are (and doesn’t make you feel like you’ve sold out) and you’ll be both prolific and satisfied.

Chris Brogan Nails A Universal Truth is from The Future Buzz, a Blog Covering Digital Marketing

I watched (mostly in amusement) as the usual meta discussions took place.  How it’s disruptive to this, changes that or transforms everything.  If I was a creator of social web applications I’d have paid more attention.  But I’m not – I’m a marketer, a blogger and an electronic music artist.  My job is foremost to understand why people share content, then create ideas stemming from that understanding that feed an objective.  And to be perfectly honest, I’m less concerned with how people are sharing it.  It’s important to know but it’s tactical knowledge.  Understanding the how is trumped by knowing the why.

From a strategic standpoint, if you embrace the open web with a focus on quality – every time a new social service is released it should just play into the strategy.

The more social sharing channels/communities that exist, the more content is necessary to feed them and spark discussions in the first place.  And whether created by Google or a VC-backed start-up, the truly sought after, lasting ideas are too valuable to live within the confines of aggregators.  While the masses may drop their Blogger or LiveJournal blogs for real-time discussion tools – artists, businesses and those who create digital content professionally still benefit most from having a place on the web that is their own.

Let’s dig into why more social aggregators are a good thing for your open web content strategy.

Real-time = disposable discussions, however generate traffic and linkjuice

My subjective observation is that higher quality discussions still happen directly on blogs, articles, web forums and niche communities themselves – not in the stream.  Savvy web users realize that their words have greatest impact by living next to  source content.  They know that the original piece of content – along with their comment – is given infinite life by the engines, so they’re willing to vest the effort to write something impactful.  Discussions are distributed, impact is not always so.

Read the comments on this post about balancing your interests as an example.  They add quite a bit of value to the original post.  Of the 17 comments left, the average comment had 75 words or 330 characters.   There were more than 3 times that many comments in Twitter as one example (obviously each less than half the size in terms of volume) but were still almost all just a link and a title.  Twitter for many is just content sharing, and so this makes sense.

But all the external comments and discussions across various channels do provide value for search engines:  they helped spawn 72 organic links to the page.  Let’s not forget the 1,241 words left on that page in the comment section feed the tail of search.  This all plays into a social SEO strategy that you only uncover by embracing the open web.

Networks can and do fall out of favor

Web users are fickle.  They migrate from service to service in relatively quick amounts of time.  AOL and MySpace still exist, sure, but they don’t get the same headlines as Twitter and Facebook.  There is an equal impermanence of these networks as well.  The social landscape splinters for an obvious reason:  we’re all very different.  You can’t create normalized experiences and play to the middle without alienating someone, and so attrition will always exist (whether from a new generation wanting a place all their own to something trendier coming along and reasons in between).  The opportunity, then, is to funnel visitors out of these services to a place you control.  That way, when the inevitable rise and fall of networks occurs, you’re always in a position of strength.

Everyone uses the web differently

I’ve contributed well over 15,000 posts to various forums and boards since 2000 and still frequent most of my favorite communities.  And guess what – almost all are still active.  Some people still love Delicious and StumbleUpon.  There’s even a tight knit group of people clinging to FriendFeed.  The point is, while early adopters flirt from service to service, plenty get along just fine with services that might not be as “sexy” as what’s new, but are just as useful.  Always remember, usefulness is relative and just because you do something a certain way doesn’t mean it’s how everyone sees it.

Search still rules

I liveblogged Nitin Mangtani, Lead Product Manager at Google give a presentation on on how to convert your visitors to customers and he noted search is one of the most vital features of any content-rich or product-rich web site.  Notice the new layout of Facebook?  They put the search tab front and center:  not because they have Google envy, but because they know this fact, too.  Despite the fact the site is social, one of their main CTAs is to search out information, as it is a powerful experience to seek out and connect with content based on intent.  The social traffic to your site is well and good, but search engines are still the bread and butter of high quantity and quality traffic.

It’s a cacophony

There’s no reason to feel overwhelmed, as the cacophony of information is easy to filter (and sometimes half the fun).  But it’s still just that:  a cacophony.  And the disposable nature of the stream encourages a less than ideal signal to noise ratio.  By having content on the open web which maintains refined quality of signal, over time users will become conditioned to share it and mentally you’ll be filed outside the cacophony.

The open web requires commitment.  It requires passion.  It requires strategy.  But if you do things right, more social services should play right into your efforts.

More Social Services Feed An Open Web Content Strategy is from The Future Buzz, a Blog Covering Digital Marketing

Before I get further into it, I’d like you to consider this:  in any industry, especially those that are new (at least to some) there is a natural tendency to agree as default with leaders.  This is something that always bothered me about marketing industry conversations.  What it creates are hordes of Chris Brogan and Darren Rowse clones.  These guys are great, don’t get me wrong, but that doesn’t mean you should be them or blindly agree with them.  Unless you want your voice lost in perpetual obscurity.  The world doesn’t need another Chris or Darren, the world needs and wants you, but not if you’re a parrot.  Be unique, take changes, disagree, analyze, use a sharp wit and stand out.

In a recent post, Chris advises his readers to not analyze others:

If you’re spending your time analyzing what other people in your space are doing, citing why they’re wrong, and providing your commentary about all the things they’re doing, what does your next potential customer come away thinking?

Of course Chris would say this.  Chris is a leader in the digital marketing industry.  And it’s in his interest to promote the notion that you shouldn’t analyze, disagree or prove wrong because as a leader in the space these items don’t reinforce his position.  By acting as blind echo chambers for leaders in any industry, you play right into their strategies.  I do hope you realize they have strategies:  digital communications is chess, not checkers.

To answer his question:  if you’re just agreeing with others and not having opinions or taking sides, it tells prospects you’re just another drone.  And if you’re in the marketing or PR industry, why would a prospect choose to work with a partner who is bland?

The whole reason for hiring a marketing consultant is to find someone who thinks creatively/strategically, is far enough at the edge of the industry to analyze/respond to conversations, campaigns, and competitors and who is irrationally committed.  Those who provide commentary about the industry are the people who care most about it – and it’s a signal you’re not merely following “best practices,” you’re actually involved.

Causing controversy works, period.  Michael Arrington, Robert Scoble, Mike Masnick and other A-listers frequently take a stand on issues and analyze the actions of others.  And all of them are successful with their goals:  Arrington’s sharp analysis/controversial nature doesn’t hinder his ability to find sponsors for his blog or events, Scoble’s opinions (positive and negative) have been the basis of his reputation and success, and while some consider Masnick snarky, he’s actually bringing a dose of logic to an illogical world (those profiting from this naturally take issue).  A main reason these people have the audiences they do is because of their fearlessness in responding to the actions of others.  This guarantees a compelling read, even when you disagree.

Techdirt, with nearly one million subscribers is the marketing monster behind their consulting practice, Floor 64.  You want to go tell Mike that providing commentary isn’t valuable?  Right.  Or tell Rae Hoffman or Lisa Barone at Outspoken Media that sharp analysis or criticism isn’t successful?  They’d have issues with that too, I’m sure.

In a world where every company is a media company (as Brian Clark eloquently states) those who are heard, win.  You simply don’t have the leverage necessary for your content marketing to deliver leads in the first place until you have an audience, as your audience is the key element to gain social proofing.  If you want to discount analysis, criticism or disagreement from your strategy to build that audience go for it, but these are razor sharp elements that have composed proven frameworks of influential media since media existed.

Analysis, Commentary And Controversy Are Proven Frameworks: Ignore Them At Your Own Peril is from The Future Buzz, a Blog Covering Digital Marketing

I’m not talking a shallow understanding of the genres your audience is interested in.  I’m talking about an innate understanding of the content archetypes readers react to, the motivations behind readers as individuals interacting with media, and the steps necessary to develop an interested, activated community.

No longer is this skill-set reserved for the editor.  The writer must now have complete comprehension in the motivating factors an audience has.  Content strategy can’t be reserved only for executives, if so, their publication will slowly lose out to competitors whose writer’s mindsets live at the intersection between strategist and creator.

You can be a great writer, yet if you don’t understand your audience you’ll never create content which sticks.  Content no longer happens in a vacuum as part of a process for eventual consumption.  The friction has all but been removed.  There are many with talent for writing, but few with a talent for writing and the vision for creating strategic content that will resonate with targets and allow them to stand out in a world of infinite choice.

Consider that we have data at our fingertips about:

• Visitors to our content
• Subscriber interaction
• How users are sharing our content
• What the current hot content archetypes are
• What kind of writing style/tone users react to
• What content is resonating in real-time
• The influencers in any given niche
• What activates users behind ideas
• Search trends
• Category specific news trends

And that’s just a high level.  What I’m getting at is you’ve got more than enough data to fully understand your audience in meaningful ways.  As a content producer (or even a social media power user) using this data can let you develop a seriously powerful and effective strategy to win the future.

Questions to ask when developing this type of strategy include:

What type of style will resonate with your audience?

Is your audience typically used to very conservative media brands?  Great – create something stylish and maybe even a bit extreme.  That’s how you permeate the niche, not by cultivating yet another conservative image.  Just because the audience data tells you they’re used to one thing doesn’t mean you should copy a strategy which already exists.

How can I approach my niche in a way that larger competitors will have no defense against taking attention from their audiences?

If everyone in the niche has allegiance to certain brands, styles or tastes and you can position yourself as the antithesis, you’ll siphon away audience members who secretly think your way.  It’s a misnomer that everyone follows the trendsetters.  Many do, but there are plenty who don’t and quietly resent them.  And on the web, even a few percentage points of users can be enough.  Attack the players in subtle ways and you’ll pull their dissenters.  The aggregate amount of attention available daily is finite, you have to take attention away from someone else, it is the web’s – and the world’s – scarce resource.

How can you frame content in a way it will resonate?

Are you framing content in an appropriate manner for your target audience?  All of your content should be framed in such a way to create a referential brand behind your ideas and help them permeate the niche.

Are you taking advantage of ideas your audience can’t resist?

Study the successful tactical items – such as content archetypes or promotion plays.  I’m not advocating the theft of ideas , rather, you can make the ones that work become your own to fit within your unique strategy.

How do you plan on reaching sneezers/connectors?

Without some careful thought to understanding your audience, you’ll never push through ideas that resonate enough, frequently enough, to reach the all important sneezers/connectors of the web.  Seth Godin argues as few as 10 people can make or break a new idea.  This sounds accurate if you have the right idea.

The point is this:  understanding your audience is underrated.  Once you do have audience comprehension, take the time to think about how you can use this knowledge to formulate a content strategy.  With every company (and every person) now a media company, this matters for everyone.

Understanding Your Audience Is Underrated is from The Future Buzz, a Blog Covering Digital Marketing