According to John Munsell, CEO of Bizzuka, If content is king, then
conversion is queen.” I
think that while both, content and conversation are important, it may
ultimately be the conversation aspect that actually produces not just
followers, but a community of loyal ones at that that will build a relationship
with the brand. On the flip side, however, one cannot have conversation without
the content so you do need both to co-exist. The emphasis comes in when
considering which of the two to prioritize or place more emphasis on. Content
is the initial feature that may attract one’s attention, but it is the
conversation that draws them in and keep them tuned in to the site. Devaluing
conversation can be detrimental to a brand, in that it is the conversation that
ultimately drives and secures the sale. Valeri Montoni states that content
should be one’s body language, as good content is a way for businesses to be
useful and become attractive through both digital and social media. “People
first need to believe,
then they will support that belief in the way they behave-- and may eventually become ambassadors on your behalf,” she says (Maltoni,
2012). Content allows the opportunity to build an audience, attract customers
through opt-in tactics. And develop advocates on behalf of the brand (Maltoni,
2012).
As much as a platform like Twitter is
revered for its conversational abilities online and its ability to create
“discursive, rather than simply distributive, relationships with news consumers,”
several major news organizations are utilizing the platform as a means of
distributing news informational content (Garber, 2011). According to a study
released by Pew’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, thirteen news
organizations were studied from print, TV, and radio and it was found that
“mainstream news organizations primarily use Twitter to move information and
push content to readers” (Garber, 2011). Of those studied, fully 93 percent of
the postings provided a link to a news story on the organization’s website. A
major concern with their methods is if news outlets’ need to be institutional
is disrupting their ability to be conversational. The organizations from Pew’s
sample, did exhibit some audience engagement were also the smaller outlets, and/or
the outlets with a more explicitly political orientation. While 1 percent of
The New York Times’ tweets aimed to gather information from followers during
the week studied, 21 percent of Fox News’ tweets did. And while 2 percent of
The New York Times’ tweets used hashtags that week, 50 percent of Fox News’
tweets did (Garber, 2011). Though it is not necessary for an organization like
the New York Time’s to mimic the efforts of Fox, it does show that while
distribution is great, conversation is even more important to connect people
with organizations, and not just other people (Garber, 2011). Organizations
like the New York Times tend to value content more so than conversation. There
are several more companies out there now that will argue heavily the importance
of dedicating ample time and resources to creating relevant, memorable content
for visitors; however, they should also be understanding the importance of
actually talking to the customers and having a two-way conversation. An
important note for marketers or businesses to remember is that customers are
people first and buyers second; therefore, they thrive on conversation to
maintain their interest and continue coming back.
Garber, M. (14 November 2011). Twitter, the conversation-enabler?
Actually, most news orgs
use
the service as a glorified RSS feed. Retrieved June 8, 2012, from http://www.niemanlab.org/2011/11/twitter-the-conversation-enabler-actually-most-news-orgs-use-the-service-as-a-glorified-rss-feed/.
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