I've been thinking intensely about connecting with customers online and the role that content plays. At the same time, I'm conscious of how paralyzing the 'Paradox of Choice' can be. How then to avoid paralysis while connecting through content?
I believe intensely in the effectiveness of content. Content allows us to tell our story, to educate potential customers about problems to be solved, and to demonstrate credibility and trustworthiness over time.
However, it's not just any content. It's content that embraces the customer's point-of-view, creating meaning by sifting through the firehose of information available online and providing perspective. It's curated content [aka content curation].
[By the way, my musings about content and meaning are directly related to being involved in Content Curation: Making Meaning Out of Chaos at Info360.]
1. Cut: careful trimming can increase sales and improve profitability. It eliminates redundant options.
2. Categorize. Experts do this; very helpful for novices. Best Cellars does this effectively for wine, grouping them into 8 categories, with more information within each category. Be useful to the chooser, not the creator of the category.
3. Condition for Complexity.
- Add meaning to anything you create and publish online for customers
- Create to other sources to add meaning
- Don't repeat the same content multiple times
- Add a point-of-view to your content that customers will consider relevant and meaningful
- Don't make your content only about you
- Think how to build community through your content
