Content Creation: a new frontier
‘Content Creator’ doesn’t have to be a dirty word
The way we consume content, the type of content we consume, and the people who are responsible for creating that content have undergone a revolution in recent years. It doesn’t matter from which generation you hail, it isn’t just TikTok where content is being democratised: professional-grade content is coming from ‘casual’ content creators across all fields. And this content is far from the vacuous, self-indulgent ‘viral’ content that too often seems to dominate the media consciousness: no, be it through carefully researched podcasts or YouTube travel channels with production values that exceed even those of the BBC, these ‘casual’ creators are creating meaningful, valuable and insightful content.
Content creation in the professional sphere
And this isn’t only true in the ‘general’ field either; it can be seen across all professional industries, not least of which the broadcast industry. Content creation is no longer the exclusive preserve of ‘official sources’: the journalists and editors who historically acted as gatekeepers of industry knowledge and information – whilst still undeniably important – now have to share space with industry members who have always held the knowledge, but now find themselves with more opportunities than ever to communicate it directly with their audiences. Whether this be through blogs, social media, podcasts, YouTube channels or the publications of not-for-profit industry associations, there are more ways than ever for companies to speak not just to customers, but to each other.
Seeing communication through new eyes: more than mere marketing
In so many ways, this ability for industry players to express themselves directly is a really important evolution of the industry. It democratises knowledge, un-coupling it from the pay-to-play model that always necessarily underpinned traditional press models.
And this is crucial because what it also de-couples is the idea that communication = marketing. Industry magazines historically worked to ‘gatekeep’ the distribution of content, because they assumed that sharing information was of direct sales benefit to the source sharing it. And certainly it can be. But viewing knowledge-sharing as an inherently selfish and exclusively-for-profit motivated benefit is short sighted and outdated. The industry – in an ideal world – should be sharing what it thinks, what it does, and what it hopes for not because that might ‘persuade’ someone to buy from them, but instead because this process of sharing enhances the industry as a whole.
It’s a theme we’ve covered before; the idea of ‘collaborative competition’; the idea that whilst each individual player in the market is technically seeking to ‘win’ a sale, that isn’t a zero-sum game – one company’s success can be another’s. Indeed it can trigger a whole chain reaction of wins where multiple competitors, multiple customers and any number of wider stakeholders all find themselves in a better position than before, simply because one entity pushed the boundaries a little further.
At Xpresso, we’re real believers that communicating isn’t just about a single customer win, it’s about communicating progress, vision, ideas and achievements for the benefit of all. Of course, done right, that carries far longer, more lasting reflected benefits for those doing the communicating: it fosters good-will, respect and trust – all of which are vital to securing long-term customer relationships, rather than flash-in-the-pan individual sales.
The difference between knowledge and communication
The idea that platforms for communication have expanded is great, in theory. There’s just one problem: what if you don’t know how to communicate? Knowing things is one thing. Explaining them – not just their mechanism but their reason, their benefit, their implications – is a completely different story. Companies in the tech field can find this particularly difficult; they can become so close to what they do that they lose the objective stance that’s often needed to communicate engagingly, and with clarity. If you’ve ever sat opposite an engineer and asked them what they’re up to, you may be familiar with this phenomenon; it’s clear they speak with great passion and knowledge, but none-the-less you often come away from the conversation more lost than when you started.
Knowledge and communication are all too often treated as mutually exclusive entities. At Xpresso we aim to bridge that gap. We know what, why and how companies should be communicating – both for their own ‘marketing-orientated’ gains but for the benefit of the industry. But more importantly, we actually understand the technologies that companies are trying to talk about. With more than 15 years of experience as a communications company operating in the broadcast and Pro-AV field, and with many times that in terms of our collective industry experience, our team hybridises technological understanding and written expression – rejecting the idea that one must always subjugate itself to the other.
What we find is that there are many companies who share our mindset; they know that communication goes well beyond a ‘mere extension of sales’. But they sometimes lack the experience, confidence or tools to really get their message across. That’s what we do. We understand their technology, and we craft content that communicates its nature, meaning and benefit in a way that’s engaging and relevant to its audience.
The work behind each word
But of course there’s a lot more to what we do than simply understanding a technology and then communicating it in the written word. Research, study, experimentation, integrated communications strategy, online monitoring, reports, analytics, press pitching, calls, emails, distribution, content sharing, strategic planning and connecting with stakeholders who are relevant to a brand – these are all the activities that are conducted behind the scenes, and which augment, enhance and make meaningful the ultimate communication effort.
In essence, we cover the whole chain of content marketing from strategy and creation to delivery: making sure that our customers get covered and discovered by targeted audiences, from trade press to users and potential clients. But because we don’t focus exclusively on these ideas – because we believe in communication for its societal value, for sharing, enriching and multiplying knowledge without necessary personal gain – we achieve something far more significant, both for our clients and for the industry as a whole.
A word to the wise
Of course, we aren’t the only people to have recognised this change. Some of the ‘conventional’ press – when they realised that their exclusive grip on things might be slipping – also necessarily altered their model. Increasingly, they too started to position themselves as content creators acting for the benefit of companies, rather than third-party (quasi)objective distributors of content. They position themselves as ready to generate content that meets the needs of their customers (note, customers, not contributors). The only problem is, in doing this, they haven’t relinquished that gatekeeper role they once valued. This means that their content creation is also necessarily tied in with its distribution – which is kind of the antithesis of what ‘good’ content should stand for. ‘Good’ content is an unlimited resource; something that benefits from being shared, multiplied, negotiated and challenged.
Of course, this is not true of all trade press. At Xpresso we’ve had the opportunity to develop lasting, working relationships with a range of publications and editors who share our mindset; the idea that through well-written content, we can share ideas and drive the collective progress of the industry. These are the relationships we cherish and foster; working collaboratively to provide our expertise and insight, and their reach and impact.
All in it together
So long as industry players share our mindset – whether they’re publications, editors, journalists, industry peers, fellow communications agencies or direct clients – then we’re on the same page, and we at Xpresso are ready to do all it takes to communicate and share our knowledge – and the knowledge of our clients – in a way that benefits the whole industry. But for us, it’s key that the objective sought by our collaborators is one of mutual and multiplied benefit, not zero-sum competitive, divisive or exclusive thinking. With the former, everyone wins. With the latter, whilst it might seem like ‘winner takes all’, in the long run, the reality is that nobody does.
