We all know content is king, but how do you get the greatest value for your content? What's the best way to leverage it in the growing social media environment.
The way companies think about their content, especially companies built around transactional purchase models, have to begin rethinking where content assets fit in their long-term strategy. Chris Anderson did an insightful piece on this challenge for the March issue of Wired.
One of my current clients is an established online continuing education provider with a strong niche in the building contractor, engineering and architect markets. The company makes its living selling courses to professionals seeking a hassle-free way to maintain their license requirements and build their knowledge in the process. The compnay also recently acquired another niche market provide - this time healthcare - with its own extensive library of training content.
Both brands operate a classic transactional based business model. Customers select content/courses, pay for it, then consume it. Many times these users only utilize the site once a year, and in somecases every other year. That spells low engagement. This makes content the heart of my client's business. They have spent years developing some of the best courses in the industry and have been rewarded with steady revenue growth.
But given the shifting sands created by emerging social networks, especially those in niche markets, my client and many other similar companies are in a great spot to leverage their library of content to build something greater... something social, scalable and less transactional but with potentially greater market value.
That's right, give the content away for free. Or at least some of it. A loss leader if you will; something consumers in your target audience will find valuable enough to give something of themselves to access. That something being, of course, time on your site, adoption of your network, word of mouth marketing, et al. And, yes, even transactional purchases for your most valuable and desired content.
This presents new monetization opportunties that can be scaled quicker while attracting major brands eager to reach the network you've now created.
The challenge of course is how do you migrate to this type of model and maintain revenue in the process? Well, it's tough but not impossible. With the right approach and commitment to testing new methods of engaging with customers beyond the commercial transaction, Web.1 companies can re-position themselves within the Web.2 landscape and become first movers in the niche markets they already dominate.
