That’s right, we’re all consumers. We consume food to nourish our bodies. We consume artistic compositions like movies, music and paintings. Even entertainment like video games and board games. But most importantly, we consume knowledge to feed our curiosity. Consuming knowledge is the basis of learning. It doesn’t matter whether formal learning in the form of academic qualifications, or simply because you’re curious about how something works.
Consumption Of Knowledge Is The Basic Building Blocks Of How The Media Industry Works
Throughout the 20th century, newspapers reign supreme. People are hungry for knowledge of what’s happening around them. So newspapers give them what they need, current news for them to consume. So much so that newspaper publishers became rather successful financially. They actually earn a pretty penny, simply collecting, curating, printing and then selling the printed news to the consumers.
Along the way, newspapers that are regularly selling large numbers of printed newspapers are indirectly becoming a hotbed for media placements. Advertisers are flocking newspapers to buy media spaces to place their advertisements.
Likewise, television and radio stations air shows to feed our ever growing appetite for entertainment and news. And they too enjoy the indirect demand for media placement.
In short, the more interesting contents you have, the more consumers will flock your media. Consumers are always hungry for fresh contents. The more consumers flock your media, the higher visitor traffic. And that translates to a more attractive media space for advertising…
Don’t Believe Me?…
Why else would a restaurants pay top dollars (or insert your own currency here) to famous food bloggers to dine at their premises? Famous food bloggers have plenty of followers, especially those who are looking for recommendation for good food. And this is exactly the demographic that restaurants want to target when advertising for themselves. Better still, to get the famous food blogger to write an article about them, introducing the restaurant’s offerings.
Same reason why famous automotive bloggers have plenty of followers who are car enthusiasts. And car companies also offer brand new, pre-launched models, for them to test drive, and hopefully write an article about it too. That’s a sure way to reach out to the right demographic to know more about your upcoming model launch.
And what about a fashion designer trying to break into the commercial world? What better way to showcase your latest designs than to be published in a fashion magazine, or fashion blog, right?
The Chicken And Egg Situation…
Now, if you’ve been paying attention to the examples above, you’d probably be curious as to how these “famous” bloggers or writers get to be, well, famous in the first place?… How did they get to be known as the subject matter expert? And why their opinions on their areas of expertise are worth more than their weight in gold? So much so that potential buyers of any specific products will literary take their opinion as the absolute truth, and ultimately make their purchase decisions based on these “experts'” recommendations?
What came first, the chicken or the egg? Likewise, how did the famous writers or bloggers become so famous in the first place? Who made them experts?…
Actually, the answer is pretty simple. It’s so simple that not many even believe it to be true… Remember the part about how newspapers (and subsequently radio and television) became the staple media to satisfy the consumers’ need to know the current news? Well, the more they publish the news, the more the readers (listeners and viewers) associate them with the expertise in the current news. And that will drive up the number of readers (listeners and viewers), raising their reputation as the news expert even higher.
The number of readership, listeners and/or viewers now become the yardstick to measure just how much exposure an advertisement placed with them will reach. Needless to say, the bigger the number, the more expensive the media space will be.
Ahhh!… But We’re Still Only Talking About General News Here…
Newspapers, radio and television stations, they generally don’t have very specialised demographic followers. Perhaps specialised channels, like fashion magazines, cooking competition shows, or even sports will draw in specific demographics. And media spaces with that specific channels will attract advertisers who want to sell related products.
But with the dawn of the 21st century, blogs are now taking over the lead from the traditional media. And most blogs as we know it, are specially geared towards specific topics, drawing in specific crowds. And likewise, the more the blogger writes about something, the more the followers see him/her as an expert in that particular field.
You see the blog about famous street food? The guy must be an exotic food connoisseur… You see the blog about Parisian fashion world? The gal must be a fashion expert…
So the chicken and the egg situation?… Well, in order to be “seen” as a subject matter expert, you need to be well known as the source of information on your chosen field. And in order to be known as a source of information, you first need to publish many articles on your chosen field… many, many articles… Literary speaking, the more content you publish, the more of a subject matter expert you’ll be perceived.
So Many Content Consumers, So Few Content Creators
As the main title suggests, we’re all content consumers, whether we realise it or not. It doesn’t matter whether we’re consuming contents about current news, politics, latest fashion trend, cooking skills, car accessories and modifications, or even meaningless content like reality shows. The bottom line is that we all consume contents, regularly and hungrily.
And that’s good news because you’ll have a ready audience. An audience who are eager and waiting to listen to you blow your own horn about how good you are at what you do. The more you describe about your business, and how your regular day goes by, the more your audience will know about you. And just like what was mentioned earlier, the more they hear about you, the more they associate you as an expert in whatever it is that you’ve been sharing with them.
But I Don’t Know How/What To Write About…
Most of the people that I’ve met with are subject matter experts in their own right. They’re the best in what they do. They know it, and their immediate clients know it. Unfortunately, not many others outside of this circle even know that they exist. For a business to continue to grow, you need people outside of your immediate circle to know you.
And even more unfortunate, many of them don’t even believe that they can tell their own stories. In fact, some don’t even realise that they actually have a lot of information and knowledge to share. The common excuse that I hear is that “But I don’t know how to write”, or “But there’s really nothing to write about”.
And because of that, many prefer to simply keep quiet, or at least hitch a ride on an existing hot channel. Remember the restaurant paying a famous food blogger to review their latest menu? Well, it’s just the same as buying media space with a newspaper with large subscription base. You’re only hitching a ride with them for their exposure. And that’s no guarantee that the exposure is sufficient to convey that you’re an expert in what you do.
So… Is there a solution?…
If You Can’t Tell Your Own Story, Then Engage An Expert Story Teller
A good journalist translates an interview with a technical expert into something that the general public can understand. That’s what a good journalist does. He/she may not be an expert in the topic of the interview, but he/she is an expert story-teller. Likewise, if you can’t, or don’t know how to tell your own story, then engage in a journalist to tell you story.
Even more importantly, make sure that you keep your story-teller on a retainer long enough, so that they can saturate your audience with stories pertaining to your expertise.
And while you’re at that, you might wanna consider setting up your own media channel too. There’s no point being a long-term tenant of a media channel that doesn’t belong to you. Why hitch a ride with third-party? For all you know, you’ll be sharing the same platform with your competitors too.
Conclusion
So if you want to be established as an expert in what you do, and raise the awareness of your brand identity, you should :-
(1) Establish Your Own Media Channel
The best anchor to host your stories is a corporate website, while the best media channel to tell your stories is a blog in your corporate website. And don’t forget, you still need to blast your articles out to reach a wider audience. For that, you’re gonna need social media marketing.
(2) Engage Your Personal Story Teller
Not knowing how to tell your stories isn’t an excuse anymore. You can engage in a professional story-teller, a content creator, to help translate, and tell your stories.
Still confused on how to even start?… Contact us for a little chat, and let us help you sort out the mess…
