One sign that social media are maturing is that content tricks such as lists and how-tos do no longer satisfy readers who have had their fill of hors d'oeuvres and hunger for something substantial.
That's the viewpoint of Drew Hawkins, who recently commented in a blog post titled "The Fall of Content" that "When creating content, whether it's your blog or Twitter or some other platform, you should ask yourself: are you posting something that you are genuinely passionate about? Or are you just trying to drive traffic at the expense of your reader?"
Customers are ready to move past design gimmicks - fascination by bright shiny objects - in favor of design and capabilities that make information easier to find and use. "Thou shalt not direct a visitor away from thy site" was never more true than today.
Thus content and design must work together - and also with your other marketing and communications strategies.
Hawkins isn't alone in this viewpoint or the first to express it — it's something Hammock has believed since its founding in 1991. Your online presence needs to provide potential customers and clients with content that helps them evaluate and use your products and services—what we call contextual content. And the design must be clear, easy to navigate and use.
Whether in print, online or skywritten, content and design must be not only creative, but also meaningful and helpful to our clients' audiences. Otherwise, it's like an ad that gets everyone talking - but no one can remember what the product is.
And isn't the point to have content that works for your product or service?
