Why cheap content doesn’t pay
Last week I was in a client meeting discussing content strategy for a launch.
Video was to be form a major part of the campaign, particularly for the digital media outreach, and as a consequence, the budget was starting to creep up.
With this in mind the client asked me a simple but direct question.
Why do I need to pay so much for film production when I can just get a cheap video camera and film it myself?
It was a valid question.
Content has definitely become cheaper to create.
Anyone with a mobile phone probably has a built-in video camera and editing software comes free with most computers.
And with an ever-growing number of digital media outlets hungry for fresh content there is now scope for achieving coverage on a shoestring budget.
But that entirely this misses the point.??
Content PR is not just about achieving a few online hits.
Real content PR should be about brand storytelling.
It should be focused on engaging audiences with compelling messages in a visually interesting way.
It sounds obvious, but brand content must be an extension of the brand – and if that’s the case it has to be of the highest quality.
And that can’t be done on a mobile phone. Or with a cheap video camera. Or on a shoestring budget.
It requires people who really know what they are doing.
Brands really do have to put their best foot forward as online content stays around for a long time.
So it had better be good.
If anything brands should probably be investing more, not less, in creating the very best content they can.
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Adam Clyne works at leading content PR agency – TVC Group.
@adamclyne @tvcgroup
