At some point when Google decided to change its search engine algorithm and put an emphasis on content, the digital world changed. Up to that point, pages were ranked on their value and consistent with search terms. Once content came into the picture as a scoring element, the web world exploded with the sudden need to add more on a consistent basis to stay relevant. No surprise, content went into high demand, including everything from freshly-written articles to videos to mixed media. The social media world soon followed. What has happened since is an over-saturation of content, including fake material, to the point that audiences in general are no longer impressed. And that means content success is so much harder to achieve than it was only a few years ago.

What Exactly is Content?

Originally, digital content was supposed to be valuable information that would provide viewers with beneficial material. By switching out content with new material on a regular basis, search engine algorithms gave sites better ranking scores because they were more interesting for audiences. While this change was at first beneficial for the web in general, pushing it away from saturation of useless marketing, it also set off a new “arms race” between sites trying to maintain top first-page ranking on Google and similar.

As a result, content because just about everything. And, since social media’s success relies heavily on continuing to grow audiences, content in that arena developed into an overwhelming demand to produce daily or even hourly in some cases.

This is Why We Can’t Have Good Things

Too much of a good thing ended up becoming bad. “Content” today has become a necessary evil. Sites and platforms churn out content by the gigabytes, but much of it is regurgitation or, worse, shock value to simply draw immediate traffic. That also has the negative effect of obscuring good content from being seen, because lost in the masses of junk.

Use a Scalpel, Not a Meat Mallet

Instead, the way to break through the logjam of too much content chatter involves some old-fashioned marketing strategizing. Back in the day, before the Internet, companies didn’t have the luxury of Google Analytics and the wide reach of social media. Instead, they had to use reams of data to determine the most likely demographics of a receptive audience and then target their product or service specifically to those consumers. The same is coming back today, generating content that is extremely valuable only to specific types of consumers versus the masses. This targeted approach then generates maybe a lower volume response, but higher engagement and efficacy as a result.

Strategic tools like those provided by InSync Media Marketing Agency and similar marketing experts can help. The old classic marketing tools might seem foreign today, but they are still just as effective as they were decades ago. If you want to penetrate the clutter of today’s content logjam, strategic penetration is now the key answer. Pull in the right partners to make headway fast. You’ll beat the crowds who figure out this lesson late.