This is sure to ruffle some feathers but I believe this is in everyone’s best interest. Stop buying canned content! You may have at some point considered or even actually purchased content from one of the many companies inundating business owners daily. The idea seems sound to help keep your information fresh and your search engine optimization optimal. However, when you provide or share something that someone else has written, it directly reflects upon you. Be sure that whatever you endorse accurately represents your brand.
 
The convenience of using content provided by someone else is alluring. I know how difficult it is to integrate blog posting and content sharing into your day. Companies who are experts in your fields claim that they have the answer to your problem. I recently spoke to a Certified Financial Planner considering using a service that included financial experts offering content that he could share to his potential clients. I cautioned him to be sure that the information is truly interesting to his niche audience in this particular part of the country. Current and potential clients want to read about information that is pertinent to them. The more specific you can be to their needs the better.
 
Custom content is ok (if done right) and it is very different from canned. My company writes the content for our client’s web sites and we give them a library of topics from which to pull for blogging and social media. Everything is written in their voice based upon what we know their audience wants to and can hear.
 
I have a good friend whose company acts as a social media “ghost writer” for her clients. She spends the time to get to know her client’s brand and audience inside and out. When you buy content from a source that is expert in your field, remember that it doesn’t mean they are experts in your audience. It is, after all, all about your audience. They are your revenue source.
 
Canned content also muddies the waters on Linked In and other social media sites. If you are pushing information just to get digital traffic please know that I will be unlinking or unfriending in the near future. Lots of traffic doesn’t mean conversions. I refer to a conversion as a digital visitor who ends up doing business with you.
 
You need to look at the direct and indirect costs of using generic (canned) content. What could you be losing by not using your own voice?
 
It is hard to find the time. As I write this I am giving myself a scolding for not keeping my blog updated weekly. I will be putting blog time into my schedule as an actual appointment moving forward. Perhaps you should try the same thing. Whatever you choose please don’t perpetuate this canned content trend. The only good things canned are preserves (and maybe that terribly awesome cranberry sauce we get once a year.) Marketing’s sole purpose is to positively impact your revenue or profitability. Realize your goals with a successful plan.
 
Vanessa Marttinen is currently the Founder and Senior Consultant of American Marketeur. American Marketeur is an independent full-service marketing firm, based in Wilmington, NC, focusing on building revenue-generating marketing plans.  Vanessa Marttinen offers her clients completely unbiased advice by never taking mark ups on media buys. American Marketeur accommodates any type or size of business or practice through an enormous network of innovators, designers, programmers, experts and visual producers. Visit www.AmericanMarketeur.com or contact Vanessa Marttinen at [email protected] or 910-338-6479 for a free, no-obligation consultation.