Almost 30 years have passed when Bill Gates first said ,”Content is King’, but SEO experts, marketers and advertisers still discuss the relevance of content in the digital era. Has it lost its relevance because of the entry of AI tools. No, instead AI tools have made it easy for people to generate content effortlessly and easily. As people get ready to say good bye to 2024 and welcome 2025, the debate has become more relevant than ever before.
Seen as part of strategic business asset, content is a product, offered to customers and stakeholders. In fact, it plays a very important role in creating awareness and bringing traffic to websites besides generating sales and creating brand awareness.
Canadian Philosopher Marshall McLuhan said that discussions on this issue often become inextricably blended with those about media channels or systems of communication. It is a modern day given that the medium isn’t just a neutral “container” of a message. New technology and the platform wars have unlocked how we consume, purchase and relate to content. Music and books have already seen massive changes, and now long-form video is the battlefield between creators, distributors and digital platforms, as the television set becomes a big smartphone, cable/over the air networks become the internet, and the social networks seek to keep people in their walled gardens for longer and longer.
6 key elements
There are 6 essential elements that make content not just good but extraordinary.
Know Your Audience: You need to understand target audience, age group, profession and location. What is your audience looking for? What can they relate to. Ensure that content is engaging and stays on top of evolving trends.
Write a Compelling Story: Storytelling has always been a powerful form of communication. For instance, Nike’s empowering “Just Do It” mantra and Apple’s revolutionary journey, stories have left an indelible mark. Besides this, structure your narratives with introduction, conflict, and resolution.
Adopt different Formats: Choose different formats to catch attention of audience. You can enhance visual appeal by using high-quality images, infographics and videos that capture attention.
Optimize for SEO: Make sure that your content is optimised for Search Engine Optimisation( SEO) purpose. Look for keyword research properly and implement on-page SEO techniques. Speak your audience’s language and not use cliche’. Use simple language and weave in keywords strategically. Make mobile-friendly content for optimal search.
Consistency and Authenticity: Create content to build brand recognition and trust. While building brand’s personality and language, stay authentic by incorporating user-friendly, real-life stories, and transparent communication. visibility.
Analyse, refine your content for better conversion. Analyze content to know how it has performed with the help of key metrics like engagement, conversions, and bounce rates. Important tools like Google Analytics, social media insights, and CMS analytics for in-depth insights are available in the market. Take data-driven decisions, regularly analyze data and gather feedback. These activities will help in improving content quality.
According to Forbes.com, Optimized content is crucial. The optimization is built around keywords. Search engines crawl websites for keywords and clusters. Based on how well put together any given piece of content is, these crawlers will then allocate an appropriate Search Engine Ranking Page (SERP) position.
Relevance of content in SMM
Irrevelant content will not be searched. Google search engine or other search engines will not promote your blog or article. A close look at the working of search engines indicated that search engines always look for new content actively and regularly. As more and more search engine algorithms evolve into complex, human-centric logic, they look for information that is relevant to the search conducted by the surfer. This is called search intent.
3 types of answers people look for
- Informational Intent:
- When people search for how to , ‘what is’, or ‘tips for ‘ also when people seek answers on youtube to understand any term or seek advice. For example people search for ‘How to cook dal makhni, or what is diabetes?
- Commercial Intent:
- It refers to queries made with an intention to buy or engage in a transaction.
- People with commercial intent are anxiously looking for products or services to buy.
- People use search queries that include terms like “buy,” “price,” “best,” or “review.”
- Also, people seek information that helps them compare options, find deals, or make informed purchasing decisions.
- For example, “Black Friday sale up to 60 % and Black Friday I phone 12 pro 899 US dollars.
- Transactional Intent:
- When people intend to complete a transaction or make a purchase for insurance or phone etc.
- Terms like “buy,” “discount,” or specific product names are used for transactional intent.
- Products, services, or deals are searched for.
- “Best property deals in Noida”
Artificial Intelligence's entry
The entry of AI led to a global debate on its impact on content generation. Questions were raised over the ability of journalists, content creators, script writers and authors. Over a period of time , it was realised that content creation was always supreme. AI generated content cannot replace content generated by media persons, content creators, writers or authors. According to mental health coach and B2B marketer Jotham Lim, generating content is not the same as organizing content — and it’s an area that AI still struggles with. In his post titled, AI has come, but I will still be here on LinkedIn, Lim categorically mentioned that at the fundamental level, most white-collar work is a series of information organization and manipulation, hence the term “knowledge work”. He further added that Graphic design is aesthetic elements organized a certain way.
An app is a series of code functions configured a certain way.
A thesis proposal is researched information structured a certain way.
We are all blacksmiths, hammering, molding, and combining nuggets of information to make it relevant and useful’, he added. He said that AI can neither contextualise nor organise or dabble in politics.
Conclusion
Content creation is one of the most powerful aspects of being human. While AI can assist with generating ideas and processing information, creativity is fundamentally unique to human experience. It’s not just about solving problems or making connections; it’s about expressing emotions, imagining the impossible, and pushing the boundaries of what we understand. Creativity transcends logic and rules, which is something AI is bound by. AI can be a tool to enhance or complement creativity, but it can’t replicate the depths of human imagination.
As we move into 2025, content will continue to be a driving force in the digital world. In all probability, it will integrate how we connect, communicate, and create values. Human touch will be the top most important part of content that will resonate, spark emotion, and stand out in an oversaturated world.
