Noise-Share Content Creation and Marketing: A new Approach to Gaining Corporate and Social Visibility
By: Dr. Achor Prince
Professional public relations practitioners and those in the allied professions are familiar with content creation/marketing. As In-house PR practitioner and public relations consultant, you create content through your media relations activities; you also create marketing content when you design and manage several PR communications campaigns.
Interestingly, your experience and dexterity in crafting marketable or marketing content gives you an edge over competition or competitors who are in dire need to have better market value, share and visibility. It doesn’t matter whether you are creating content to out-market your competitors or eliminate impending market crisis, you need to learn how to leverage on noise generated by the issues, events and situations or crises to add to the visibility of your company or client.
The focus and thrust of this piece is the concept of noise-share content creation/marketing. Though the concept may not be entirely new but the idea behind it has not been fully explored by PR and other communication practitioners, particularly in Nigeria.
The concept of noise-share content creation or marketing is an offshoot of the traditional content creation/marketing. Noise as used in this article does not connote the (technical) noise that we know in communication parlance to distort the flow or understanding of information in the communication process or channel.
Noise is conceptualized here as the degree of attention given to awareness generated by an issue, event, crisis, product, brand etc. over a period of time. The noise so generated is not sound-oriented or audio related and cannot be measured in decibels. This type of noise is measured by the amount of traffic an issue, brand, event etc. generates in the mainstream and social media or volume of online/offline comments, and conversations concerning the subject and/or object in the court of public opinion.
Stripped of technicalities, noise-share describes a share of the attention or awareness generated by an issue, publicity, events, ideas, products, brand etc. via the mainstream traditional media, social and created media. Content creators strive to positively utilize this share of public attention to lend their voices or that of clients to critical corporate or national issues, crisis, etc.
Noise-share content creation is the art of creating/crafting marketing or demarketing content that can help you gain a sizable share of the noise or attention generated by a brand, national, local or international events/issues.
Noise-share content creation allows you to leverage on your media relations visibility, brand personality and reputation to attract public validation for your actions or views on issues of governance and policies, or trending issues on social media platforms, etc.
Crafting engaging content using persuasion, attention-getting words and behavior change communication strategies can do magic as organizations partake in the noise or attention generated by a marketable event, issue and ideas.
Similarly, crafting demarketing content can be used as a strategy to gain positive noise-share of crisis situation. Content created could be presented as information subsidies (e.g. news releases, podcast, press statement, opinion papers, advertorials, documentaries, etc.) to the mainstream media or disseminated through social media platforms, company’s or client’s websites.
One of the advantages of creating noise-share content, is that, it increases your off/online visibility and brand image/ reputation ratings. It equally shows the opinion of an individual or a company on critical issue or technology affecting the way things are done or businesses are managed. For example, the much talked about Artificial intelligence (AI) and technology disruption has generated public attention; and strategic organizations are making their feelings known on the issue.
Few organizations are dishing out valuable content that reveals how they are strategizing and adapting AI concept and principles in running their affairs. The minimum wage issue has been in the news and has generated so much noise that workers are getting apprehensive. A private employer of labor can cash in on this issue by creating content that gives graphic details of how its workers will be affected if it adopts the minimum wage. The free publicity the content may go a long way in increasing their media visibility.
There is a caveat to creating noise-share content. It’s not every issue or event that generates noise capable of attracting corporate responses. In the event of crisis situation, an organization should know if it has change-absorbing clout to deal with issues before letting its views known via noise-share content.
The essence of creating noise-share content is to douse tension by turning negative perceptions generated by an issue, event or crisis into positive situations in a subtle manner that earns the confidence of various stakeholders.
Since content creation and marketing has become a new approach to gaining corporate visibility it must be part of organization’s communication action plan.
Noise-share content media mix is an integral part of the content marketing campaign. It must be incorporated into the entire marketing communication action plan of companies. Developing a masterpiece noise-share content is not a hit and missed affair; it must be a planned activity if you are to craft an engaging and inspiring content. Research is important in creating a noise-share content.
Noise-share content must tell a story in a unique way, irrespective of the objective it’s to achieve. Public relations professionals and consultants should explore other benefits of noise-share content creation and marketing. Crisis situations can be a turning point in the life an organization; and its ability to manage the crisis should be demonstrated through creating content that can positively share from the noise generated, particularly if the fact in issues causing the crisis is industry-based or technology oriented.
Dr. Achor is a Content Creator, Marketing Communicator, Public Relations Expert and a Consultant.
