For the last few years, as the home-spun new media revolution has begun to gain real traction, we’ve all heard the slogan – content is King.
What that really boils down to is if your content is solid folks will forgive poor production quality in your presentation, be it a website, audio or video.
For a while I bought that line. Now I passionately disagree with a few qualifications.
If your interests live way out on the tip of the “long tail”, say you’re a huge fan of the “It’s a Small World” ride at Disney’s Magic Kingdom Park in Orlando, I’d imagine you’d accept just about any watchable or listenable content that brought you updates on your favorite attraction.
Billy’s low-res ramblings posted following his bi-weekly visit to “IASW” would be just fine to make you happy. His compressed comments spoken into a small portable recorder would be highly treasured as you feel connected on some level to your favorite Disney experience. Content beats production value.
Until…
Someone like me comes along. Not only do I provide consistent commentary on the state of your favorite ride, I also provide a bi-weekly HD video of a complete ride-through of the attraction. Video so crisp and otherwise well produced that you actually start to notice details in the ride you’ve never seen before.
My commentary isn’t as passionate as I’m not a real fan. I’m just a guy looking to profit from a base of viewers of my content.
Bottom line:
Content is King as long as you are on the tip of the tail. People will quickly factor in “quality” when given the choice between two shows.
That basic show on Smurf collecting gets killed the moment a bigger player sees the potential profits, plays it cool, and ultimately controls the space right out from under you.
The lesson?
To steal from Mr. Gary Vaynerchuk…
Content may be King, but quality of presentation is Queen, and, as we all know…
The Queen is in charge.
Your content kicks ass. You are solid in your space and are more than happy with your numbers. Just be aware that as podcasting moves off of the computer and iPod and onto the TV… Production value will start to count more than ever.
No video? Trouble ahead…
Tags: HD, Podcasting
