What Does ‘The Voice’ Have To Do With Content Marketing?

There are tons of reality singing competitions on TV, but NBC’s “The Voice” does things a little differently.

For singers to ever make it onto a team and into the competition, they must rely on their voice to wow the celebrity judges during a blind audition – yes, a blind audition. The judges can’t see the singers during their performance unless they decide they want that person on their team. But if you’re like me and have avidly watched this show since it first aired in 2011, you may know that having a talented singing voice isn’t always enough to earn a spot in the competition. (Hold on, I’m getting to my content marketing point.)

Many singers with plenty of talent have graced the stage, but failed to do something so remarkable to get a judge to turn his or her chair around and name them one of their team members.

The same can be said about content marketing. Simply putting a piece of content out into the world doesn’t mean you’ll reach the desired goal. If you want to gain new customers, create loyal fans, be touted as a thought leader, and considered a trusted brand and source of information, your content needs to be remarkable.

Personality
Before a crestfallen singer walks away after not getting chosen for a team, the judges give them advice on how to improve their craft. Many times, the judges have said they just didn’t show enough of their personality and uniqueness in their performance.

It’s no different when it comes to content marketing – showing your brand’s personality through your content gives readers the ability to really connect with you. More specifically, infusing personality into your content will help readers form an emotional connection to your brand.

Of course, the personality should align with and make sense for your brand. Otherwise, it may seem forced and can actually turn off or offend readers. For instance, a hospital with a top-notch oncology unit shouldn’t be publishing funny, light-hearted content.

Content choice
Some singers’ voices can knock a Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston song out of the park. While other singers are better suited for Michael Jackson or Bonnie Raitt songs. If a singer picks a song that they just can’t tackle, whether the talent level or range just isn’t there, it can result in them not making the cut. Judges often have given the advice that the singer made a bad song choice; a different, more suitable choice could’ve made all the difference.

But they weren’t strategic.

You and your team members could be very talented writers and editors, but you could be missing the mark if your topics and preferred style of content delivery is off. Your content strategy is more than just creating content – it’s what gives you the structure to decide what you should publish and what resources you have. Just posting content on every platform you can find won’t get you where you want to go.

Be A Winner
I can remember a handful of singers that barely sang one or two notes and had all of the judges fighting to get them to join their team. Their voice, song choice, and personality shone through so quickly, all of the judges knew this person had the potential to not only excel in the competition, but they believed this person could win. This singer would add value to their team.

This is exactly what your content should be to readers – valuable. It should energize them because they immediately can see how it will make a positive difference for them. It should genuinely help them, answer their questions and inform them. This means you need to take off your sales hat and think like your reader or customer. What do they need? What information are they seeking out? If you start thinking like this, the value of your content will come naturally.

What Does ‘The Voice’ Have To Do With Content Marketing?