Why NOT to do Content Marketing - A Case Study

If you want a good reason to reject an investment in content marketing, you've come to the right place. This post is the home of a walking content marketing contradiction. I produce content professionally for multiple brands who have made creative content a key part of their growth strategy.

They're playing the long game that will pay off in the long run when their page authority builds and they slowly build a library of content that can serve the needs of their buyers at all stages of the sales cycle.

I'm a case study in why not to do content marketing

I love case studies. You can learn so much from how others have done their work. I prefer this much more over learning definitions and theory and then trying them out. I want to see what people have done and then alter it to fit what I want to do.

But if you're here, you are one of the few to see the first words of my first significant investment on my own content marketing. I have a Twitter page where I've built a 370+ follower account that mostly only grown because of a few posts of other peoples content. My Klout score is above average, but driven primarily by Facebook likes from my close friends and family. Why is this interesting? It's not. That's because I spend my time observing from the edges. I'm a fringe participant in the twitters and book of faces and instagerms and everything else, but that's just like almost everyone else.

The secret here is that if you don't want to do content marketing, you will be just like everyone else. It's easy to share other people's content and like stuff that you scroll past. It takes a special energy and spirit to be a creator.

My effort has not been good enough. I feel like I did when I was an eighth grade basketball player and I didn't really get what it took to be a good player. Sailing along as an also-ran has been a theme of my life. BUT NO MORE.

Investing in content takes time, creativity, and a bold attitude

The lightbulb for a business

Creating a product? the idea is the important part. Successful entrepreneurs speak of ideas as their entire world. They must create the idea and see if it works. Why shouldn't you take your ideas for granted?

There's peace of mind in creating. Entrepreneurship is a medium of art in a similar way to the classic fine arts. You must begin with a spark of an idea, and let that idea develop and take shape, so it can be released and have an effect on an audience.

Too bad it's not that simple eh? There's a reason most small businesses fail, it's because they're hard. But if people gave up on the hard things in life, we wouldnt have anything great. Cliche cliche cliche.

What's the meat and potatos?

What's the conclusion?

Lebron James and the Emo Sports Fan

LeBron James. Most popular athlete in the world. 4 time NBA MVP, 2 time Champion. You'd think that's a pretty good list. You'd think people would be happy for the man and revel in his greatness. If you thought that, you'd be wrong.

The need for justification is strong in those who talk about LeBron. With all the talk about millenials and their entitlement disorders, a researcher could bottle up a twitter search about LBJ and prove all of his research in that moment.

James is a business genius. Not only is he changing the way athletes control the destiny of their own careers, he's changed how sports fandom can be consumed. He just crowdsourced what number he should wear when he returns to Cleveland. His 2 year contract is apparently handicapping the Cavs front office to do his bidding for the forseeable future. All of this and apparently he's increased in popularity and surpassed Michael Jordan as the most popular athlete in America.

Wait wasn't everyone mad 4 years ago that he made similar choices? Why is there a dichotomy here, because they hate Florida sports fans and feel bad for Cleveland? 

Now the story is hitting home in MInnesota as James has reached out to Kevin Love and said he wants to bring him in. By omitting the past 2 #1 draft picks, Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett from his "letter" in SI, he effectively made them bait for teams like the Timberwolves to pursue in exchange for their superstar.

What happened to the old player-coach from the 60's, 70's, and 80's? What LeBron is doing now is like what Bill Russel did in his prime. He's probably happy DAvid Blatt is in the picture because a green-horn coach will be like his tech support as he strategizes how to deconstruct and demolish his opponents.

There is way too much to look at in LeBron's world it makes a fan's head spin. His "Team" isn't even considered the Cavaliers anymore, instead just the management company run be his cronies and himself. If they haven't purchased a minority share of a team by 2025, color me flabergasted.