Content is Still King, But Context is the Queen

The importance of a queen cannot be underestimated, whether in chess or as the monarch of the British Empire. The same is true for context. Even while content has always been seen as king, the significance of context cannot be taken lightly.

Content vs Context - What is the Difference Between Content and Context? 

Even though content and context might sound the same, there is a major difference between these two.

Content refers to the planning, drafting, and editing of content for digital marketing purposes. It might include producing blog posts and articles, video and podcast scripts, and content for specialized platforms.

On the other hand, context refers to the situation in which the writing occurs. It gives the desired message meaning and clarity.

Bill Gates was the first to use the term "Content is King" in his now-famous post on the Microsoft website in January 1996. Although it has been over 25 years, his insight on the importance of content remains valid.

We currently live in a world where content dominates. Why, you may ask? 

In today's environment, we are bombarded with digital content every minute of the day. The average person spends about 145 minutes per day on social media sites and a staggering 6.3 hours per day consuming digital media.

However, after so many years, all the relevant kinds of content are covered by companies to reach the audience. But, to gain a competitive edge over their competitors, they still need context. It can help brands to be more relevant and direct towards their targeted consumers by anticipating their needs, wants and expectations.

Importance of Context in Marketing and Branding

With artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning taking center stage, context is having a major impact on the buying decisions of users.  

In the year of 2022, it can be said with certainty that content is a king, but context is queen. This is because even though content helps in reaching a wide range of audiences, it still requires value to get read by people, which is provided by context. 

Given the amount of time spent online and the sheer volume of content accessible, if there is no context to content, it will not be heard or noticed.

The route that most of us take to achieve our marketing goal revolves around the ‘Three Rs’: reaching the Right Person, with the Right Message, at the Right Time. 

There is, in fact, a fourth 'R' that might improve communication: 'Right Context.' This expands customer comprehension and the capacity to optimize relevance and personalization.

So, how can context be understood deeply?

No matter how good the quality of the content received is, if it is not influenced by the context, it does not deliver much value. 

For example, will the ad campaign of a laptop displayed on a tech magazine give more ROI, or that on a home decor magazine? 

The answer is obviously tech magazine, because of the importance of context. This is context advertising. There should be a lot of importance given to context in a marketing strategy to make an effective one. 

From the consumer’s point of view, context is a helpful communication from a company offering them a product, service, informative content, or a deal that is exactly what they need at that moment in time. Context marketing is highly impactful. 

This increases the value of a brand's product to the consumer and is critical to raising their campaign beyond competitors'.

Conclusion

Everything changes with the passing of time. What was earlier considered more relevant and important may now be deemed less valuable. The same is true for content and context. Although content is the king of marketing and branding, context is the queen due to its ability to be more relevant and audience-oriented.