Content is King – So What?
Content is king. If you’ve been in radio for any length of time, you’re familiar with that mantra preached time and time again. While content may be king, may I suggest we consider there may be so much emphasis on content as king that we’ve forgotten the importance of relevance in getting that content to our respective kingdoms (communities).
In the INBOUND article, Content Is Not King: The New Approach To Content Marketing, Neil Patel offered that good content is invaluable, but marketing that content is just as critical as the content itself. In short, “More content doesn’t mean more results.” When thinking about content, Patel recommended ideas like repurposing content into short-form videos for TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram, and converting successful blog posts into webinars and lead magnets. He further pointed to content marketing tactics like quality over quantity and redefining SEO as “search everywhere optimization.”
Patel concluded: “Content success in 2025 comes down to a human approach that prioritizes genuine connection, authentic insights, and efficient content distribution. Don’t just focus on creating more, create better.”
Dave Adamson is the Australian director at YouVersion and the founder and CEO of MDCreative. In a YouTube Short about churches and social media content, Dave posits that while content and engagement are important, context is king. Applying his talk to radio, an on-air break, a podcast or post, a reel, a donor receipt – whatever your created content is that meets listener needs and provides critical answers and resources will be, by default, engaging and relevant to your audience. This requires an approach that understands not only who your present and potential listeners are, but what are their most significant felt needs.
Maybe this might help make the point. As an example, there are at least 18 different kinds of Cheerios (content), including regular, honey-nut, chocolate, frosted, banana, multi-grain, apple cinnamon, fruity, coconut, banana, regular oat crunch, oat crunch with berries, two kinds of veggie, and at least 5-6 more. Yay for General Mills, but when put into the context of my world: I don’t eat breakfast, so the content (cereal) is irrelevant.
It can be overwhelming to consider all the different ways to convey and market your content. It’s okay to start small. Start with one new platform – reels, blogs, podcasts – and consistently hone and feed it for several weeks before beginning another platform, just to ensure you’re working well with the new routine. Patel’s suggestion of quality over quantity and repurposing well-received content are excellent suggestions. Retool your on-air breaks, listener calls, talent blogs, or newsletters to get additional mileage out of your efforts, and remember: if it’s worth doing, it’s worth promoting. Make what you make count even more.
