Content Might Be King, but Context Is Queen

We’ve all had the saying “content is king” thrown at us by some marketing guru’s blog, e-book or webinar series. The phrase originated in an essay by Bill Gates in 1996, where he explained that content will make the majority of money on the internet, just as it did in previous forms of broadcasting.

Since then, the phrase has dictated the behaviour of brands and marketers online like a religious text.

(I wonder whether it would have if someone other than Gates had made the claim?)

While he was certainly correct in his statement, content is now not the only driving force in successful branding and marketing.

People have caught on to the content game, so something else is now needed to distinguish excellent branding from average marketing. This is particularly true for brands trying to engage younger people on social media.

That “thing” is context.