What exactly is content? And how can it be fascinating?
According to Wikipedia, “the word is used to identify and quantify various formats and genres of information as manageable “value-adding components of media.”
Who determines what is “value-added”?
With so much noise in today's digital world, it's hard to stand out.
That is, unless you're a clown.
Science World in Vancouver ran a brilliant advertising campaign. (And by the way, content is advertising, and advertising is content).
The photo above is one of many used in the campaign. It resonates because it:
1) Evokes emotion
2) Offers an interesting fact
3) Tells a story
It's data-driven brand storytelling. And it works. Why? Because it fascinates.
Fascinating content doesn't just engage an audience – it compels them to go out of their way to consume the content. That can mean tivo-ing an episode of Breaking Bad or subscribing to a blog post.
But wait…there's a psychological underpinning to fascination.
In the book “Fascinate” Sally Hogshead argues that any activity has many degrees of attraction, with different scales of intensity:
Create content that's right in the middle in terms of intensity. Content simply needs to be interesting and engaging. The obsession and compulsion part? Not a good look.
What content fascinates you? Please comment below.
