Quality content is more important than ever. Therefore conveyed SCRIBERS[HUB] First -class copywriters, authors and journalists for every industry, every topic, every channel. In the "Content Buzzer" interview series, Sabine Fäth-founder of Scriber's [Hub]-communication professionals ask these questions every 14 days ...
Julia Marie Hebenbrock, Assistant to the Management Board, DW Deutschland GmbH
What does content mean to you?
For me, content is target group-specific material that people consume through distribution via various media and presentation formats. It is constantly evolving through new formats and media. This content can be created by individuals or companies and can serve to entertain, encourage action, and inspire users to create their own content (user-generated content).
I find authentic and respectful content particularly compelling, especially when it's coherent, engaging, and sparks new ideas. Current and emotionally resonant content stands out from today's flood of information and leaves a lasting impression. "Buy cheap, buy twice" – in my opinion, this also applies to content creation. It's far more worthwhile to invest quality effort in a single text and leave a positive impression than to produce numerous irrelevant pieces of content that offer no added value. Just like a person's first impression, content should be compelling from the outset to capture interest despite increasingly shorter attention spans. Usability across various devices and accessibility for people with disabilities play a crucial role in this.
From a business perspective, content, in line with the overall strategy, means providing empathetic information about the product and the company, sharing relevant content with the target audience, and thereby building trust and a sense of connection with the customer, ultimately promoting the company's goals. In addition to high quality, discoverability is also essential, for example through SEO or skillful distribution across various channels.
For me, content creation is also a hobby: I love photography and writing about my travels and foreign cultures, but reading captivating books is also essential. I consume these forms of content very consciously.
What was the worst piece of content you encountered?
According to Google, content is high-quality content – but this is precisely the quality that's lacking in poor-quality content. For me, this primarily means generic, interchangeable content with inappropriate or inauthentic stock photos, which bores me even though I'm consuming something. Content is also bad if it doesn't answer my questions or deliver on the promise made in the headline. It doesn't offer the promised added value, sometimes contains misinformation, and makes me regret having invested any time in it or leads me to close the content immediately. Texts riddled with spelling mistakes or misused expressions like "famous-infamous" are also among the worst content I've encountered. This can easily be avoided today with many free programs.
When I first read the question, I immediately thought of a book with endless sentences that was so difficult to understand that I still haven't finished it. Another example is a recipe where ingredients are listed but not included in the instructions. A lack of structure and unclear ideas are, for me, clear indicators of poor content.
How does good content succeed in times of chatt and Co.?
Artificial intelligence offers enormous opportunities, but also brings challenges. I must admit that I haven't been using artificial intelligence for very long. I completed my bachelor's degree entirely without the use of AI, and I generally try to use it sparingly – mainly because of the resources it consumes.
Nevertheless, I believe it's a helpful tool for content creation, but one that must be used with caution: You should thoughtfully question whether the information is accurate and handle sensitive data (keyword: data protection) with care. As with other tools, you first have to learn how to use it correctly and consider what you actually intend to achieve with it in order to reach the desired result.
I like using ChatGPT to better understand my target audience or when I'm struggling to organize my thoughts, to find new ways of phrasing, or to get additional creative ideas for social media captions. It also provides helpful resources for delving deeper into the topic. However, sometimes the creativity I value so much in writing becomes a hindrance, and sources are fabricated, rendering them useless.
Complete the sentence: Content is always...
…a part of our lives: It is diverse and offers the opportunity to provide added value for others and ourselves if it is well-presented. Good content has great potential and is readily shared.
