Un-pasteurised marketing: Imperfect content is perfect for media 2.0?

Johnnie Moore summarises an interesting conversation between some learned marketing and communications bloggers on the quality of content in campaigns.

I believe that as communicators adapt to the demands and opportunities of connected media , they will be producing more content, in more formats and that the content itself will have a longer life as it is pulled through networks of blogs, wikis and other media.

There may be a need to create a larger body of content when addressing an array of micro-audiences which may require (or demand) bespoke content and / or to a steady stream of communication - not like today's stop / start broadcast models of  mass communication.

Engaging with connected media and with thousands of stakeholders and customers in real time means that there won't be time for checking and double-checking and making sure that content is error-free and ticks boxes for everyone within the organisation with a passing interest.

Dealing, then, with a greater volume of communications content, produced more quickly than it has been before, with necessarily "rougher edges" will have the added benefit being less pasteurised. To get a bit geeky for a moment, it means that marketing content will need to be in a perpetual beta mode. As Mr Moore puts it:

In fact, perfectionism could be seen as killing engagement, attempting to deny the reader the opportunity to share in the meaning-making.

And when you're putting out beta communications/content it means you're not feigning infallibility, you're making your best statement at that moment, you're that much more authentic, your organisation's that much closer to being in a conversation with your market instead of unleashing a diatribe at it.

This ethos will require a different approach to risk management and contingency planning in organisations when it comes to their communications. It will also add to the need to be more open to risk-taking in the first place and experimentation.