You might think that it’s better to produce a lot of marketing content to capture the attention of your specific audience. However, another person might tell you the exact opposite: It is not the quantity that matters but the quality of the content you produce.
This debate has been around for a long time. And while quantity can add value and boost your marketing efforts, quality will always win the argument. Here is why.
You Can’t Beat Good Quality.
The quality of the content comes first.
Quality is more valuable than providing content on a set, high-frequency schedule.
In terms of importance, quantity is a close runner-up.
Chris DuBois, head of operations and a growth marketer at Lean Labs, explains: “Quality content is both relevant and valuable.” These two characteristics, relevant and valuable, are the key to engaging with your customers. When you think of quality, think of it in terms of the difference between your perfect customer engaging with you or deciding not to. Quality content will draw a customer to you every time. What material will connect with and engage your audience? What material will provide them with value, insight, and knowledge?
Choosing one topic and writing one or two quality pieces of material that add value will gain more engagement than a large number of pieces with lower quality. Or, for that matter, content pieces on scattered topics that don’t speak to the specific problems or concerns of your audience.
DuBois also says, “Creating quality content shows you understand your customers’ needs and you’re listening to them. It’s pivotal in customer-centric marketing and something every company should strive for.” We have spoken before about understanding what your customers need and how important it is to address that in your marketing content. Quality content that shows you know your audience will gain more clicks every time.
William Craig tells us: “Textbooks on marketing tell you to aim for your target audience, but quality engagement is more than statistics and demographics. Never write or shoot for a generalized audience. Instead, be relevant, current, and specific.” Quality content addresses each of these areas. When you produce a quality piece of content, whether a blog post, an email for distribution, or a social media post, your target audience will find you.
According to AgileCRM, “With so much content out there, you need to produce content that stands out from the rest. If you produce content that delivers unique value—value that your competitors’ content is not providing—your content will stand out.” The only way for your brand to shine through is by providing high-quality, valuable, and engaging content that shows your audience you understand them in a way other brands don’t.
The Case for and Against Quantity
The ‘Against’ Quantity Argument
Craig also says, “Don’t annoy your audience with too much content. Be the brand that offers a laugh or meets a need by gracefully slipping into the fold, communicating to the consumer, we’re here and look at this cool thing you didn’t know. Don’t content bomb. Don’t speak at or down to your consumer. Create a conversation.”
There is a difference between consistency and quantity. Producing content every day to simply fulfill a quota may not work as well as publishing one piece of quality content a week, for example. It isn’t really about the number of pieces of content you post but how they connect with your audience or potential customer.
Producing a larger quantity of web content may mean more hits on your website, but think of what it’s doing to your overall site ranking based on the Google algorithm. Publishing too much irrelevant content may harm your marketing efforts.
The ‘For’ Quantity Argument
If part of your content strategy is to engage with a new group or target audience, there is great value in producing many content items. That might include a series of blog posts, several web pages, an email series, and different social media posts. It’s valuable to spend a set amount of time, two or three months, for example, focusing on connecting with and capturing the interest of that particular audience segment. In that circumstance, quantity works.
Quantity also wins out when you have an event that you have scheduled for the future. Keeping that event front-of-mind is vital to gain buy-in. Again, delivering a consistent number of pieces in a different format with a specific focus on the event will assist you. That’s not to say that the pieces don’t need to be of quality, too. Just that quantity also helps.
According to PostBeyond, Jay Baer makes a point of saying that quantity is necessary to gain reach across the many networks and places for your audience to engage with you. He sees that you won’t have the reach to engage potential clients without many pieces being published. The one specific person you want to reach may use several platforms to engage with service providers. How will you connect with them unless you are posting content on various media?
What Wins? Quality or Quantity?
If you are going to choose between quality and quantity, then quality has to win every time. While there may be times you go with many items for specific reasons, the general rule to follow in content marketing is quality. Provide quality material that delivers value for your target audience. Produce content that is different from others for your brand to stand out in the busy world that you find yourself in at the moment.
How can you capture someone’s attention? Quality is not only about what you produce, but also the quality of the images or graphics you use. Make them unique. Use imagery to grab attention.
And while quality is always necessary for content marketing, remember there may be times where you need to think about quantity. For example, you may produce many quality pieces for a specific event that you have planned. The key is remembering that your audience has wants and needs. Connecting with them is vital.
Produce quality content delivered on the best platform for your target audience, and you will have engagement and followers who want to know more about you and what you have to offer.
