Being a Curator

“The Internet allows every company to become a media company,” he said. “It takes resources, dedication and a nose for creating good content that people want. Brands will become digital curators in high interest niches. This will either be a solo effort, or more likely, in partnership with bloggers, media companies and/or everyday consumers.”

MediaShift . Digging Deeper::The Social Press Release: Multimedia, Two-Way, Direct to the Public PBS

It reminds me of a time I was in a meeting with colleagues who's client wanted ads that showed that they were an "arbiter of culture". I said, "Cool, but would it make more sense to just arbite culture". Its the commitment and change in business practices that makes that tricky.

Some problems you might encounter along the way.

• If you want to keep content fresh and regular don't expect the same production values as brochures and commercials with 6 months lead times
• Don't lie to yourself. If the little voice in your head thinks its not 100% authentic, its not
• Don't expect immediate results, becoming a truly valued source of information takes time, if you expect this tactic to lift back to school sales significantly your too late
• Accept that the last time you tried this that you sucked and nobody came because you didn't invest in enough promotion, or the content wasn't good enough
• Don't bet the farm on it. Bet a little bit on it, but stick with it, learn from mistakes, and watch it grow.
• Your other marketing budgets (TV, OOH, etc...) aren't going away they are just getting diversified and will need to be more efficient