Not only can professionalism and amateurism coexist, but professionals can learn from amateurs. Last week we shared a number of areas in which professionals must compete with amateurs. Here are three more lessons from amateur content that can help professionals succeed:
The rise of amateur content is often bemoaned as a triumph of quantity over quality. But this perspective looks at the rise of amateur content in aggregate only. Within the realm of amateur content, some rises to prominence and some fails. The most successful amateur content resonates with its audience for a specific reason, and while it may not be professional-quality, it is edited and polished.
Professionals must learn from this. Amateur content creators become Internet stars when their content moves people so much that they want to share it. It is too easy for professionals to become complacent, used to having a purchased platform on which to display our work. Consider: what can you do to make your content so compelling that people want to see it again, and tell their friends about it?
In his blog The Long Tail, Wired editor-in-chief Chris Anderson wrote, “I’ll take a passionate amateur over a bored professional any day.” Raw content can open our eyes to what is compelling and informative in our world just as much as professional content. Yes, it is often of lesser quality, but that does not take away from its ability to entertain and educate us.
Professionals must remember to treat each campaign as an opportunity to reach and excite new people. After years of spreading the same message, it may begin to seem obvious or old hat to professional marketers. But professionals owe it to both clients and customers to bring the same level of passion to a project the first and the fiftieth time.
Amateurs recognize the importance of reaching and holding onto an online audience, because it is the very thing that determines their success.
Amateurs that have devoted followings have gotten to that point because they respond to audience interactions and dependably update their content in reaction to what their audience wants. Amateurs can’t rely on ad spend to spread their work, so they have to build relationships with their followers, and if professionals want to continue to compete, they should be building these types of authentic relationships too.
If you’re a professional, what other lessons have you taken from amateur content developers?
Come back Friday to read about professional marketing’s best moments in 2014.
Photo credit: allanfernancato via Pixabay
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