Bill Gates famously coined the slogan "Content is King" in an article introducing the internet and a new paradigm of information consumption and creation over a quarter-century ago.

To this day, nothing could be farther from the truth.

On the Internet, "success" is primarily determined by original, high-quality, relevant, and engaging material.

Content has grown more democratic since the web's "early days."

From companies to users on social media, almost everyone is a publisher these days. It should come as no surprise that two out of every five individuals nowadays are content developers. The number of people creating material has increased, aided by the fact that most outlets have minimal entry hurdles.

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Anyone may readily participate. As a consequence, individuals and companies that previously lacked a voice may now be heard. In reality, many creators and influencers are establishing themselves as their own brands as a result of their consistent efforts to provide relevant content.

A queen is required of every monarch, and content has one in the form of consumption.

However, it is not always a joyful relationship.

Yes, increased consumption as a result of self-isolation and quarantine has increased demand for all types of media.

Simultaneously, the danger of material saturation increased, with some content failing to get the attention it deserved. While high-quality material usually gets more attention than low-quality content, it's all too typical for it to underperform because its distribution isn't optimal.

Even better, it isn't maxed.

The omnipresence of content culture

When it comes to material, it's more realistic to state that great content reigns supreme. Given the prevalence of false news and disinformation, excellent material is more important than ever. That same material, on the other hand, is entirely useless if your audience is unable to consume it.

First and foremost, your material must be readily available for consumption.

Promoting it on your social media platforms, through newsletter, or highly-trafficked sites are all effective methods.

However, there is a new player on the pitch, one whose fame is rising by the day as a result of increased demand from the public.

That player is, as you may have guessed, an audio player.

The way individuals consume media has gradually evolved. Consumers nowadays expect audio to be a part of their content experience. Short-form audio, for example, is one of the many developing audio formats. Audiences interact with the medium in a completely different manner than they do with conventional media.

Audio material is more passive than other mediums such as video and text. This makes using it while juggling other responsibilities a highly enticing option since it allows you to consume it at any time of day. This is impossible to do with textual and visual information that requires complete concentration.

These are the kinds of issues that need to be addressed in the context of changing media habits.

Utilize the right forms and channels so that your target audience can consume it anyway they want, whether it's textual, video, audio, interactive, via your website or smart assistants, on mobile or desktop, multilingual, and so on.

Make an effort to broaden your horizons. Make your material accessible in the places and ways that your target consumers want to consume it.

The gambit of the queen

There are more options than ever to showcase your brand and company to your target audience thanks to technological advancements.

Traditional user habits have outgrown content. The opportunity to create a more aligned voice for your brand grows as channels, platforms, and devices proliferate.

And they demand material in a variety of formats. That is likely the most significant development since Gates wrote his article in 1996. With the help of modern technology, the nature of information has changed considerably.

The underlying message of this tech-driven media ecosystem upheaval is plain, or should be, to content producers of all sizes: now is the moment to innovate to stay up with media's development.

Otherwise, there's a chance you'll be left behind.

The argument for listening to music

More and more content companies are approaching material from a new perspective: the auditory experience. In some ways, this makes sense, given the primary usage of visual material and how people associate it with engagement. Despite this, audio remains one of the most traditional and popular forms of multimedia on the Internet for a variety of reasons.

The emphasis on the written word online is logical for a variety of reasons, beginning with text being the most common method to index and locate webpages via search engines.

This is when things start to get interesting. People are more inclined to consume material via their ears, while search engines place greater focus on user experience. Due to the convergence of these realities, it is a fairly reasonable assumption that websites that do not provide a listening experience will eventually be ranked lower on search engines.

As the audio era progresses at breakneck pace, there's never been a better moment to take full advantage of it than now. The intriguing part is that there's still a lot of space for testing and tweaking before it reaches its full potential.

Finally, some ideas

Bill Gates probably had no idea how influential the word he invented would become.

Much has changed in the intervening two and a half decades, but content still reigns supreme.

Some companies and businesses are more dynamic and responsive in reaching intended audiences, particularly since the pandemic prompted digital media consumption to surge across a variety of channels and platforms.

This isn't likely to change anytime soon. As Neil Patel put it, "content's royal family is growing." And we all know who is in charge of the globe.

Thanks to Ron Jaworski at Business 2 Community whose reporting provided the original basis for this story.