Internet Week NY Panel: Brand Recognition vs Killer Content

This week is “Internet Week NY.” Monday through thursday there was a daily schedule of interviews, panel discussions and keynote speakers. (There are other events currently through the weekend and then Monday is the Webby Awards.) In addition it was all available via LiveStream, or you could attend with passes at the main headquarters, 82 Mercer Street in NYC. I spent most of the day there on Tuesday and watched some fantastic presentations, such as an interview with David Karr, columnist for the New York Times. On the LiveStream I watched Pete Cashmore, founder of Mashable and Shane Smith, founder and CEO of Vice. There are so many videos and interviews it’s going to keep me watching and learning for the next few weeks!

Internet Week NY - Mercer Street Flags 2012

Internet Week NY - Mercer Street Flags 2012

I had entered the “Make The Stage” panel discussion competition and out of 244 entries, 7 were selected and one was my panel discussion idea, “Brand Recognition vs Killer Content.” The five of us took the stage at 4pm on Thursday, May 17. It was such a great experience and the audience was engaged with this team of experts, Miriam Cohen, Ted Rubin, Kathryn Rose and Bryn Johnson.

Some of my questions to the panel were:
When is brand recognition not enough?
Which should come first; building the brand recognition or focusing on the killer content for reputation?
Does the brand draw great writers and content, or does killer content make a brand great?

We also talked about this and how it pertains to social media:
In building a strong community social network, do people join because of the other members, or because of what it will do for them? Having someone with a strong following and brand following you and sharing your content and does joining give your brand instant clout?
Social media including Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Pinterest have made our lives very visual. We respond to imagery and video more than written content in most cases. How important is branding on social media platforms?

And we also talked blogging:
Search engines give us the ability to find links to our queries. For bloggers, does your brand matter more, or is it that killer title and content going to make someone remember where they read the answer?

It was such a fabulous experience and below are some photos from the event Brand Recognition vs Killer Content Panel discussion, on the stage.

 

Internet Week NY Panel - Miriam Cohen, Ted Rubin, Kathryn Rose, Bryn Johnson and Susan Newman (Organizer and Moderator).

Internet Week NY Panel - Miriam Cohen, Ted Rubin, Kathryn Rose, Bryn Johnson and Susan Newman (Organizer and Moderator).


 
Here is the video from our panel discussion. (You can also watch the presentation “Brand Recognition vs Killer Content“) at Internet Week NY.) Enjoy and please post feedback, we’d love to hear your thoughts.

So what do you think?

Is brand recognition most important? or is Content King?

12 thoughts on “Internet Week NY Panel: Brand Recognition vs Killer Content

  1. Dylan

    I think branding is more important than content. These days, in a busy world, you have to be recognised fast and make a quick impression. I believe people will read your content once they connect with your brand.

  2. admin Post author

    Dylan,
    what’s so interesting is that many follow the brand providing the content. For example, Social Media Examiner can be trusted to provide good and helpful tutorials and content no matter who’s writing it… and then let’s say you follow a person specifically that writes great content, you may follow that person regardless of where the content is written.
    Susan

  3. admin Post author

    Well I believe it’s an interesting discussion that could be debated… I do believe that a brand must establish trust but with that trust comes great content.

  4. Tamara

    Congrats on having your panel featured at Internet Week! Great topic as it’s one I struggle with. I started building a brand before I even knew I was and then had to make sure I was adding valuable content. That being said, I definitely feel both are important. Especially if you are a solopreneur.

  5. Kim

    Would love if you could break up the video into smaller time chunks. I often check out things like this between appointments or when I have a few minutes to spare, so to watch a 20+ min. video blog post I have to really want to see the content. Lucky for me I wanted to really see the content! Thanks so much for sharing and everyone should take that 20 min. to check it out.

  6. admin Post author

    Hi Tamara, We so so surprised when our panel was chosen, given the unreal odds of winning! What a great opportunity and experience. I so enjoyed going on other days so I could watch the other panels and guest speakers. As for our discussion, I did think it was an interesting topic and one that we deal with daily. We trust brands therefore we continue to support them. There are those that write great content and contribute to making a brand strong as well. Thanks for commenting, Susan

  7. admin Post author

    Hi Kim, Thanks for commenting! I agree that it’s tough to set aside the time for a video that’s 45 minutes. I will see what I can do about breaking it up. This version is embedded from Internet Week NY (LiveStream).

  8. Dorethia

    Wow, how cool! I can only imagine the excitement of being chosen when you didn’t expect to!! I believe the brand and the content are important. If there’s no meat behind the flash, your community will dwindle.

    Good stuff lady!
    -Dorethia

  9. admin Post author

    Hi Dorethia, Yes imagine my surprise when I found out we won! It just shows that we must try things out, push ourselves. I’m so thrilled to have had that opportunity and can’t wait for my next scary challenge! – Susan

  10. claire gillenson

    Congrats on your presentation! Such a wealth of information here:) thanks for sharing. Do you think in my case, to provide information in my blog to help people through death and dying will naturally seed my brand?

  11. admin Post author

    Claire, Thanks for writing! I would say that when you blog consistently, you keep your website fresh and if you tag your posts right, you will gain more and more visitors. If that content is really helpful with tips and guidance, those visitors will return for more. As. for solidifying your brand, on social media you want to engage people in conversation, so ask questions, simple yes or no and get people talking, the more engaged, the better you get to know them, the better they know you, the more they want to read and learn more. – Susan

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