In the eyes of entrepreneur Jessica Rovello, content is “king” when it comes to courting people online.
A veteran of the tech world, Rovello is cofounder and CEO of Arkadium, a creator of interactive games, quizzes and more for online publishers the world over. She launched the firm in 2001, after creating one of the world’s first viral marketing campaigns, the website and promotional content for “The Blair Witch Project.”
Related: Read Rovello’s startup story.
Over the last two decades, a well-maintained online presence has become a requirement for business owners. ”You have to do it,” Rovello says. Here are her three best tips for how to do it well:
Be true to yourself. Find a way to engage online that’s both authentic to your business and resonates with who you are as a person.
“People are really savvy at this point. They can smell something inauthentic, and it’s a turn-off. There are so many tools to create engaging stuff in a fully authentic way. You just have to figure out what makes sense, and what works for you,” she says.
Play a long game. The work of connecting with customers online is never done. So ask yourself: “What can I continuously support?’” she says. Rovello recommends finding a way to engage customers online that’s easy to maintain consistently over a long period of time.
While considering her own options, Rovello weighed participating in social media channels like Twitter, but found many of them poor matches for her demanding schedule. And, she prefers longer-form communication. So instead of forcing herself to tweet, she decided to make her mark by writing a biweekly column for Inc. Magazine.
Create value. Don’t make content just for the sake of content. Make sure that what you’re putting out there offers something helpful, hopeful or, at least, humorous.
“With me, for example, when I thought about needing to market the business as an extension of me, I asked: What’s authentic to me and provides the most value?” For Inc. Magazine, Rovello shares her wisdom on everything from how to effectively run a business to building a company culture — topics she knows well, and feels passionately about.
Regardless of what you decide to do, be it blogging on Medium or posting on Facebook or Instagram, Rovello says: “Keep whatever you’re doing fresh.”