Creating Content Before it Was Called Content

Remember those late nights hunched over magazines, conjuring headlines that popped and layouts that danced? Back then, "content" was just fancy language for making words sing and pictures talk. Yeah, we might not have had fancy algorithms in our back pockets, but we sure knew how to tug heartstrings across printed pages and - for bigger brands with bigger budgets, TV screens.

This isn't a "we were there first" brag, folks. It's a nod to the shared roots of this marketing magic. Now, the landscape's changed, algorithms rule the jungle, and unpredictable trends dance wilder than the new #FYP songs on TikTok and Reels. But here we are, learning the lingo, tripping over pixels, and trying to tame those beasts (with varying degrees of success, might I add).

Together, the seasoned storytellers and the tech-savvy wizards can weave marketing that's timeless, not trendy. We can build bridges across generations, even if we need a dictionary for the latest TikTok slang. So let's raise a toast (virtual, for now) to collaboration, not competition. Because marketing magic has no age limit, just endless possibilities.

I remember around 2006-2008 when I was gathering data about the travel packages of a tour and travel company where I worked. I would talk to tour managers and department heads, seeking updates on the route programs or any new promotions related to the travel packages they handled.

Afterward, I would turn to the search engine (Yahoo was still in competition with Google for dominance back then in Indonesia) to research interesting facts and trivia about the places mentioned in the itinerary. I incorporated these insights into the digital marketing toolkits, such as attachment flyers, web pages, or pdf brochures. Following this, I would distribute the digital marketing toolkits to the customer using the email database and update the website accordingly.

Every week, I'd track clicks, traffic from email to website, and the number of website visitors growth like a modern-day data alchemist, turning those numbers into insights for my manager. I'd chat with our tour and MICE teams, soaking up their sales wisdom like a sponge, and used it to refine my "marketing kits" (fancy term for pre-content content).

I leveraged their insights to refine my marketing kits (pre-content in those days) and bolster my marketing strategy (not yet called "digital marketing") through email campaigns (we called them blasts back then).

Although it wasn't referred to as "data-driven" at that time, I believe it epitomized what a data-driven decision should look like. We simply used different terms for the same activities.

Sure, we didn't speak the language of "engagement" and "impressions" yet. Our dialect was all about "eyeballs" and "reach," but the core remained the same: creating impactful stories that drove results.

Imagine marketing as being the company's problem-solving superhero! Not just for the sales team, mind you, but for any department with a knot to untangle. We're the cheerleaders, the data detectives, the storytellers who craft magic with words and pictures.

My years in marketing have been a treasure hunt of learning. Every new jargon term, every trendy tactic, is a shiny gem tucked into my mental toolbox. They're not just buzzwords, they're keys that unlock better results, deeper connections, and ultimately, happy customers. So when you see people spouting "engagement" and "impressions," know that it's just the modern dialect of the same old passion: making marketing work its magic!

I am confident that I am not the only one who was creating content before it was called content, and I believe others would agree that continuous learning is crucial to survival in the marketing fields across any industry.

Therefore, I have decided to start creating marketing kits again on LinkedIn, this time referring to them as content creation.

A shout-out to the “older generations” who continue to give their best to keep up despite the constant changes in the industry. Cheers!