©istockphoto.com/Yulia Akatyeva

I’m a big proponent of outsourcing content.  So much so that I’ve built my entire career around it.

There are a number of reasons why brands should seriously consider outsourcing their content. Most brands are set up to sell products and services, not to consistently deliver compelling content. It’s tough to take off your sales hat as a brand.  Having someone who understands your message, but also knows how to tell a great story, is critical. Many brands have trouble weeding out the sales pitch to tell an honest, engaging story.

Content is everywhere. Good storytelling is hard to find.  The difference is the Grand Canyon. Look at your resources.  Could your staff’s time be better spent?  Are you really saving money?  Probably not.

I could go on.  There are dozens of reasons for outsourcing your content. But my favourite is this: Multitasking makes you stupid.

I’ll explain.  When a brand begins a content marketing initiative, they rarely hire for a new position.  The job is usually given to one or many people in the marketing, communications, or public relations departments. “Hey, you’re good at this content thing, you can do it!”

So now there’s a group of people who have to do their current jobs, and also have this content thing to do as well.

In almost all cases this is a bad idea. Why? According to a recent Stanford study, high multitaskers perform much worse than low multitaskers.  In the study, students who juggled several things at once (TV, Internet, cell phone, etc.) fared significantly worse than students who focused on core activities. The point: multitasking makes you stupid.

When brand managers throw content marketing in the mix as just another individual or group task, the result is bad content. Corners are cut.  Research is forgotten. Sloppy copy is the norm. Bad storytelling looks like Mark Twain to internal folks.

Is your brand story important enough to foster in its own right, or is it just another item in the marketing pile?

Is your content stupid?