In a blog post this week, content marketing maven Joe Pulizzi preaches the value of consistent content delivery through a story about his children’s pet guinea pig named Phary. Pulizzi argues that skipping an issue of an enewsletter or forgoing blogging for a few weeks is essentially a broken promise with your audience.
By breaking the consistency of your content, your audience’s perception and actions toward your message will change (and not for the better). Pulizzi equates the audience reaction to a guinea pig pooping in your hand.
I couldn’t agree more. But I think there’s another lesson to garner from the humble guinea pig.
In Peru, guinea pig, known as cuy (pronounced KOO-ee), is an ancient Incan delicacy that’s de-furred, seasoned and roasted in restaurants across the country. Well-prepared cuy has crispy skin; it’s gamey and seasoned heavily with herbs, according Karla Gordillo, Wax Account Executive and native Peruvian.
I say good content is like a guinea pig—at least one that’s roasted. Its language is well seasoned and the information unique, unexpected. If people get a whiff of cuy from your blog, magazine or enewsletter, no doubt they’ll wander in and at least take a look at the tasty little critter. In fact, they probably can’t get it anywhere else, and they know it.
Even if the audience is a little freaked out by the rodent factor, by God, at least they’ll remember your message.
–Caroline Hatchett
