Odds are good that asking 20 people what content experience means will get you 20 different answers.

To some marketers, it's about producing as many blog posts and emails as possible about topics related to what they're selling, with the hope that prospects find something useful to choose from (admittedly, not a great experience for the consumer of that content). Others view it more broadly, and they include video, SEO, paid ads, and more in the mix (and, even then, the content consumer's experience with the torrent of content is often not a priority for marketers).

However you define the term, one truth remains: In today's business landscape, you have to provide a truly great content experience, and it must succeed at scale.

After spending time with some savvy marketers, I've learned to define content experience as where your content lives (the environment in which it exists), how it's structured, and how it compels your prospects and customers to engage with your company.

So whether you've just been dabbling content creation or pursuing it with reckless abandon, it's time to rethink what you know. Because content's efficacy is revving up, but only if you understand the new rules of the game.

1. Relevance and Speed = King and Queen of Content Experience

Remember the 450+ articles with the title "Content Is King" a few years back? In my opinion, that was true—and still is. But it's old news.

Today, the king is sitting back on his throne while the next generation of royals—relevance and speed—take their rightful place in the spotlight. Content marketing is nothing without them; it needs both to do its job. If you take nothing else away from this article, remember that.

And whereas 10 years ago we spoke to relevance in terms of customer personas, the expectation now lives at the individual buyer level.

Relevance is the most important thing to buyers. The largest percentage of respondents to a 2021 B2B Marketing Report were looking for companies to address "the problem I'm looking to solve." People want solution-focused content. It's time to stop thinking about personalization as merge fields, and start recognizing that it's all about relevance.

Your audience wants content on topics they care about, and they want it in a timely fashion.

That's where speed comes in. Those videos you posted a year ago are probably no longer relevant. And guess what else? The videos you're posting today will likely lose their relevance, too. The world and its buyers are changing quickly, and organizations have to be nimble; they have to adjust to get results.

Consider the healthcare industry over the past year as an example. COVID-19 drove health organizations to change their content rapidly, and by region, throughout the pandemic, which was incredibly challenging to do. The ones that rose to the challenge continued to adjust their content on the fly, which is what it takes to be successful today.

Quality content is no longer enough; it must also be relevant and timely to make an impact.

2. Revisit What the Buyer Actually Wants From the Content Experience

There is an enormous disconnect between what marketers prioritize and what buyers want to have prioritized, the previously referenced marketing report found.