Internet trends come and go but creating unique content has always been a key component of a successful online strategy. Back in 2000, it was all about the 3 C’s: Content, Community and Commerce. Fast forward to 2008 and Techdirt’s Mike Masnick declares that banner advertising is dying and companies should treat their content as advertising.

I’d take this a step further - content is indeed advertising, but content also drive links. In the Google Economy, adding links is the best way to drive traffic back to your site.

Savvy publishers understand this - in September of last year, The New York Times boldly unleashed its subscription content making it available for free. The Times has been handsomely rewarded by doubling the amount of traffic received from Google. Earlier this week, Sports Illustrated jumped in, releasing every article, image or video published in the last 50 years in order to “pop up” in search rankings.

Improved search rankings will certainly boost traffic back to your site, but there are additional brand awareness benefits, particularly if you have image or video content. Google, Yahoo and MSN are rapidly integrating multi-media results into their Search Engine Results pages, often referred to as blended or universal search. According to comScore, 17% of searchers received universal search results in January, 2008.

So what does this all mean to marketers? Unleash your article, image and video assets and allow it to drive traffic back to your site and increase your brand awareness. Without a doubt, it’s a more effective way for you to penetrate social media than blinking banner ads.