With so many different types of content and so many channels, how do you decide where to put your content marketing time and energy?
This was the topic of a LinkedIn live stream and webinar discussion comms pro Ayo Abbas and I had.
We covered a lot (and answered a lot of audience questions) but here’s are some edited highlights. There’s a link to the replay of the full discussion at the end.
How do you decide what type of content to create?
Ayo Abbas You’ve got to make sure that you move away from perfection. Sometimes getting it done and getting it done to a decent standard is better than nothing at all.
When it comes to what type of content I want to create, I think about what the story is I want to tell and what content works for the story.
Or what have I not done for a while? Sometimes people aren’t posting certain types of content, so maybe doing that makes you stand out from the crowd.
Me I think it’s important to focus on where your audience is. Is your audience watching 15-second videos on TikTok? Then that’s probably what [your content] should be.
But if they’re not, then maybe that isn’t the type of content you should create.
[Caveat] Don’t forget new audiences. It’s very easy to get stuck into doing one type of content, but is there a new audience you want to reach, and are they consuming different types of content rather than the type you’re creating?
AA I interviewed an architect from BVDs. And he talked about finding the channels that you really enjoy. He loves talking, as does his partner, so they do podcasts.
Is it OK to stick to one type of content?
Me Yes and no. Yes, because it’s better to do one thing and do it well rather than trying to do lots of different things and not do anything particularly well.
But saying that, can you easily repurpose your one type of content? The part of the built environment I work with is very much focused on written content. Could you repurpose that written content into a carousel using bullet points? It’s a different type of content.
Another example is if you’re holding events – roundtables or panels – can you turn that into a white paper, report, or a series of articles?
AA Not everybody likes one type of content. Some people are more visual; some people learn more from words. I prefer audio right now. So if you only do one thing, you’re missing that audience.
Try to work out if, with the primary piece of content or content type, you can create something worthwhile in these other mediums easily. You can make it a lot easier to repurpose and recreate by having the right systems and processes underneath. Making it easier to do is key.
Me This live [stream] is a hero piece of content for both of us. We will repurpose it, splice it, dice it and chop it up and turn it into lots of different formats without creating new content from scratch because that’s the time-consuming bit.
AA Rather than starting from a blank page and thinking I’ve got to do five posts on LinkedIn, look at the blog [or other content] you’ve already created that you could repurpose into three new posts.
Get smarter with stuff you already have to reduce the overwhelm.
What channels should you use, and how many?
Me Don’t put all your eggs in one basket because if your primary content channel is LinkedIn or another social media channel, you don’t own that channel, and anything could happen. You could get locked out of LinkedIn.
Have at least one channel that you control. It could be content you put on your website or a newsletter, an event you own or something that isn’t completely beholden to the overlords who run the social media channels.
Social media channels come and go.
AA For smaller firms, I would say stick to one platform or two at a stretch. But also have your email list and your own channels you can feed people through because you want to own those contacts and data.
On LinkedIn, if you run a company and a personal page properly, where they’re working with each other, that’s a lot of work.
So you could be building that up and making an impact for your company and personal pages.
Then you could start adding ads, for example, or newsletters, or live streams. You can have one channel but have a wealth of different content types within that one platform and become really, really good at it.
Me Social media platforms are very time-consuming, and this feeds into your point, Ayo, about doing one and doing it well, don’t choose to be on lots of different social platforms if you can’t do them properly.
LinkedIn works better if you are active on the platform if you just post once a month and then disappear – posting and ghosting – will never work for you. Choose the platforms or as many as you have time to devote to making sure that they work.
Final actionable tip for avoiding content overwhelm:
AA Find a story that’s interesting, that you want to tell and tell it your way.
Me Do more with less. Don’t feel you have to create fresh new content every single time. Take your hero piece of content, slice it and dice it and use that to feed different channels.
Watch the replay of the discussion including audience questions here.
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