Do you end up planning the shape earlier than you develop the concept for content material?
Most of us do – it’s the way in which we devour content material. Whenever you really feel impressed by a video or podcast, for instance, your mind will begin attempting to give you an thought to make use of in a film or podcast.
It is sensible. You see a superb, inventive thought expressed in some type issue, and also you assume, “That’s what I need to create.” But it surely’s the container (the expertise) you need to emulate. You continue to should give you a singular thought for that type issue.
It’s regular to create this fashion.
Give it some thought. Did George Lucas dream up a narrative a couple of younger boy on a desert planet who reunites along with his separated-at-birth twin sister to save lots of the galaxy from an evil empire and then determine his story would work greatest as a film?
No. Impressed by the tv and film variations of Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers, he determined to make a film. The story for Star Wars got here subsequent.
Beginning with the medium is sensible for filmmakers, TV present creators, novelists, and others. But it surely doesn’t work nicely for advertising and marketing.
Container-first planning doesn’t work in advertising and marketing
Beginning with the content material type issue could cause a heap of hassle in advertising and marketing for 2 causes.
First, advertising and marketing content material isn’t an endpoint – it’s a bridge to an endpoint. In different phrases, you aren’t attempting to optimize for the tip expertise. As an alternative, you’re optimizing to seek out the individuals who need the tip expertise: our services or products.
Give it some thought this fashion: Folks need to look at Star Wars. They don’t essentially need to seek out your advertising and marketing content material. So conveying one story or thought in a number of containers provides you a greater probability to seek out an viewers. You’re telling the story all over the place the viewers is quite than attempting to lure them to at least one piece on one channel.
Folks aren’t in search of out your advertising and marketing #content material, so put it wherever they’re, says @Robert_Rose by way of @CMIContent. Click on To Tweet
There’s one more reason to keep away from beginning with the container quite than the concept. Organizations want to precise loads of concepts. Some are small, and a few are large. In case you plan the container first, you may find yourself placing small concepts into large containers and vice versa.
What number of instances have you ever seen full white papers devoted to a too-small thought? However, I’ve seen many concepts that ought to have been built-in model campaigns crammed right into a single weblog submit. Why? As a result of somebody thought, “We’d like a weblog submit about this,” and by no means thought of whether or not it might flip into extra.
How you can separate content material concepts from expression
Bear in mind: Folks will devour the designed expression of your content material concepts (your web site, weblog, video, e-book, social media submit, and many others.). However the thought conveyed in that expression will differentiate your work and decide whether or not your content material technique succeeds.
Star Wars wasn’t a success as a result of it was a film. It succeeded as a result of it was a terrific story nicely informed.
I’ve written about how planning and governance might help you prioritize content material initiatives. Including a step might help you be sure that your concepts find yourself in as many (or few) containers as you’ll want to seek out your viewers.
Many of the content material and advertising and marketing groups I do know of use a content material consumption type that begins with the query, “What sort of content material would you like?” A drop-down menu gives a collection of codecs (video, infographic, white paper, net web page, weblog submit, and many others.)
Questions in regards to the content material for that format, the viewers, the journey stage, and so forth at all times come later. The method goes from request to asset creation.
That’s the place the extra step ought to are available. The story or thought creation must be a step of its personal – separate from the design and manufacturing course of.
Plan your #content material story first – then determine what codecs to inform it in, says @Robert_Rose by way of @CMIContent. Click on To Tweet
The method I like to recommend seems to be like this:
Create the story
Begin by discovering or hashing out the compelling story (throughout the content material staff or as a cross-functional effort). Do the analysis, define the story, and determine how large the concept is.
Then, write the story. Create the world, the challenges, and the options. That is the uncooked content material that would (or ought to) reside in any expression of the concept.
Then – and solely then, transfer on to the subsequent step.
Design the expertise(s)
Determine all of the totally different sorts of packages this story can reside in. Does it work as a video? Does it work as a white paper? Does it work as a weblog submit? Does it work as a print advert? May it work as all of these issues?
You don’t should execute all experiences directly. However taking the time to create the uncooked content material components at first of the method permits you to rapidly create these issues if you’re prepared.
I comply with this similar two-step course of once I create content material. I plan the story and write these uncooked components first:
- Content material components (a draft of this column)
- A bullet level model I can use on a podcast
- Completely different paragraphs and variations to characteristic on The Content material Advisory web site
- Targeted messaging factors I can use to show this right into a presentation (or class or keynote)
- All of the hyperlinks and analysis I used to create this text (if any)
I file all this materials away and use it as I want it. If I have to create a presentation – I can look again to this doc and see which of my concepts are sufficiently big. I have already got a very good begin on the content material I have to create it.
This method isn’t acceptable for every thing. Typically an advert is simply an advert, a video is only a video, and an e mail is simply an e mail.
However for giant concepts (particularly those who influence the bigger group), begin fascinated about creating the uncooked content material in your compelling story earlier than you determine the best way to design and produce all of the experiences that can convey it.
That approach, you may make certain your nice large concepts gained’t get trapped in too-small containers.
It’s your story. Inform it nicely.
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Cowl picture by Joseph Kalinowski/Content material Advertising Institute
