TOP TALK
Posted By Ashley Tate on March 31, 2020
Every marketer has felt the warm inner glow that only comes from completing a piece of content. There’s something so satisfying about receiving final approval on the ebook, infographic, video, etc., that you spent a significant amount of time and brain power to create.
But first, we’ve got a small query for you … Why?
Yes, you read that right. Why did you make this content? Before you send your new piece of content out into the world, you need to understand — really understand — its original purpose. By doing so, you can ground your content campaigns and keep them focused.
Know Your Content’s Story
You may have answered this question before you even started building your content piece, but now that it’s complete, it bears repeating. Knowing and understanding the “why?” will be essential as you take your content even farther. Without this starting point, you risk creating content that’s irrelevant and/or unnecessary.
Most content pieces are created to help a company achieve one of the following objectives:
- Build brand awareness
- Generate sales leads
- Influence purchasing decisions
- Nurture relationships
Be Willing to Wait (and Work) for It
At Tier One, we take this a step further with something we call the Intent Test (it’s one of the five tests we’ve outlined in our Ultimate Guide to Content Optimization). The Intent Test looks beyond that initial objective and asks: Could this content be slightly modified to serve another objective for your company?
If your answer is yes, consider these questions:
- What is that new objective?
- How does the existing content need to be modified?
- Who will utilize the new content and how will it be distributed?
The answers will be critical in making sure your content is truly optimized. Keep in mind that not every piece of content is right for optimization, and that’s OK. Asking these questions will give you a process to identify the ones that are and not waste your time on the ones that aren’t.
The Sky’s the Limit
Once you have that clear vision, go for it. Repackaging your content for optimization could be something as simple as making a few small tweaks to speak to a specific audience or as extravagant as launching a related podcast or video series. A great example of this (as we mentioned “a few” times in the Ultimate Guide to Content Optimization) is the musical “Hamilton.”
After the incredible success of the show on Broadway, the show continued to look for ways to continue to evolve this content. That began with a Chicago production, and later, multiple U.S. tours. The next step? The Hamilton Mixtape. This remix of the cast album featured reimaginings of the show by some of music’s biggest stars (Alicia Keys, John Legend, Kelly Clarkson, Chance the Rapper). This additional intent extended the show’s reach to a whole new persona — music lovers — and gave it a whole new life beyond the stage while staying true to its source material.
You may not be transforming the landscape of Broadway (and beyond), but that doesn’t mean your content isn’t just as capable of going farther than its original format. Rethinking your content’s objectives to identify even more opportunities is just the beginning. In the Ultimate Guide to Content Optimization, you’ll find Tier One’s best practices for content strategies that ensure your audience will be back for more. Get your copy here.
