I really miss the days when we all still created a lot of original stuff.
I don’t blog as much as I used to, but I still love the idea of forming a thought about something, doing some research (or not), putting words to paper, and standing it up in the world for people to learn from, react to, discuss or comment on.
It seems like each day, we lose a little piece of the soul of content, that spark that means that something original and interesting was being provided to the world.
In particular, I’m dismayed by the trend of what I’d call “content coattails”, or “crowdsourced “pieces that are so popular at the end of a calendar year. Marketing expert roundups, ebooks full of soundbites that don’t really contribute much of anything substantive, blog “best of” lists…sigh.
I want to love them. I love seeing friends quoted for their brilliance. I’ve participated in quite a few in my day, too, to do solids for people who have been good to me.
But are we losing our willingness to treat our content as an informative asset vs. a quick hit?
As a marketer myself, I get that content needs to serve a number of purposes. Awareness. Engagement. Decision. Purchase. And lots of other things in between. There’s a place in the world for flash-in-the-pan pieces.
Formats like Medium seem to be providing more of a forum for thought pieces, and there’s still steadfast publications like HBR to get at strategy and best practices and the like. There are still a few blogs that I think do an incredible job of putting out killer content on the regular.
So am I just jaded, or is there a distinct lack of investment in original content these days? Tell me I’m imagining it?
I still feel like there’s so much valuable perspective in individual experience and contributions. Here are a few of my ideas for how to raise the bar again on the content you create, in reasonable ways that can still get you the eyeballs you want but add a little more substance to the output.
1. Try an interview instead of a roundup. Thoughtful questions can elicit thoughtful answers, and the more incisive and specific you can be about your questions, the more directive and insightful your experts can be with their answers.
2. Go beyond the soundbite. If you’re going to compile an ebook, I know it’s easier to ask for a quote. But maybe ask for a paragraph or two on a very specific topic instead. Everyone’s heard the “what’s the future of digital” predictions, or whatever the equivalent is in your field. Try asking your experts for a 300 word contribution on what their platform of choice will be this year and why, or what their top-line budget item is for the year.
3. Try audio interviews. Not all of us have the skills or inclination to produce a longer form podcast. But anyone can use Call Recorder and Skype or, heck, GoToMeeting to record a short audio clip of you interviewing someone on a question or them simply reciting their contribution in audio form. Bonus round: link the audio in your ebook and make it multimedia.
4. Find the new talent. Instead of asking the same “Top Whatever” list of marketers or industry experts, ask them who else you should talk to that they think are up-and-coming talent. The last thing this — or any — industry needs are the voices that have been around forever. We need fresh perspectives if we’re going to keep moving forward.
5. Build a whole framework with multiple people. Take a topic, like content marketing or product launches through digital and social media. Ask each contributor to contribute one strategy and three top tier proven tactics that they’d recommend someone employ to be successful. Work collaboratively and ask contributors to “claim” their strategy so you don’t have overlap. Deliver a solid framework built by multiple people to showcase what they really know.
The reality is that everyone is creating “content” now, but not all content is created equal. There are so many opportunities to do more, do better, truly deliver value to the people that are reading, downloading and listening to your stuff.
What do you say? Are you ready to bring your content game up a notch?
I am doing your video idea, on an occasional basis, called Conversations with Phil. We go after whatever the other person wants to talk about, and I go as deep as I’m interested in each topic. So far, so good, though so many prefer lists that the viewership is limited.
I haven’t gone deeper myself because my customers are still focusing on the fundamentals and every time I go deeper, I lose them.
I love the idea of your series, Phil!
I don’t think “deeper” and “more substantive” are the same thing. I think you can do fundamentals in a way that doesn’t make them sound like someone else’s regurgitated list of tips, or just a rundown of cliches. Frankly, that’s a mistake I made for a while, trying to get too far advanced when my audiences (either here or on work channels) were looking for things a level down from where I was aiming!
My plea is, I guess, for less lazy and more thought. As a couple people pointed out on Facebook, they think it’s a failure in execution, not concept. I’m not sure I agree. I’m sure many people have the best intent to deliver valuable content when they do an ebook full of experts, and I realize that there’s a huge swath of people that are going to gobble up that kind of content no matter what. But then again, I’ve never gone for what’s popular (which explains a lot, ha) 🙂
Amen!
Viper has a car alarm and a remote start off selection with some very
innovative features.
Using short outtakes of their bedtime routine can help here too,
like turning on the mobile again, or singing the same lullaby so they can recognize the cue for nighttime sleep.
It is important to talk to your baby while you feed,
diaper and bathe. Moms and dads try many things for getting
their babies to sleep well in their own bassinet or crib.
continuously i used to read smaller posts that also clear their motive, and that is also happening with
this piece of writing which I am reading at this time.
Yeah it actually made me jump when I saw it as from a distance it looked like an actual baby playing with a doll at the roadside. I’d love to know if it was some passers by who found the doll or whether it was a street artist doing it deliberately. I hope it’s the latter and th#2l&e8r17;el be similar pieces to come.