How to Maximize Your Content — Whiteboard Friday

In as we speak’s episode, content material advertising knowledgeable Ross Simmonds walks you thru the content material life cycle, and the way you should use it to make sure that the content material that you just’re creating quarter after quarter, month after month, yr after yr, is definitely maximized for ROI, outcomes, and affect.

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Video Transcription

Howdy, Moz buddies. It is Ross Simmonds from Basis Advertising, and on this video I will be speaking to you about one thing that I care deeply about, how one can maximize your content material.

We have all produced content material. You’ve got in all probability simply produced a chunk of content material inside the previous couple of days, the previous couple of weeks, perhaps previous couple of months. You’ve got ready and developed items of content material that you just consider will serve your viewers. Congratulations, you have taken an enormous step. This can be a massive step for you since you’ve created one thing. It is a tremendous state of affairs to be in. Not a whole lot of manufacturers do it. So in the event you’ve finished it, congratulations.

However what I wish to discuss on this video is how one can be sure that the content material that you just’re creating, the content material that you just’re producing, the content material that your crew is creating quarter after quarter, month after month, yr after yr is definitely maximized for ROI, maximized for end result and affect.

The lifecycle of content material

So let’s speak by way of the life cycle of content material, how one can be sure that the content material that you just’re producing is definitely going to drive outcomes, and how one can set your crew up for achievement to leverage that content material persistently so you’re impacting your viewers in a significant approach.

Pre-launch

So how do you begin all of this? You begin pre-launch. Earlier than you press Publish on a chunk of content material, earlier than you launch that touchdown web page, earlier than you roll out a collection of recent touchdown pages, earlier than you roll out a handful of comparability pages between your product and the subsequent, touchdown pages which can be going to teach folks on key phrases associated to your business, earlier than you do any of that, you need to do analysis. You need to analysis your viewers. You need to perceive the intent behind the issues that they are typing into Google. You have to perceive the issues and the pains that they are attempting to resolve.

You have to make investments time in researching the channels that your viewers are spending essentially the most time on. Why? As a result of what you are going to do shouldn’t be take the standard strategy of urgent Publish on items of content material, giving yourselves pats on the again, and calling it a day. No, you are going to embrace this mannequin, a mannequin the place you’re truly going to distribute your content material in channels the place your viewers is spending time, and you are going to maximize the ROI out of your content material due to that.

However first, you need to create content material with intent. You need to perceive the intent of the property that you just’re creating. You do not write weblog posts for the sake of writing weblog posts. Someplace alongside the traces, we have gotten into this lure the place entrepreneurs have sort of thought, oh, all content material simply must be revealed. Should you press Publish on content material, the world can be yours.

That is not sufficient. You have to have, along with your content material, clear intent. You need to know precisely why you are creating these property. If you try this and also you root it in analysis, you then’re able to launch. You are able to launch a chunk of content material that you just consider goes to resonate along with your viewers. You are going to launch that piece, and you are going to be enthusiastic about it, and you have to be. That is a tremendous second.

However the subsequent factor you do, after you press Publish on that piece of content material, is often what is going on to make or break that asset. It is what is going on to find out in case your content material soars or in case your content material flops. Sometimes, what folks do is they only share them on channels that they personal, after which, sure, it tends to flop.

Perceive your distribution channels

What is that this? What does this imply? Cash channels. Cash channels are one of many 4 several types of channels you can distribute your content material on.

There are 4 totally different channels that each model ought to have the ability to perceive and map out because it pertains to the locations by which they distribute their tales, their content material, and the best way by which that they distribute that content material after it goes stay. Now we have cash channels, we now have rocket channels, we now have ghost channels, and we now have questionable channels. What are every of those channels?

So once you take a look at this complete grid, you see viewers match and competitors. In channels the place you might have excessive viewers match, excessive competitors, we contemplate these cash channels. What does that imply? It means your competitors is already there. Your competitors has recognized that it is a channel the place they can also generate income. They can also generate ROI. It is also excessive viewers match. In case your viewers is there, your viewers is spending a whole lot of time on this channel, it is a cash channel. It is a channel that you just in all probability already personal.

Perhaps you are on LinkedIn since you’re in B2B. Perhaps you are on Instagram since you’re in B2C. You realize, with confidence, on these cash channels, that each single time you distribute your tales, each single time you distribute your content material, you are going to see an affect, you are going to see ROI, and also you wish to leverage these as a lot as doable.

Then we now have our rocket channels. Rocket channels even have excessive viewers match. These are channels the place your viewers is spending a ton of time. These are channels the place you wish to be as a result of you understand that your viewers is there. But it surely has low competitors. Shh, do not inform anybody. These are the channels that you don’t need your opponents to find out about, as a result of your opponents do not realize your viewers is spending a whole lot of time on these channels. To the remainder of the world, they could appear very dangerous. Ooh, you are utilizing Reddit. Ooh, you are leveraging Fb teams. This can be a very dangerous channel.

What they do not know is that all your viewers is there. So it is a cash channel. I imply, it is a rocket channel. A cash channel can be in case your opponents are there. In case your opponents aren’t there, then it is a rocket channel. These are my favourite. I like rocket channels as a result of it implies that there’s not a whole lot of competitors, which implies that your content material and the tales that you just produce is perhaps, for a brief time period, the one tales and property on this subject and in your area of interest that your viewers is getting publicity to. In the event that they’re doing that they usually’re getting uncovered to your model persistently, you are constructing a real model reference to an viewers that actually needs your content material. So that is what you need in a rocket channel.

Then you might have low competitors and low viewers match channels. What are these? These are basically ghost channels. No one is there. Your competitors is not there. Your viewers is not there. It makes completely no sense so that you can leverage these channels. It is okay for these channels to exist. They’ll occur in each single area of interest. Some folks simply aren’t going to be leveraging a sure channel, and that is okay. You possibly can ignore them. Do not go on them. It is all proper. Keep away from them in any respect prices.

However then, there are going to be some questionable channels which can be truly going to only utterly make you scratch your head. These are channels the place your competitors ranges are very excessive. Tons of persons are utilizing this channel by way of your competitors, however nobody is there because it pertains to your viewers. So it makes you scratch your head. Why are they there? Why is my competitor spending time on this channel?

That gives you with two insights. One, perhaps you want to analysis and perceive whether or not or not there’s some actual alternative there that you just’re overlooking, or two, perhaps you want to ask your self, is that this just a few legacy efforts which can be taking place the place your opponents are utilizing this as a result of it used to work prior to now they usually have not caught onto the truth that it is now not working. These are the questions you want to ask.

Optimize your distribution engine

Now, after getting an understanding of that, after getting an understanding of cash channels, rocket channels, ghost channels, and questionable channels, the subsequent step is to ask your self how one can leverage this data to create and optimize your distribution engine so you’ll be able to actually maximize that content material.

Cash channels

So that you begin to go to these cash channels. You ship that content material out on the cash channels that you just personal. That is usually the place the life cycle of content material distribution inside most manufacturers ends. We press Publish on a chunk of content material. We share it on Twitter. We share it on LinkedIn. We would even share it on Fb. We’ll ship it out to our publication and the individuals who have subscribed to our listing. That is it. We name it a day, and it is over.

That each one occurs usually inside one week. Then we begin the method over again with new content material, and we proceed backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards, doing this cycle, similar to it is Groundhog Day, as an alternative of recognizing that there are many different alternatives that you have to be leveraging to maximise your content material. Most manufacturers simply embrace this, cash channels and that is it.

Rocket channels

What you are going to do is totally different. You are going to begin to embrace rocket channels. You are going to begin to consider how one can distribute your content material in channels and in areas the place your viewers is spending time that your competitors has ignored. You wish to be sure that you are spreading your content material in websites, in communities, in boards, in newsletters, in sponsoring newsletters, in leveraging newsletters, leveraging in product alternatives. You wish to be pondering strategically round how one can distribute your content material in ways in which your opponents are overlooking.

Keep momentum

Then you definitely wish to keep that momentum. We now not are desirous about this in a brief time period. You are attempting to keep up momentum, and also you’re launching this content material over and again and again. You are conserving the hype going because it pertains to your content material.

Experiment

Then, you are going to begin to experiment. You are going to experiment and check out issues that different folks would say is just too dangerous. You are going to strive issues which may not even take a whole lot of power and a whole lot of time however might in the end unlock for you a brand new alternative. Perhaps you are going to experiment by taking a weblog put up and turning it into one thing new. Perhaps you are going to join with an influencer and see if they’re going to discuss your content material. Perhaps you are going to ship a DM to somebody. Perhaps you are going to experiment the place you are going to run an inner marketing campaign the place your total crew goes to amplify a chunk of content material for twenty-four hours on social. Everybody goes to be inspired and educated and taught how one can leverage social to distribute that content material, and you are going to make a splash. You are going to experiment.

There is no such factor as an thought that’s too wild if you find yourself embracing the experimentation standing level on this engine and on this time-frame. You wish to experiment along with your content material.

Repurpose

As soon as you have finished that, you may wish to begin repurposing it. That weblog put up, that article, that essay that you just created should not stay and die in only one format. It needs to be repurposed. Are you able to flip that weblog put up right into a YouTube video? Are you able to flip that YouTube video right into a podcast? Can you’re taking clips of that YouTube video after which share 30-second clips on social, on LinkedIn, on Fb, on Twitter, on TikTok, on all of those totally different channels?

How will you repurpose your content material? Can you’re taking that content material and doubtlessly flip it into a brand new infographic, a carousel, a narrative that’s interactive? What are you able to do to repurpose your content material so it does not solely exist in a single format?

When you begin to do this, you may even flip it into one thing like a Twitter thread. You may discover that a type of items of content material that you just repurposed takes an entire new life the place it is producing extra engagement, extra dialogue, extra tales, extra narratives that in the end provide the alternative to attach with extra folks.

Reshare

You are additionally going to share that content material. Lots of people, once more, make that mistake. They share it as soon as after which they name it a day. You are not going to do this. You need to acknowledge that the individuals who occur to be on-line on Monday at 3:00 p.m. aren’t the identical people who find themselves on-line on Thursday at 6:00 a.m. within the morning. That’s the reason resharing your content material is necessary.

Even that very same publication that you just despatched out two months in the past, two weeks in the past, and also you plugged an article that you just have been so excited went stay, guess what? Some folks have been on trip. Some folks did not open it. Some folks occurred to be caught up in watching “PAW Patrol” on the time, they usually did not get an opportunity to see your content material. That is an okay state of affairs. You wish to leverage that. Leverage that as an perception to know why it is best to reshare your content material as a result of persons are busy. Not everybody noticed your piece of content material as a lot as you wish to suppose on the day by which it went stay. So reshare your content material, repost it, and reshare it ceaselessly.

Syndicate

Then, you are going to consider syndication alternatives. That is how one can scale your content material persistently throughout a handful of various publications, a handful of various URLs that you understand your viewers is already subscribed to, that you understand your viewers is following and studying and consuming, and also you wish to syndicate your content material by way of these channels.

Now, it could get very meta, as a result of in the event you repurpose your content material right into a YouTube video, you’ll be able to take that YouTube video and embed it straight into the weblog put up that’s in the end now being syndicated into considered one of these communities, after which you’ll be able to reshare that piece. All of it begins to work collectively. That’s the way you maximize your content material.

Optimize and replace

Now, at this level, you is perhaps pondering, whoa, that is an excessive amount of. I am finished. I am unable to proceed. However I urge you to please proceed as a result of there’s yet another main step — optimizing that content material. You wish to optimize and replace that content material for 2 key causes, one search engine marketing, two, CRO.

You wish to optimize this content material so it’s extra more likely to present up in search. Should you created that content material with intent and also you had the intent of rating for some key phrases which can be informational, otherwise you had the intent of rating for key phrases which can be going to be instructional to your viewers, you wish to optimize it. You wish to optimize that content material based mostly off of recent tendencies and behaviors that you just’re seeing out there. You are going to take a look at the SERP and see what new questions folks additionally ask and replace that content material to mirror new insights and new data.

You wish to just remember to’re optimizing and updating this content material with new information, with new graphics, with the brand new property that you just might need already developed and also you begin to embed them in there. You may begin to take graphics that you just leveraged in a chunk of content material that you just repurposed and begin to replace it with that as nicely so you’ll be able to leverage Google photographs. You are going to put the YouTube video in there. Google and YouTube are in cahoots. In fact, they’re all one entity. You wish to leverage that to optimize and replace your content material regularly.

That is upkeep mode. That is when, each 6 to 12 months, you’re doing a refresh of your content material. Why? Since you acknowledge the significance of maximizing your content material. You acknowledge the concept that a chunk of content material should not simply stay and die throughout the first week of being revealed. It is one thing that needs to be maximized. It is one thing that needs to be optimized, repurposed, syndicated, distributed, and leveraged so you’ll be able to unlock rocket channels that can in the end give your content material the chance to go to the moon.

Thanks a lot for trying out this Whiteboard Friday. I hope you loved it. I am Ross Simmonds, and I might be completely happy to attach with you on social. I am @TheCoolestCool, and I might love to attach with you there. Take care.

Video transcription by Speechpad.com