Your company undoubtedly has profiles on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. It probably also has a blog and might even produce a podcast or videos for a dedicated YouTube channel. Having your irons in all these fires is meant to help elevate your brand, but you’re just not seeing the ROI and engagement you expect.
Why? You’re probably not thinking like a media company.
Media companies are content machines. They have processes—long-term content strategies—firmly in place to produce and distribute content with impeccable precision. And while your company might not be in the media industry, that doesn’t mean it can’t become a media property. All it takes is a willingness to adopt the same impactful characteristics media giants like The New York Times, Thomson Reuters, and Fox have operated with for years.
Here are some handy tips to help your business establish its own long-term content strategy—and transition from an organization that simply creates media to a full-blown media organization.
Craft a narrative
Storytelling is how people relate to one another. It’s how information is passed on, relationships are formed, and trust is gained. To build familiarity and loyalty among your audience, try sharing your business’s story with the world.
While it may not have the same lifelong impact as a “once upon a time” tale, your story is an important part of your content strategy. From a plucky underdog narrative to the storied history of a family-owned business, readers gravitate towards stories and will be interested to hear more.
Create a robust schedule
Develop a comprehensive editorial calendar to hold you accountable for daily content creation. Media companies like The New York Times publish hundreds of blog posts and more than a thousand articles a day—and to make that possible, their organization game has to be strong.
While your business may not distribute that much content, a tweet every few weeks or a monthly Facebook post just won’t cut it. And if your company has a blog, posting 16 or more times a month can result in 4.5 times more traffic than only posting a few times, so ramping up your content production can definitely pay off.
Keep your finger on the pulse
Social media lets people connect, communicate, and mobilize around ideas like never before. Douglas Holt of the Harvard Business Review calls it crowdculture, and tapping into it can generate powerful results.
To create content that speaks directly to your readers—what they care about, believe in, and agitate for—stay plugged into the crowd. When you know what your audience cares about, you can take a stand for what they (and your brand) believe in—helping you stand out from your competitors as a result.
Dexterity is your ally
Establish workflows that help your content creation processes move quickly. When impactful stories are held up by editors, lawyers, or other red tape, they can lose their timeliness, and their punch.
Structure your content strategy so it’s streamlined and efficient—from idea generation and production through editing and distribution.
Be everywhere
Finally, maximize your exposure by producing content on every available channel. If your business doesn’t have a blog, start one. If you’ve let your Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages lapse, re-engage. Consider a YouTube channel or podcast, and post consistently (say, every week) to keep your audience coming back for more.
The bottom line: tell you business’s story everywhere—and tell it well.
At Liqui-Site, we love to see businesses grow by leaps and bounds—and we’ve helped many make that leap. To find out how we can help your content shine, contact us today.
