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 eat 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 wonderful, artistic thought expressed in some type issue, and also you suppose, “That’s what I need to create.” However it’s the container (the expertise) you need to emulate. You continue to need to give you a novel thought for that type issue.
It’s regular to create this manner.
Give it some thought. Did George Lucas dream up a narrative a couple of younger boy on a desert planet who reunites together with his separated-at-birth twin sister to save lots of the galaxy from an evil empire and then determine his story would work finest 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. However it doesn’t work nicely for advertising.
Container-first planning doesn’t work in advertising
Beginning with the content material type issue may cause a heap of bother in advertising for 2 causes.
First, advertising content material isn’t an endpoint – it’s a bridge to an endpoint. In different phrases, you aren’t attempting to optimize for the top expertise. As a substitute, you’re optimizing to seek out the individuals who need the top expertise: our services or products.
Give it some thought this manner: Folks need to look at Star Wars. They don’t essentially need to seek out your advertising content material. So conveying one story or thought in a number of containers offers you a greater probability to seek out an viewers. You’re telling the story all over the place the viewers is relatively than attempting to lure them to 1 piece on one channel.
Folks aren’t looking for out your advertising #content material, so put it wherever they’re, says @Robert_Rose by way of @CMIContent. Click on To Tweet
There’s another excuse to keep away from beginning with the container relatively than the concept. Organizations want to precise loads of concepts. Some are small, and a few are huge. In case you plan the container first, you may find yourself placing small concepts into huge containers and vice versa.
What number of instances have you ever seen full white papers devoted to a too-small thought? Alternatively, 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 want a weblog submit about this,” and by no means thought of whether or not it might flip into extra.
The way to separate content material concepts from expression
Bear in mind: Folks will eat the designed expression of your content material concepts (your web site, weblog, video, e-book, social media submit, and so on.). 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 an amazing story nicely advised.
I’ve written about how planning and governance may also help you prioritize content material initiatives. Including a step may also help you make sure that your concepts find yourself in as many (or few) containers as you’ll want to seek out your viewers.
A lot of the content material and advertising 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 provides a collection of codecs (video, infographic, white paper, net web page, weblog submit, and so on.)
Questions in regards to the content material for that format, the viewers, the journey stage, and so forth all the time come later. The method goes from request to asset creation.
That’s the place the extra step ought to are available in. 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 like this:
Create the story
Begin by discovering or hashing out the compelling story (inside the content material workforce or as a cross-functional effort). Do the analysis, define the story, and determine how huge the concept is.
Then, write the story. Create the world, the challenges, and the options. That is the uncooked content material that might (or ought to) dwell in any expression of the concept.
Then – and solely then, transfer on to the subsequent step.
Design the expertise(s)
Resolve all of the totally different sorts of packages this story can dwell 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 need to execute all experiences directly. However taking the time to create the uncooked content material parts firstly of the method helps you to rapidly create these issues once you’re prepared.
I observe this identical two-step course of after I create content material. I plan the story and write these uncooked parts first:
- Content material parts (a draft of this column)
- A bullet level model I can use on a podcast
- Totally different paragraphs and variations to characteristic on The Content material Advisory web site
- Centered 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 large enough. I have already got a superb begin on the content material I have to create it.
This strategy isn’t applicable 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 impression the bigger group), begin serious about creating the uncooked content material to your compelling story earlier than you determine how one can design and produce all of the experiences that can convey it.
That means, you may make certain your nice huge concepts received’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
