Many content marketers are hesitant to maximise their stories across various channels and content types. But here’s the catch: influencers do it effortlessly. Learn why repetition is key, and how a simple strategy tweak could boost your reach and engagement.
AUTHOR
Alison Morrison
YEAR
March 2024
Marketers are getting shy.
Sure, you’re thinking, tell my ad blocker. Okay, I’ll rephrase that. Content marketers are getting shy, especially when it comes to stretching their stories across owned channels.
What do I mean by stretching? Well, we can spend days, weeks, even iterating around brand themes, key messages, and core topics, and then expect single pieces of content to communicate all of that to our audiences. Now it may be that that single piece of content can do it very well, but unfortunately, it was shared on a rainy afternoon in Q2, and now everyone has forgotten about it.
Brands need these high-value content items (we think of them as big rocks), but you also need to be able to stretch the material of that story across channels so that you don’t shoot your one shot and waste the investment you made. That’s why I think marketers are becoming reserved, because I’ve spoken with so many clients (looking at you B2B) who don’t like to repeat, reshare, or repost in case their customers get bored or frustrated with hearing the same thing over and over.
Just because we’re using a pull marketing method doesn’t mean that repetition isn’t still of paramount importance. People forget! Planning out how to stretch your story doesn’t take much extra time, but it could deliver a lot of extra reach and engagement.
So, what does it look like in practice, and how do you know if the story or content piece you’re working on is worth stretching? Ask yourself this:
”Is the message I want to share more significant than a haircut?”
It’s at this point that you think I’ve lost my mind, but stay with me; I promise this is going somewhere insightful. Story time…
Last week, I caught myself casually browsing through YouTube shorts. While I’d prefer to mention TikTok here, I’ll be candid and admit that I rely on YouTube shorts to gently drip-feed TikTok content to me, ensuring I don’t either a) become instantly addicted or b) immediately feel overwhelmed by how old I feel.
Anyway, I was scrolling away when I came across two influencers who I’d briefly seen before, and it seemed like they were going on a trip to get a haircut. And that was pretty much it. The video consisted of them being excited on a plane with the caption being something around ‘YOU’RE TAKING A FLIGHT TO GET A HAIRCUT! WHAAAAT?’ I watched it and moved on. A few minutes later, the same pair popped up, this time they’re in the hairdresser’s filming the transformation. Spoiler alert – one of them went from blonde to a redhead; she looked great. More scrolling later, and the smiley duo are back again and again and again. Hang on – are we still talking about the same haircut here?
I did some investigating; let me break down the numbers for you.
The two influencers in focus are Sarah and Lo Beeston. They each have a presence on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Stats for Sarah’s haircut content (the one who is now a redhead):
2 x Insta posts
5 x Insta Reels
1 x YouTube Vlog
4 x YouTube Shorts
5 x TikToks
Stats for Lo’s haircut content (the one who is still blonde):
6 x Insta Reels
1 x YouTube Vlog
4 x YouTube Shorts
5 x TikToks
That’s a total of 33 pieces of content ABOUT A HAIRCUT. Ok, two haircuts, but still.
Your best benchmark is not your competitor, but a content creator.
So back to my formula: ”Is the message I want to share more significant than a haircut?” Because you know what, there are people building businesses, and successfully I might add, on documenting haircuts. And I’m not criticizing the Beestons; clearly, this is content that literally millions of people want to see. I’m using this as a challenge to you – the professional marketer – do you believe in your brand as much as they do in theirs?
They can take an event, as seemingly trivial as a haircut, to plan, film, edit and post over 30 pieces of content across three different channels, on six different accounts, over five days. It’s an excellent example of integrating channels & content, audience understanding, creativity, and downright hard work. And while I’m sure that their message is not as meaningful as your brand or businesses, I bet they made it more interesting.
Here’s how they did it and how you can too:
Before dropping your main content piece, hint at it or introduce the initial idea to build anticipation and get people expectant for more. This is something you can create in advance and spin several ways to engage different audiences.
No matter how big or small you think the content you’re dropping is, take pride in it and shine a light from different angles. One way of doing this is to consider how you’d tell the same story through different formats. For example: ‘How do we tell this in 10 seconds?’ or ‘What would this be like told through a discussion?’ or ‘What would top 5 takeaways look like?’ Creating restrictions helps the creativity to flow!
Reaction videos have become a social media staple, especially amongst influencers and creators. So why not steal the approach? Getting a colleague, customer, or someone from your audience to react to your content or share their thoughts not only extends the life of your topics but also invites others into dialogue about it.
Naturally, for the Beestons, the final piece of content in this series was a slow-mo look to the camera. But for you – why not wrap up by sharing your own thoughts and takeaways? This works especially well for events but could also be applied to a press release. By taking what can sometimes be a more formulaic or dry communication and adding a personal touch – ‘here’s how this relates to customer X’ or ‘this is how I see this coming to life more concretely in my work’ – can not only give it a visibility boost but also help give valuable context and relevance.
Easy! Those steps go: Get ready, Reveal, Revel, React, Reflect
So now you’re thinking, but what if a haircut IS more interesting than what we have to say?
I can assure you that it’s not. At least not to the core audience your business wants to target. But if you are struggling to get some perspective and find interesting angles for your key messages, themes, events, or anything else content-related, then don’t hesitate to reach out. That happens to be something we’re particularly good at.
To discuss how you can stretch your story, become more strategic with your content, unlock your owned channels’ potential, or any other content marketing issue you’re wrestling with, please reach out for a consultation.
And if you’re wondering where to go for your next haircut, apparently, it’s worth taking a flight to Arizona.
