A funny thing has happened on our way through the COVID-19 crisis. Even as parts of the economy reopen and people are anxiously trying to return to their prior way of live, people continue to consume more and more content.
Some of this is through cellphones and mobile devices. Some is on the web or social media. Some may even be through good old-fashioned print publications.
Maybe it’s because we all have more time available, since we aren’t traveling, commuting, or attending large social events. Or, perhaps many of us are just finding this a good time to read up on topics of interest.
Whatever the case, this is a great opportunity for you and your organization to get your story out to your key audiences. Publications of all sorts are looking for content. Now’s the time to deliver.
Here are a few guidelines to follow when you’re creating content:
Be clear who you are targeting. Do you want to reach customers, prospects, employees, suppliers, the community? Each of these audiences has a specific point of view and may be interested in a different set of information. Don’t try to be too general: targeting everyone often winds up targeting no one.
Know your targets well. Who are they? Where do they go for information? What will pique their interest (especially during this chaotic time)? If you’re not sure, ask.
Have a goal in mind. Do you want to educate? Share opinions? Provide feedback? Any of these are good choices. However, using a public forum for a hard sell is not.
Stay focused. What do you want your reader to remember? Limit your discussion to no more than three key points or messages. If you’ve got more than that to communicate, create multiple posts.
Don’t limit yourself to words. Use photos, audio, or video to communicate your message. Even better, use more than one medium. That lets people choose how best they’d like to access your message.
Have a call to action. What do you want the reader to do after they’ve read your piece? Should they contact you? Download something? Forward the piece to others?
Where do they go from here? If your audience wants more information, where can you point them? It might be your own website or that of a third party.
Whatever topic or medium you choose, what’s most important is that you get out there and tell your story. To paraphrase the old story about voting in Chicago: write early, write often. If you hesitate, someone else may be building a bond with your audience instead. And that might result in a shift you really don’t want to happen.