Coming up with content that resonates is both very easy, and extremely difficult.

We all know what's interesting, we all know what's boring. But yet, too often we see content that doesn't do any of the basic things it should do to make us care about it. Too often we see content that sucks.

So here's my guide to producing great content - stuff that people will like, want to share, and that reflects well on us and our organisations.

It's worth noting up front that there won't be any tips on specifically what to create. That's your job.

Instead we'll be covering what to consider before, during and after we create whatever content it is we're into. Which I reckon is way more important.

The not-so-secret ingredient to producing successful content is simply to think hard about what we're trying to achieve, what will likely help us achieve it, then doing that thing consistently and from a position of generosity. Simple as.

Anyway, here's a list of the things we'll cover.

Things we'll cover

Why this is more difficult than ever
Be a charming, generous guest
What do our audiences really want to hear?
Why would someone share this?
Think form, think reception
No one cares about your ribbon-cutting
Repurpose, repurpose, repurpose
Twitter is not Facebook is not Reddit is not TikTok
Sometimes we need to be nervous
It takes ages
Now's a great time to start.

1. Why this is more difficult than ever

If you've ever sat watching a movie with your partner and noticed you're both scrolling through your phones while half looking at the TV, you'll know what partial attention is.

And guess what, it's pretty dumb.

“The connected generation are consuming more media than ever, to the point where there’s almost a discomfort with not being stimulated – a kind of ‘I can’t stand the silence’," writes Faris Yakob in Paid Attention.

Instead people are ‘media meshing’: "surveying a number of channels simultaneously and navigating between them – to complement information, perspective, and emotional fulfilment”.

That quote makes it sounds pretty noble, but I'd say it's more sinister from an attention POV. And also really interesting.

Our audiences - who we are desperately trying to reach - are paying attention to a number of different media streams at once. Which is problematic, in that it means our job is becoming much harder as we compete with so much content and stimulation. Much of which is like cheap lollies: sweet, sickly, and heavily dosed with regret. But at the time it tastes good, and it will next time, too.

The way to beat the sickly sweet is with content that provides a bit more sustenance. And if we understand our audiences, know what they value, and are willing to meet them on their terms, we can make inroads there.

2. Be a charming, generous guest

If you think about it, we're asking a lot by hoping to hold people's attention for a few seconds, given the bamboozling range of content on offer.

So a very simple and effective question to ask ourselves is: if our audiences are giving us their time and attention - what are we giving back?

Every interaction we have with our audiences (and that means every single article, post, video, reply and comment) should generously give value by either:

Informing (aha)
Inspiring (wow/aww)
Entertaining (lol)

This quote from Martin Boase, co-founder of advertising agency BMP, sums it up nicely:

“We believe that if you are going to invite yourself into someone’s living room you have a duty not to shout at them or bore them or insult their intelligence. On the other hand, if you are a charming guest and you entertain them or amuse them or tell them something interesting, then they may like you a bit better and then they may be more inclined to buy your brand.”

We may not necessarily be selling anything, but we are still asking for something - attention.

Let's try not to just throw our messages at our audience, but instead see if we can give them something of value, something that we know they will appreciate.

Let's be generous. Let's be that charming guest.

3. Audience centricity

Traditional comms approaches can focus on our key messages - as in, what information do we want our audiences to receive?

That's bullshit.

A better way to approach is by thinking, what information do our audiences want to receive? What value can we give them? How can we make their day just that little bit better?

This may seem radical if we think of ourselves as gatekeepers, but it's not radical at all if we think of ourselves as conduits or enablers of the flow of useful and valuable information.

If we’re thinking about our organisation more than our audience when we're creating our content, that content probably isn't going to work.

Every article/post/newsletter/podcast/response/whatever is a potentially powerful touchpoint between us and our audience.

We can make it about us, sure. Or we can make it about them and the problems our services/products/insights might solve for them.

Generous, thoughtful content is engaging and can help build trust.

Content that asks for more than it gives ain’t going to cut it.

4. Why would someone share this?

Remember, all of our digital connections are bidirectional – anyone who can receive can also broadcast. Which means our audiences can amplify our content (as well as our blunders).

Creating content that gets widely shared is like gold dust. We get to reach people we could never get to otherwise, and some of them may then follow us and be prepared to hear what we have to say in the future. Happy days.

Often our most trusted content (stuff we're willing to check out) comes from our friends and loved ones. I pay very close attention to whatever my good friends send to me, because I trust their judgement around what is informative, inspiring or entertaining.

I'm more likely to open it. I'm more likely to read it.

So again, there needs to be real value in that content. It needs to make our audience go 'lol' or 'wow' or 'aha'.

(Also remember that we're not our audience, just like we're not our market. We're in the jar so we can't read the label. But we're not idiots either. We know what's funny and inspiring, and besides that's what testing's for.)

Honestly, creating genuinely shareable content is really really hard. Social media advisors joke about being asked by managers to 'make it go viral' precisely because that's a stupid thing to ask.

But that doesn't mean that, on a much smaller scale (a dozen shares and @s), it's not possible.

If we get the content right, our audience can do our work for us, plus much more.

5. Think form, think reception

We've all experienced it - that beautiful, perfectly crafted post or article that sinks without making the faintest ripple.

What the hell happened? How come it didn't shatter the internet?

Algorithmic peculiarities aside, it might just be that the content was good, but the form was all wrong.

I've seen the same info published on the same platform three different ways, each receiving wildly different responses.

Picture this (sorry): somewhere, someone is sitting on the loo scrolling through their phone, waiting for something to grab their attention. Will it be our content?

I think we generally do a pretty bad job of making the most of our platforms because all our creativity has gone into the content itself. People will spend a huge amount of time creating this incredible article or graphic, then toss it to the social team to 'do their thing' with it on the day it needs to go out. It's a huge lost opportunity.

It's tempting to think the content is strong enough to do the work all by itself, and sometimes that is the case. But often it isn't. We can perfectly sharpen that copy or key message to within an inch of its life, but it won't work if nobody reads it.

So think of form, not just of content.

Think of reception, not just delivery.

For me this means thinking about how the form will affect reception, and this needs to be done right at the start of the process, not left until the end.

Basically it means spending more time thinking about how our content will present as it scrolls into view for that person sitting on the loo.

Make it count.

6. No one cares about your ribbon cutting

We need to stop thinking in milestones, because our audiences aren’t.

Back in the day we needed the media to share our information for us. Those days are long gone. We have our own channels, our own ways of getting content in front of audiences.

But yet there’s still this hangover from the old newspaper days around stuff needing to be ‘big’ and ‘new’ to be of value.

And it means that a lot of comms people are waiting for that project launch, major update, or ribbon cutting before communicating anything at all.

But here's the thing - our audiences don't care about milestones. They don't care about ribbon cuttings and sod turnings and anniversaries. They don't care about investitures and blessings. They don't care about the things we care about, because they're not us.

What people do care about is how that thing we're doing might help solve a problem they're facing, or how that service we provide might make their lives a little bit better.

If we provide a great service, that’s reason enough to talk about it proudly and often, regardless of whether anything’s changed to make it ‘newsworthy’.

So instead of just worrying about that media opportunity for that project six months from now, we'd do much better to show regular smaller updates of constant progress to help our audiences become part of it.

Think smaller but more regularly. Risk oversharing.

If in doubt ask ourselves: how would we show our close friends a DIY or home renovation project? We probably wouldn't just post a single before and after pic. We'd want to include some fun/quirky/challenging/proud moments in there as well.

It's all part of the journey.

7. Repurpose, repurpose, repurpose

It can take a long time to write or shoot that thing and get it just right, so it would be criminal to use it just once. But more often than not, that's what we do.

Press releases are a good example of content that's done its dash immediately after we've pressed send. So don't write them, unless there's good reason to.

Instead we can come up with content that's awesome now, and that will still be awesome next year, and the year after.

Write a sassy myth-buster; use our data to create top tens; shoot how-to or top tip videos. All of these have multiple social sells, multiple ways to promote.

Whatever we're doing, it pays to have as a goal when brainstorming content ideas that we'll create once, distribute forever.

The beauty of great evergreen content is that before we even promote it the first time, we already know how we'll be able to promote it again next month. Because it's fucking interesting and it would be a crying shame for it to languish unread.

And remember, no one remembers our content like we do. Our audiences have lots of other things to think about. They probably didn't even see it the first time we published it, and the followers we've picked up since we last shared it certainly didn't see it.

So don't be shy about continuing to release that great content into the world.

Share that thing. Then repurpose it and share it again. And then do it again next month. And the month after that.

8. Twitter is not Facebook is not Reddit is not TikTok

TikTok is only hard to understand if we’ve never used it.

Reddit is a weird place until we spend a bit of time hanging out there.

Seriously, if we’re working in comms or marketing in 2022, we should be able to have an informed conversation about things like TikTok.

Not based on what we’ve read or - worse - what we’ve heard (cos it’s probably bullshit). But based on how we’ve used the app ourselves and what we’ve seen and heard first-hand.

No, we don’t need to like that platform or want to use it in our work, but until we go in deep enough, how do we know it isn't perfect for what we're trying to achieve?

Great quote from the marketer Nicole Parlapiano:

“It is our job to be in all of these places, and maybe you don’t need to interact but you need to be there to see how people are interacting. When you get lazy in your own media consumption and you’re not willing to be on platforms because you feel too old or you feel it’s inappropriate – that’s where you lose your edge.”

Pick a couple of platforms and give them a go.

What we quickly discover is that each platform has its own nuances, unwritten rules, ways of playing. Each platform rewards and punishes different user behaviours. Until we know these (properly, not superficially), we will be unable to create content that resonates for audiences on that platform. It's as simple as that.

Putting that same video on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok doesn't make any sense. Once we've spent a bit a time on the various platforms, this will be extremely obvious to us.

A simple rule: publish content that people on that platform expect and appreciate.

9. Sometimes we need to be nervous

There's a moment when we're about to push play on that post or story or comment when we wonder if it's a good idea.

For me, that's usually a sign that some magic is about to happen (or I'm going to do something dumb).

If we’re always 100 percent relaxed about pressing play on that social post, we might be doing our audience a disservice.

It could mean our content is too safe, similar or boring.

It’s good - and effective - to surprise our audiences from time to time, and that can mean getting a little uncomfortable when we push play.

Let's trust our judgement and that of our social team (no one knows our audiences like they do), and do something surprising.

Unless we’re already doing everything perfectly, experimentation will always be our pal. Obviously we don’t want to just wang out any old nonsense, so we need to be smart about it (more on this below).

If it works, double down. If it doesn’t work, try something else until it does. Then double down on that.

Know our audiences, know what makes them tick, know what we can get away with, then have a little fun every now and then.

10. It takes ages

Whatever we're trying to do, it's probably going to take longer than we (naively) thought it would. Building audiences and engaging communities takes time.

The following might well sound stupid, but: as long as we're doing something that works, it will eventually produce good results.

Likewise: if we're doing something that doesn't work, it will literally never produce good results, no matter how long we do it for.

So we do need to make sure there's thought and evidence behind what we're doing, which sounds stupidly simple, I know, but not as stupid as seeing that half-baked social post die a death because someone just came up with it on a whim and pressed publish lol.

Instead, we can be Considered, Deliberate, and Consistent:

Consider what it is we're trying to do (what's the goal? who is our audience? what do we want their reaction to be?).
Be deliberate in our approach (is that thing we're doing likely to actually deliver on what we're trying to achieve?).
Do that thing consistently for long enough for it to bear fruit (cos shit takes time).

I really hope this doesn't sound condescending, because I honestly believe that this is the magic formula. If we do all/most/some of the above then whatever we're doing will probably work. Eventually.

Put some thought behind it, keep showing up, and voila.

11. Now's a good time to start

It's tempting to wait until we've got everything perfect before we start creating and publishing content, but we tend to do bugger all if we wait for perfection.

The most important thing is to start. As Seth Godin brilliantly put it, "once you begin, you are".

So just begin.

Got any questions or comments? Email me at seamus@seamus.nz

Everything I know about content