How can you write content that resonates across different formats?

I like to identify who is engaging with my content, and take it offline if possible. Get them on social DMs, then onto a phone call if possible. While they think I’m just getting to know them, my marketing brain is digging toward what’s their challenges, pain points, why they are consuming my content and what they want more of. I can then dial into their problems, knowing that if I nail a solution for that one, I’m creating a solution for 1000s of others with that similar challenge keeping them up at night.

Ask yourself three questions about your audience online: - Where are they talking? - What are they saying? - How are they saying it? From there, observe and engage. Weave the audience voice directly into your writing for content that your audience can easily connect with.

Truly understand who your readers/followers are and their issues. For that, I spend time talking to them, interview them... which is actually one of the most interesting part of the job! Above that, knowing your market, its ecosystem and your environment globally gives you the guidance you need.

Understanding how your proposed content contributes to business goals is a must. For example, producing content that performs well on a platform doesn't necessarily translate into wins for the business. A blog should do more than bring increased organic traffic, and a social post shouldn't just be about getting more likes.

Create broad goal categories and plan content in terms of those categories. For instnace, when I managed content for a F2P online game, my goal categories were the following: - Engagement (success measured by interaction/comment rate) - Sales (success measured by conversion to game store sales) - Informational (success measured by time spent reading/watching) - Acquisition (success measured by game downloads and/or logins) Not only did these goals ensure every piece of content had a means of measuring success; it also helped keep the content selection diverse.

For web articles, breaking up big blocks of text with imagery and/or interactivity is a no-brainer. When I experimented with such formatting for a F2P game site, we noticed longer time spend on articles that provided some means of interacting (poll, interactive infographic, etc.) or breaking up longer text.

Identify the key messages from your original piece of content. This is what should be threaded through any different formats, regardless of how the length or tone might shift.

There needs to be more emphasis on taking the time to pinpoint the key message you're trying to communicate. Effective content creation takes a focused approach, exploring a specific topic in detail. You should be able to explain the 'why' behind content creation in a single sentence. Considering the 'why' will help you to adapt your content to suit different formats without losing sight of the objective.

Here's a way of testing longform content: The average read speed is 200-300 WPM. Err on the side of 200, and compare that to the avg time spent on an article page. Did your audience spend enough time on that article to possibly read every word? Probably not, but you should aim for a percentage to at least illustrate that your audience is spending more than a few seconds reading.

Content is a living thing, you should always allow space and time to analyse the performance of the content and iterate where possible - ‘finishing’ a piece of content is just another stepping stone.

If you work in content marketing, then understanding audience intent should be your primary focus. Why do people need the content that you're creating or offering? What makes your content right for them? Is the purpose/aim of your content aligned with theirs? Ask yourself these questions, answer honestly and stop needlessly creating content purely for the sake of it.

Great content and creativity resonates in any format (if properly adapted and promoted). And I wish more of the marketing world realized this. We keep dividing our creative energies, churning out mediocrity aimed at specific channels, when we should be keeping our creative power more focused, creating fewer better ideas that will perform well on every channel.