I Think. I Reframe. I Am. Content Strategy, Reframed.

Too many of us bleed when we think about producing Contents.

We think that producing Contents is about producing Contents and therefore we go All-In (or we don’t) posting on various social media platforms.

We bleed mentally because we focus too much on the formats of the Contents to be delivered, such as text, videos, audios, images and etc. In that sense, being digital-relevant is placed on a pedestal and the messages within the content fades beneath the wallpaper.

I think that is completely backwards.

The message should be key.

The platform(s) of our choice is key to the way we present ourselves, the way we want to present ourselves.

In this article, I would like to put forth my idea of a Content Strategy that works today into the future.

I would position this as a “Re-frame”.

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In order to understand “Content Strategy”, we have to understand Contents. Fundamentally.

Yes, fundamentally.

So, let’s get to the basics.

I would say that “Contents” isn’t foreign to avid book readers. We often go straight into the “Table of Contents” for an index of Content material, presented in a structured fashion. For many of us who has slogged through 20 years of education, we know that we have to provide a “Content Page” for all the papers we submit.

The purpose is for structure and clarity.

A “Table of Contents” tells us how a book is structured and the flow of the author’s thought processes. A “Content Page” provides clarity to the Professor in terms of the assignment / research topic we are presenting.

That said, do not mistake the “Structure” and “Clarity” of content presentation to be the Content itself. In the same light, do not mistake the various social media platforms for the Content itself.

Content is about the message. It is about communication. It is about what we want to spread and what we hope the readers to receive. Period.

Communication is the key. All Leaders know this. Military leaders take the Grand-Stand. Corporate Leaders work on internal keynote presentations. However, those communication formats are contextual to their organisation. When we strip away the relevance of the environment (Corporate / Military environment) to the message that they put forth, I question how and why people would pay attention when they knock-off or get discharged from the force.

Social media works in the exact opposite. It has to power to reach almost everyone on Mother Earth where data can reach. Thus, a piece of Content well communicated, contextualised or not, is likely to reach and then strike a chord with everyone obsessed with their smartphones.

Just wrote a piece about Leadership and someone from Kenya liked your content? Just taught the basics of a Sales negotiation and someone from Belarus commented on your post? You get my point.

Yet, that is the only simple thing. The rest that follows is complex and therefore we need a viable game plan. A game plan that allows us to spread our message in various social media platforms and different formats.

Here’s why and how.

1. Content Strategy has to be Relevant – What is Relevant for Me?

Everyone has intent. Some of us invest our time to be socially relevant. Others protract their commercial purpose. Regardless, we have to relevant in the platforms of our choice and the audience present in those Social Media platforms.

For instance, an ex-colleague of mine believes deeply in connecting with nature and internal well-being. She is also a free spirit who travels round the World. Instagram and Tik-Tok works very well for her because she gets to showcase her Yoga expertise via images and videos (once again, these are formats. The Contents are Yoga). She gets to show the World that going Plant-Based doesn’t necessarily sacrifice taste and satiety.

Linkedin and Facebook hasn’t gotten her the audience that she needs and that is okay. We can’t be successful in EVERY SINGLE PLATFORM and no one says we have to.

Go big on those that serves our purpose.

Thus, along those lines then: -

• Quora works well for those who wants to position themselves as Knowledge Bearers.
• Linkedin works well for those who wants to network and establish themselves as Thought Leaders.
• Twitter works well for conversant individuals who can hijack a pantry party.
• Webinars / Livestreams / Podcasts works well for individuals who aspires to be Keynote Speakers.

Our intent matters. Our Personal Brand matters. This is followed by the relevance of the Content mapped against those platforms which work to our advantage.

2. Content Strategy has to be Relevant – Where are My Audience?

Don’t worry about how and where we consume our Contents. Think about how we learn first. Some of us learn best when we listen. Others via reading, seeing or abstract thinking. If we look deeper, we do have our dominant learning mode. The same applies for audience. Where do they receive information? How do they consume it?

Let’s assume that we know (I know right … that is always tough) and then map our understanding against the plethora of Social Media platforms made available to us today.

In that sense: -

Sales Professionals constantly on the move will not be able to consume text Contents or Thought Leadership articles, especially when they have to drive and their hands are predominantly occupied. Audio formats serves this purpose so I think going big on Podcasts / Youtube / Webinars / Audio Books work to our advantage. Think. They can’t be scrolling when they are driving, right?

Business Consultants are constantly on the move as well and their Personal Brand is different from Sales Professionals. They need their prospects / clients to see them as experts / Thought Leaders, as someone in position to advice. These are the people who will spend their time crafting their pieces on Linkedin, Medium. While this is a predominant choice, it also depends on the industry segments they consult. Do they consult Sales Professionals? If they do, then these Business Consultants will be on Podcasts / Youtube / Webinars. If we are targeting Business Consultants, we have to study their profiles and we can understand why they are present in these platforms.

Fitness Gurus who are influencers bet big on visuals and videos. Most of us think that they are in the business of fitness. No, that is way off. They are in the Show-and-Tell business. That is why they are taking their gyms to our homes via our phones. They understand that getting us to the gyms is tough business. Thus they work with us, at home. In that sense, Instagram works brilliant here. I have seen some fitness gurus on Linkedin as well, and I think they are focusing on serving the working professionals rather than full-time homemakers on Instagram.

Naturally, there is an element of stereotyping here but bear with me, otherwise this article will never finish.

And my fingers are hurting.

3. Content Strategy has to be Relevant – Is it about “Social” or “Media”?

This is the most-asked, so I will take the opportunity to address in Long-Form text (establishing my Personal Brand as a Thought Leader? Haha!).

I routinely mention via Webinars / Podcasts / Livestreams that how we think about Contents is predicated upon the way we think about Social Media. Are we on “Social” or “Media”?

Too many of us are too caught up in the game of “social”. We are upset when we lose a connection or when a long-time connection stops commenting on our daily post. Or when the amount of “Likes” per post starts dwindling. Or when no one re-shares. Or when there is lack of viewership.

Truthfully, there is not much meaning in here. I say this because … we are focusing on getting people to like us instead of pushing out our best Contents / messages as much as possible, as valuable as possible.

The opportunity in Social Media is in “Media”. Gone are the days where the microphones are held exclusively in the hands of the Big Shots or the Famous. We, the common folks, have a chance of influencing many many others via Social Media. The applications in our smart phones does all the heavy lifting.

We, just, have, to, Post.

With time, our Contents can form a tapestry of our best Thought Leadership. Imagine chancing upon a short Youtube video of an influencer we never met and they caught our eyes. What would we do? We would continue to view the other clips that is automatically fetched and presented at the side. Before long, we would have invested 15 minutes of their time watching 3 different 5-minute videos of theirs.

That is the prowess of Media AND content strategy.

When we have a long line of Contents in various formats online, the World suddenly becomes exciting.

Before that.

We have to understand media. Then we have to understand Contents.

And we are set.

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In parting, it is important not to think of Contents as Contents.

They are messages that we believe in, and messages that we want others to consume.

Focus on our message.

Some messages work best in different formats such as texts, articles, videos, audio and that depends on where we want to invest our time in.

It also depends on our audience presence.

Social Media properly understood has nothing to do smartphone addiction.

It has to do with us, our message via Contents and the people we want to reach.

You want a viable Content Strategy?

Here is one.

Re-Framed.

About the Author:

As a finance and thinking enthusiast, I believe in making the complex simple. 

Because simplicity adds value. 

I do that through reflections (#ThrowbackSeries), building perspectives (#DecodedSeries) and understanding entrepreneurs (#ConversationWithEntrepreneurs). 

Simplicity helps us gain clarity, and clarity helps us to grow. 

And if we are not growing, then what’s the point of anything else?

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