By Margit Detweiler, Contently
It’s the same old song — with a different headline since you’ve been gone.
Repackaging, re-crafting, republishing — everyone’s a curator and we’re passing the same piece of content along. (Hello, “23 Ways to {Insert Cat Video} Into Your Content.”) And sure, listicles and celeb stories, controversial headlines and repurposed content all drive a certain kind of interest.
But it’s that original piece of content and fresh perspective that’s getting the eyeballs, the clicks and, most importantly, the brand boost and loyalty. It needs to be original and it needs to be interesting and it needs to be useful. After all, if they can find a given piece of information anywhere, what’s encouraging your readers to come back?
Problem is, quality and originality are hard — especially because they’re often found only in the eye of the beholder. But hard doesn’t mean impossible, and with the right roadmap, any brand can make content that’s original, inventive and sticky — the kind that stands out from the crowd and makes users come back again and again.
So what’s the secret? How are the smartest brands and publishers standing out in this noisy world of content?
Well, the first thing to do is take a 360-degree view of your possibilities.
Consider these five approaches:
•Look outside: Tap into the content that surrounds your niche.
•Go inside: Consider your brand's particular niche and unique offering.
•Give it muscle: Make it bigger, richer and brighter, through multimedia storytelling elements, taking things “live” or by adjusting the frequency of content for a more powerful punch.
•Make connections: Could you benefit from creating a series of shorter elements or smart curation of existing content? What about enlisting the users who are already engaging in your site?
•Get weird: No, really — we’ll show you what we mean.
With the 27 million pieces of content that are shared daily, you’re competing not just with other likeminded brands but with the media, blogs and anyone who publishes an article, a photo or a comment.
So how can you be more than just another publisher?
You need to be different.
Focus your content on topics your brand knows best, techniques and resources you know you can pull off and ideas that will resonate with your audience — and yours alone. By looking at your special you-and-only-you offerings, reaching out to your core audience, adjusting your frequency, amping up your quality and — yes — even getting a little weird, you’ll stand a good chance of cutting through the clutter.
For more information on creating unique, viral content and building your audience, download the rest of the ebook here.