Turning short term buzz into long-term leverage

Today's blog is a case study in creating and maximising shareable content, if you will. 

Turning short term buzz into long-term leverage.

I was very excited to have an article published in AdNews this week.

Not just because it's a great publication, I've been published in a lot of great media outlets over the years, but what is particularly worth sharing is the way this one happened.

All very organically and effortlessly.

So I thought I’d share step by step how this transpired as it encapsulates two key things I talk about a lot here, and everywhere I train and teach - “thinking in content” and “creating shareable content”.

Both of which are hugely important.

(I would go as far as to say up there with two of the most valuable business development tools that will help you future-proof your brand more than any other single marketing skill I reckon. Because these skills you can apply to any business, brand, project or season of life you're in and make it work for you.) 

In this case, it was a real-life story which started as a fun and spontaneous post on my private Facebook profile, which I then turned into valuable business insight post shared on LinkedIn, and went on to become a front-page story in Australia’s go-to title for advertising, media and marketing professionals with a newsletter read by more than 20,000 people daily.

Here’s how it went down (with actual screen shots):

1. Last week I shared something about my home life to my personal Facebook page. Just a snapshot into my life - which with five kids provides lots of cool fodder for stories - which I often just share for fun. 

This one was a photo of my odd socks pile that someone kindly decided to sort for me, and the whopping size of that project!

 
2. The post got a lot of engagement and comments from my friends and family, so I could see people related to it, so I thought about how I could use it in business and share a useful insight around it.

3. I created a post on LinkedIn that had a strong marketing message and the CTA (call to action) was to point people to a relevant blog post that I felt would be helpful and support the point I was making.

4. The engagement in LinkedIn was fairly typical for a longer text post (not huge!) but it’s quality over quantity. One comment was from the Editor of AdWords saying I should be writing for them.

5. We connected via DM to discuss specifics of what to publish.

6. He sent me a screenshot of what they planned to publish, for me to approve.

The next day it went live.

Here's the link to the article if you'd like to read it. 

Why I love this is I didn't have to write anything "extra".

Nor did I need I need to contact anyone, pitch to any journalists, do any media interviews  - and yet I still received a lot of business benefits a result of all of this, all very effortlessly. 

What I would encourage you to take from this is....

1. The most effective marketing content isn't "marketing content".
It's everyday content, stories and insightful thought leadership - that you can use strategically to align with your business focus and goals. 

2. When you do have something that does well - whether it's a video, a post, an article, a media interview - think about "how else could I use it" and be creative around not just reposting and republishing it, but how you can craft and adapt that for alternative distribution channels. 

3. Even this newsletter is a real-life (yes, somewhat meta!) example of that. The shelf-life of this story continues, as it now goes well beyond the initial platforms.....

Facebook => LinkedIn => AdNews 
Then back to LinkedIn and Facebook (to talk about the publication)
Now here to email (what I'm doing here)
Next week it will go on my blog (and live forever on my website).

That's a lot of leverage from a single post. 

You might not have a national publication asking to re-publish your post/email/article/keynote/content, but as you show up consistently and share insights and refine your message, if you're an expert in your field, eventually you'll have something that makes a splash in your industry.

And hopefully now you'll have some practical insights and a case study around how you can leverage it and make it work for you way beyond the shelf life of the buzz it created!

******
 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nina Christian is a Marketing Futurist & Global Marketing Mentor who helps people do their marketing in a more human way. 

She is a Certified Practicing Marketer (CPM), Life Member and Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute & AMI State Chair (Vic) and for 20 years was director of Braveda (Winner, Best Marketing Agency, Australian Marketing Excellence Awards).

Several years ago Nina saw the world of marketing shifting – this time as people became their own brands.  With this, she created a new business as a thought leader, combining her expertise in brand building with personal positioning, resulting in a breakthrough praxis known as Marketing Me™.

She has a knack for simplifying the complex which comes from being a hands-on mum to five children, and uses this to turn time-sucking activities into easy-to-follow systems and processes that make a lot of sense and get outcomes fast.

There are different ways to work with Nina based on your situation and organisation size - with all of them you'll see rapid transformation and tangible outcomes fast. Book a chat with Nina here.