What Thanksgiving Teaches Us About Content Marketing

By Zachary Clark, Director of Business Development
11/30/2015

The Thanksgiving holiday is a time for being grateful, pumpkin pie, turkey, grandma’s stuffing, and spending time with that Uncle that makes everything awkward. One of Thanksgiving’s best qualities, however, is: leftovers. There’s nothing quite like a cold turkey sandwich on a day-old dinner roll with some reheated stuffing to wash it down with.

But, what exactly does leftover Thanksgiving dinner have to do with Content Marketing? It has to do with the concept of reuse. Think about it this way. You just spent hours slaving in the kitchen to produce a juicy turkey, delectable candied yams, and the fluffiest stuffing your guests have ever tasted. All of that time was spent on readying one, amazing meal!

That dinner you just made is like your content. In this case, it took weeks, maybe months, to create that video, e-book, or special piece of content for that one moment to be distributed, consumed, and enjoyed by your audience.

Bring it back now to your Thanksgiving dinner. You’re not just going to throw out the extra food or let all of that time you spent in the kitchen go to waste. No, never! You’re going to cover it up, pop it in the fridge, and enjoy for the days to come.

It’s the same with your content. You can’t just let your invested time in the content be for just one event. You can reuse that content and reformat it in different ways to make the most out of it, just like your Thanksgiving dinner. So, your video can then get turned into an infographic. Your e-book may be transformed into an interactive web experience. Or, that webinar gets broken down into a concise SlideShare that you can continue to share.

This concept is also called “Evergreen Content,” or content that just keeps living in different formats. It’s an extremely easy and affordable way to not recreate the wheel every single time you have to make new content. Generating ideas is one of the hardest parts about content marketing as a whole. So, having to cut down on the brain power of coming up with the next best thing every week or month will save your company time, money, and energy.

Here is a list of ways you can create the ultimate content leftovers:

Dynamic/Interactive Blog: Any time the information is broken up into hidden pieces where the user must engage with the content to continue and read more.

Regular Blog: Thought article with no interactive features. Usually all text with some pictures scattered throughout.

Listicle: An article/list hybrid presented in the form of a numbered or bullet pointed list.

e-Book/Guides: A comprehensive piece of content that is multi-faceted and static in nature, such as a PDF.

Hot Spot Pictures: Using a singular image, “hot spots” are designed onto it where the user can click on them and learn more information.

Videos: Moving pieces of content where all the user has to do is press “play.”

Infographic: Singular image showcasing facts, statistics, or helpful information.

Mobile Web App: Content designed for a mobile device where the user can engage and keep for use in the future.

SlideShare/Static Presentation: A PowerPoint presentation designed for a reader to only look and read through.

Microsite: A completely separate website built around a singular topic of content.

Case Study: A study about one of your clients that focuses in on their statistical success.

Snippets: Short form posts that are no more than 1-2 paragraphs that highlight an image or video.

Podcasts: A series podcast for listeners to ‘tune’ into every week/month.

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