Developing a Content Formula

Many companies think that their content has to be innovative to attract the attention of the audience.

Yet there are plenty of movies on the Hallmark Channel that share a similar plot as well as the same actors.

Nonetheless, these films are quite successful on the channel.

The type of repetitiveness included in them might sound like a formula for failure, but that’s not the case.

In fact, the same repetitive formula has also been adapted by other platforms, including Netflix, to create other successful films and shows.

The same logic can easily be applied to content marketing, and instead of having to constantly innovate and create original content, they can stick to a successful formula similar to how the aforementioned TV and streaming networks are working.

Original Content

Instead of spending a lot of time trying to come up with fresh content pieces, companies can create content that’s already familiar to the consumers simply by repackaging it in new ways.

This type of content works just as well, if not better, at attracting the attention of the audience compared to other content types.

When consumers come across recognizable content, they believe it’s a lot easier to consume that content since they’re already familiar with the basics.

Although this isn’t a strategy that works all the time, and there’s always going to be a need for original and thought-provoking content, companies can still achieve content marketing success simply by adding their unique spin to familiar stories or ideas.

Familiarity

The Hallmark Channel usually uses a few of the same actors who are already familiar to the audience. However, instead of constantly coming up with new story ideas or plot points, they simply switch out the main characters for different films. A company’s audience works in a similar way in that it appreciates being familiar with the content a brand is putting out.

That means working with the same storytellers, or the same sources throughout a content marketing campaign.

For example, if a company does a photoshoot for a consumer profile in a digital publication, the same consumer can then become one of the faces of the company’s website. This type of approach allows the target audience to see someone they already recognize from other pieces of content.

It also communicates authenticity to the audience, which is not something that businesses can achieve when using stock images.

Budget

Brands and corporations are always trying to do the most they can with the content marketing budgets they’ve set. Once the content has been defined in the initial stage, and the resources that are necessary to create it have been identified, companies can find ways to save on their budget by producing all their content at once.

If, for instance, a business is looking to publish a video every month for its campaign, it can save a lot of time and resources by writing all the scripts for that campaign in one go, and shooting them all in one batch.

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