There doesn’t often seem to be any order in which information lands on our screens. But that doesn’t mean you can afford to push out your content at random. People are always looking for patterns, even unconsciously, and you can reach your audience more effectively by putting out your content according to an editorial plan.
Tying your tweets, blog posts, press releases and events together with a “red thread” helps each new piece of content build on the impact of those that came before and prepare your audience for those to come.
FIRST BUILD A HOUSE FOR YOUR MESSAGES
Your messages need a proper home, so you can always find them. A message house identifies an overall theme and lists sub-messages and proof points by topic. Every piece of content you develop needs to fit into this matrix, so you know what objective it is intended to support and what creative angle to apply.
THEN PLAN FOR WHEN THEY LEAVE HOME
Preparing an editorial calendar gives you an overview of where you are and helps make sure you have content lined up ready to push out during critical periods for your communication, such as an event or a political development.
AND NEVER LOSE TRACK OF THEM
Crib sheets are a great tool for managing your social media channels. We use them to develop individual pieces of content, get approval and, finally, post the copy along with the correct images, videos or links. They are absolutely critical when we need to handle multiple pieces of content going out at a fast pace, for instance for the DiscoverEU Instagram and Facebook pages or the Coca-Cola EU Twitter feed.
STAY CONNECTED TO MAKE CONNECTIONS
You can only connect properly with your audience if your messages are properly connected, both to each other and to what’s happening around them. So connecting your content gives you a #DigitalAdvantage.