The 3 Content Forces You Need to Tap Into to Create Highly Anticipated Content
The Importance of Highly Anticipated Content
Three years ago, I came up with an idea that I ended up calling “21 Types of Content We Crave“.
I ended up getting an infographic created that listed the different kinds of content we all want to consume.
I then submitted it to ContentMarketingInstitute.com to see if they’d want to post it and they did. And I am glad I did!
Because they have a huge audience, it ended up being shared thousands of times and generated 102 comments on their site before they closed off the comments.
Anyway, the cool thing is that it was mentioned as a part yesterday’s post on ContentMarketingInstitute.com called “The One Content Marketing Question You Need to Ask” by Michele Linn.
I mention this because I think that Michele brings up an important concept that we all should consider.
It’s a concept called “content anticipation“.
The way that Michele applies the concept, it means creating content that people are so excited about, so interested in, that they can’t wait to receive more of it.
I think there are three content forces you can tap into that will help you to create content that’s highly anticipated.
Let me go over each one for you…
I) Tap Into the Power of the 21 Types of Content We Crave
If your content doesn’t resonate with your audience, then they will never anticipate it.
The key question is:
What kind of content universally resonates with people?
To help you, I’ve created a list of 21 types of content we all love to consume.
If you’d like to learn more about how to tap into these types of content, then you should consider getting a copy of this webinar I created based on of these types of content.
It’s called “21 Types Of Content We Crave” Webinar: Why Boring Isn’t Memorable And What You Must Do About It“.
Click here to learn more about it.
But there is something else you need to do.
II) Tap Into the Power of Evergreen Content
You also need to tap into what is called “Evergreen Content”.
What is evergreen content? It is content that will be seen as valuable today, tomorrow and for years to come.
In my book, 51 Content Marketing Hacks, I use the example of the story of Snow White.
“As content creators and content marketers we are on a constant search for new content and news ways to create fresh content. What if I told you we could learn a lesson from Snow White about content marketing and content creation?
“What if it was a lesson that released you from the terror of always having something NEW to say? You’d like that? Ok good. I think you’ll be happy! Let me explain what I mean…
“We all know the story of Snow White, right? There are the 7 dwarfs, the apple, the prince, the kiss, etc. There doesn’t seem to be much else you could do with the story, does there?”
I then share how two recent movies based on the story (“Mirror, Mirror” and “Snow White and the Huntsman”) show us that’s not true!
I then say…
“And if these movies don’t prove that we were wrong thinking there was nothing else to be done with the Snow White story, you need to know there have been 19 Snow White movies made (including these 2) since 1902!”
There are always certain story lines that will always appeal to all people.
And there will always be certain story lines that appeal to people in certain niches, industries, etc.
Your job is to figure out what these story lines are and figure out how to tell them in a new and interesting ways.
III) Tap Into the Power of Cultural “Myths”
I’ve mentioned this before, but it’s so important I need to mention it again.
Jonah Sachs in his book “Winning The Story Wars: Why Those Who Tell (and Live) the Best Stories Will Rule the Future” argues that the person who tells the best story wins.
He says that we are in a war these days and we don’t even know it.
It’s the battle to be heard in a world full of static and noise.
The only way to win this war for attention is through the power of stories.
The brands, businesses, organizations, and individuals who are able to break through are the ones who know how to harness this power.
Sachs says that because our cultural has lost the common myths all societies used to have, storytellers are now needed more than ever. (NOTE: When he uses the word “myth”, it doesn’t mean a story that’s not true.)
Joseph Campbell describes one of these common stories all cultures tell as “the hero’s journey”.
The basic story goes like this:
- It starts with a person who is just living an ordinary life.
- The person, who is a potential hero, is presented with a problem, challenge or adventure.
- The potential hero has to choose to answer this call to adventure or reject it.
- At first the person rejects the call.
- Then a mentor of some kind comes into the potential hero’s life.
- The mentor challenges the potential hero to answer the call and prepares the potential hero to succeed on the journey.
- The potential hero goes on an adventure.
- The potential hero faces dangers and trials along the journey.
- Along the way the potential hero meets others who go on the journey with him/her.
- The potential hero almost fails, but usually wins because of their weakness or hidden strength.
- The potential hero usually also owes their victory to the others who joined him/her on the journey.
- The potential hero comes back changed and now and is now a proven hero.
This story is told in cultures around the world.
It’s the basis of the most successful stories in our culture.
Stories like Star Wars, The Hobbit, Lord Of The Rings, etc. are all based on this formula.
What Sachs teaches you in the book is how to tap into this story and tap into your prospects and customers desire to live out this story.
He teaches you to do it in a way that is not manipulative or self-centered, but instead allows you to do it in a way that challenges people to greater living.
It allows your prospects and customers to be the hero and allows you and your company to be the mentor challenging them, helping, and encouraging them on the journey.
If you want to learn how to capture people’s attention and help them to be more and do more, then I highly recommend “Winning The Story Wars“.
What you need to realize is this:
- There are certain types of content that people will always crave.
- There are always certain story lines that will always be popular in each niche.
- There are certain “myths” that will always appeal to people.
If you can learn to tap into any of these three (or better yet all three), then your content will be highly anticipated.
I was able to tap into multiple of the “21 Types of Content We Crave” in creating the infographic itself.
That’s why it has continued to be tweeted almost daily and referenced again in this post on CMI.
P.S. I highly recommend that read Michele Linn’s post on ContentMarketingInstitute.com, so you can fully understand why “content anticipation” is so important.
P.P.S. I also highly recommend that you click the links above and learn more about these resources that will help you master each of these content “forces”.
NOTE: 2BH always uses affiliate links to Amazon, but we never recommend a book simply for the commission. (It’s not big enough to be worth that.) We just think that Amazon might as well cover an occasional Starbucks drink for us in exchange for sending people to buy books from them! 🙂
**If it bothers you that the links above are affiliate links, then copy the title above and go to Amazon.com here. No commission will be given to us if you use the link in the previous sentence. The book is worth it for you to get it either way!
