Episode 43. Three Essential Content Types

EPISODE 43: In this episode of the Creative Spark podcast, we look at the difference between core, pillar, and micro-content and how they should work together in your content strategy.

If you're not clear on the three main content types, the different channels, and how to repurpose them so that they all work together, you will either wind up creating fresh content for every channel or feel overwhelmed and only focusing on one or two channels.

The problem with creating fresh content for each channel, and not repurposing it across multiple channels, is that the message often gets lost because not all of your fans and followers are showing up and seeing the same content on every channel. So the result is a burned-out content creator and confusion or information gaps for their audience.

"Content repurposing is where it's at"—Gary Vee

For many years, I would write 3000-word blog posts that nobody read, primarily because I didn't tell anybody about them. I would then show up on Pinterest and Instagram and Facebook and talk about completely different things.

I found myself being driven by the content channel and what other people were posting to them, rather than looking at my core content and seeing how I could repurpose parts of that long-form content in order to promote it.

Looking back, it's incredibly frustrating because there was such a value buried deep in those 3000-word blog posts. If I had understood the ways that three main content types are meant to work together, I could've pulled out so many nuggets of value and shared them with more of my audience. It was really only over time that I started to think of ways that my channels could all support that valuable long-form content that I was able to leverage the value in the content I was creating every week and turn it from content into content marketing.

It's easy to get overwhelmed when you think about repurposing content because the poster boy for being everywhere all the time is Gary Vaynerchuk, and he has a team of elves. I see many content creators limiting the amount of content they produce because without a team behind you, repurposing that many pieces of content every week just feels impossible. But you know what they say? Work smarter not harder. A goal-driven content strategy and a smart content repurposing strategy means that you can get the three main content types working together.

Download your free content strategy template and start planning your monthly content strategy

Following these simple steps will help you learn the difference between the three main content types

STEP ONE: Core Content

The core content is the first piece of content you create every week. It is long-form and should answer one question. Some ideas for core content are a blog post, podcast episode, YouTube video, a SlideShare, an email newsletter, a keynote presentation, interview, or webinar. The main purpose of your core content is to answer a key question your target audience is asking about your topic, and encourage conversion.

STEP TWO: Identify your core topics

Ideally, each month should start with a content focus, and conversion goal, so then you can begin to drill down into the types of topics you are going to cover. Core topics are a great starting point, then you can head to Google to discover what kinds of questions your audience is asking about those topics. For a month of content, aim for four core topics.

STEP THREE: Define your channel and CTA

A word of warning when choosing your core channel, it should be a content channel you pay for, such as a blog or podcast. It's risky to build your core business on “free” or borrowed land, such as social media. Your core channel is the primary way you are going to publish four pieces of long-form content for the month and attract your audience to your conversion page using a Call To Action (CTA). Before you create any content, decide on your core channel and CTA.

STEP FOUR: Pillar Content

Your pillar content pieces should be the same topic and idea as your core content but packaged in a way that suits each channel. For example, if your core channel is a podcast, you can easily repurpose the content as a SlideShare, blog post, and YouTube video.

STEP FIVE: Define your pillar channels

Once you have defined your core channel, choose three other channels where you can repurpose your core content. Again, where possible, you should own, or pay for these channels, or at least keep copies of the content offline should you get hacked, or the platform shuts down. Some ideas are publishing to Medium or LinkedIn, creating an Instagram carousel, a blog or podcast, a YouTube video, and so on. Pillar pieces should also be fairly long-form and the CTA encourage people back to your website, or directly to your conversion page.

STEP SIX: Micro Content

If you have a team of elves like Gary Vaynerchuk, then you can get them to repurpose your content, otherwise, you need to develop a smart system to make it as easy as possible. One essential step is to use a different heading every time you republish content on a new channel. Another trick is to rearrange the sections so your articles aren’t exactly the same. Use fresh quotes and fresh highlights each time, so the visuals are different. Try and spread your content across different mediums, ie: words, audio, video, and images. That way, changing the format is all it takes to make the content new again.

STEP SEVEN: Define your microchannels

Microchannels include most social media channels. The primary purpose of micro-content is to attract traffic back to your core and pillar content. Micro-content is also repurposed from your long-form core content. Give your audience a taste of the content on social, but then encourage them back to consume the full meal on your podcast or blog so that you can convert them with your CTA.

STEP EIGHT: Fill in your content strategy template

It’s best to show up where your audience is, so try and spread your micro-content across multiple channels, such as Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram. However, you can also repurpose content on one channel, such as a Pinterest carousel, as well as a single pin, or an Instagram story and reel count would as two microchannels.

STEP NINE: Refine it with feedback

Once you have decided on your core, pillar, and micro-content channels, filling in the content strategy template becomes a breeze. After your template is filled in, you can easily rework it to achieve a new monthly conversion goal, define a new target audience, and identify four fresh questions every month.

So that's it for the steps. Imagine having all of your content types working together seamlessly. Your content takes your audience on a journey from a useful tip or trick on Instagram, then an invitation to read more on your blog, and then at the end of the blog, they opt-in to receive more information in an email. Before you know it, they have been automagically nurtured from a follower, to fan to customer. This is how good content marketing is supposed to work and how the three main content types fit together as a strategy.

Which of the three main content types will you create first?