Now is a good time to shake up your content strategy and your mix of platforms. Audiences are everywhere, from Facebook Live to print magazines to in-person events. People are moving from one screen to another, from one format to another, and no longer tied down to one mode of consumption.
When is the last time you re-evaluated your media platforms? Are you stuck inside your WordPress blog like a mime in an invisible box?
I’ve seen the following platform jumps in the last year:
- The blogger Pioneer Woman has a TV show and a print magazine
- Gary Vaynerchuk is on the new Apple show, “Planet of the Apps”
- Tim Ferris is on a cable network with his own tv show, “Fear{less}”
- Lots of Vine stars had already moved to Instagram when Vine shut down
- TV and movie stars are doing podcasts (have you heard “Anna Faris is Unqualified” or Alec Baldwin’s “Here’s the Thing” yet?)
Why do you think these stars are shifting gears and finding new outlets? It’s because they want to reach new audiences and keep up with the shifting media landscape.
Here are some tips to help you decide if you need to change the channel:
- Maintain flexibility, don’t get locked into one format forever. If you’ve been on the same platform since you started writing, it is time to check out other options. Talk to your peers and get some inspiration, or test drive some other spaces. If you’ve always blogged on WordPress, venture over to Medium and see how it feels.
- Keep an eye on where your key audience lives. It may not be the same answer as when you started. People who wouldn’t have considered Instagram a couple of years ago may now be super-users.
- Never forget about “old media.” Print articles, TV or radio guest spots, or even mailed newsletters might feel fresh and new now. Don’t shut off a channel just because it isn’t a shiny new object.
- Has your viewership/readership stagnated? Perhaps adding a new punch of content from another source would bring in fresh visitors.
- Use your five senses as a jump-off for your creative thinking. Every channel targets different senses…visual, auditory, touch…what senses are you currently employing, and which ones could you explore?
Hopefully this sparked some ideas for you; what do you think about changing channels?
Featured Image:
Anton Ponomarev
