Content “Zumba” – Lose the Lazy

If you’ve ever seen one of those Zumba infomercials or participated in a Zumba class (very hot right now), then you know it’s not for the lazy. The point is to get moving, burn crazy fat, all while having fun. Simplified–it’s moving around versus sitting still. Growth vs. decay. Hypertrophy vs. atrophy.

If your digital content follows the fitness trends of the day, then you are definitely in growth mode. But it doesn’t have to get to the level of “insanity” to produce growth and market presence.

Content simply needs to lose the lazy. Sitting around with static website content was a perfectly fine “strategy” in 1999. Because just GETTING A WEBSITE in and of itself at that time was THE one and only online strategy. If you’re hearing a lot of “content strategy” and “content marketing” being injected into the chronic conversations of the day, it’s simply because content can’t be a couch potato anymore and these are the spendy upsells that marketers and agencies use to essentially say, “hey, your content needs to grow and take on different shapes and move into all the other digital environments where your customers are active.” That’s it! Static web site content all on its own will typically be unable to carry your business, small or large, to the next level.

Content needs to go wherever your customers are. It needs to take action, be present there, meet them, and greet them there–it needs to get off the couch and move around:

• In regularly scheduled emails in their email inbox
• It can manifest itself an an indepth downloadable market report or industry analysis
• Content can spring eternal from a blog
• It could be an addictive newsletter that delivers deep insight and value–more so than your site or blog
• It could be your blog feed into LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
• Regular shares and conversations on a Google+, Facebook, Twitter or all of them
• Bookmarks on Delicious, StumbleUpon, Reddit, etc.
• Press releases for new products, services, events, and promotions
• An ebook
• Even a mobile app

Content can and should in some cases be created to synchronize with the seasons, economic quarters, industry trends, new products or services, breaking news, events, promotions, sales, etc. And let’s not leave out all the insight you likely have about your industry, experiences, etc. during the course of doing normal business. A blog is a great outlet for daily or weekly content–a perfect example of content growth, traffic growth, presence, engagement, entertainment, conversation, etc.–active vs. passive

It’s OK to have a website with evergreen content. In some cases your products or services may change very little over time. But it’s worth  revisiting occasionally (a simple editorial calendar can ensure this is on the radar). Freshen up the calls-to-action, look at your site analytics to see where customers are entering your site, where they are bailing or abandoning. A regular review of analytics can tell you a lot and help inform some content modifications.

Lose the lazy–get your content on a regular exercise routine.