The Content Progression Model

There is no doubt about it, content is king. Content marketing is an incredibly effective way of engaging customers in the modern digital world that over 53% of businesses use. 

There are two major factors when it comes to content: quality and frequency. 

Creating a few pieces of amazing content will not yield results, but neither will constantly creating subpar content. 

So what type of content is really king?

Video content. 

96% of consumers between 18 and 34 watch videos several times a week and 90% of users say product videos help them with decision making. Videos are also the best content for repurposing. From a single video, you can get dozens of other pieces of content. 

But hold on, don’t grab the camera just yet! Remember, quality matters

Read on to learn how you can combine the content progression model and the content repurpose model to create incredible videos that yield even more content.

The Importance of Video Content for Your Brand

For 92% of marketers, video is an important part of their strategy. It should be for you as well. Video content is the best content you can create for your brand. Using video, you can effectively develop your branding and industry authority. No other platform matches the engagement and conversion of video. Including a video on your landing page increased conversion rates by an incredible 80%. Videos work so well because they are:

  • Visually appealing. 
  • Unique 
  • Easier to digest than text 

Additionally, video content is extremely adaptable. From one video, you can create many other pieces of content, making your content marketing strategy a breeze. Videos alone are diverse. Some of the video content you can create includes:

  • Video testimonials
  • Live stream recordings
  • Video ads
  • Video presentations
  • Product demos 
  • Video interviews 
  • Instructional videos 
  • “About us” or company educational videos
  • Tutorials 

The Challenges of Creating Video Content

Despite its many benefits, video content is not easy to create. Video content is challenging and can give beginners a lot of difficulties. Even though your end goal should be to create compelling, high-quality video content, it is not what you should start out with. The reasons the video is difficult to create are:

Visual presentation

 Videos are visual content, which means that how they look matters. While you actually do not need the world’s fanciest equipment to create good video content, you still need to get the right lighting, audio equipment, and camera to produce professional-looking content. Because of this, there is a barrier to entry. Starting with video content will delay your content creation process. 

Videos require editing.

Again, you do not need a full team of editors and the most expensive software to edit your videos, but video content does require some editing know-how and experience. Finding the right editing process is harder for companies that are newer at content creation. 

Videos can be awkward to film. 

Not all of us started out as teen YouTube stars. Aside from the occasional school project, many of us do not have experience filming videos. Trying to create video content before you are comfortable is a bad idea. If you feel awkward, the video will turn out awkward regardless of the amount of editing. Additionally, the video will take you a lot longer to make than it needs to. Instead of jumping right into the video, it can be more effective to work your way there.  

Video Content Progression Model 

In the end, you want to be able to create video content for its many incredible advantages. However, trying to start out with video is not going to work. Instead of jumping straight into video creation, we recommend the video content progression model. Using this model, you can still make content before you have all of the equipment you will need for video content. You can also work on your content creation process, and improve your speaking skills along the way. By the time you reach the video creation step, you will e ready to make videos that look and sound exactly how you want to. 

Writing First

The first step in the video content progression model is actually writing. Think about it. People do not create hit movies on the fly. Professional video production starts with writing, and yours should too. Written content is the easiest to produce. You can simply write down an outline of the key points and hire a content writer to actually do the writing. Starting with written content helps you practice content idea generation. Additionally, the written content:

  • It is incredibly easy to outsource. 
  • Has a quick turnaround time. You can produce a lot of content fast. 
  • It is easy to edit and update. 
  • It is inexpensive to create. 
  • Will give you something to start posting and publishing immediately. 
  • It can serve as the starting point for the rest of the progression. 

Audio Content 

Once you have a number of articles written and are comfortable with that process, then you should turn to audio content. You can take the articles and create audio scripts. Use the audio script to make a podcast, audiogram for social media, or audio version of the blog that you can also post on your website. 

Creating audio does not require you to make up anything new. You are just transforming the basic concepts from your blog into another medium that you can share again on your pages. Audio serves as a clear intermediate between writing and video. With audio, you can get comfortable with speaking on recording and delivering your message the right way, but without the added pressure of people seeing you. Advantages of audio content include:

  • Hone your speaking skills.
  • Enter the very popular and growing podcast space. 
  • Engage your audience in a new way and add your audio to new platforms. 
  • Prepare yourself for video creation. 

Video Content 

The last step in this content progression model is the videos. Once you have successfully written and audio recorded content, you will be much better prepared to create videos. Written posts teach you how to generate ideas and form an outline. Audio content allows you to practice your speaking skills and relay your information more effectively. After you are comfortable with both written and audio content, then you can prepare for video content. 

Of course, video content is still different from the audio content, but starting with audio better prepares you for video. Once you feel comfortable relaying your information through audio, then you just have to practice your delivery on video. This is the time to invest in some starting equipment and help to ensure your videos are highly produced. 

Again, you can take the same basic concepts from your articles and audio to create videos. Integrate the videos on your website to explain a product or service or to enhance your pages. Create a YouTube channel, and share them on social media. 

The Content Repurpose Model 

As the content progression model above shows, creating content is not just about creating a single piece of content. In the example above, we demonstrated how one blog article can become a piece of audio content and then a video. 

But the reserve is also true. 

Once you master video content creation, then you open up an entire world for repurposed content. 

According to Gary V’s content repurpose model, you can over 30 pieces of content that you can share across all of your platforms. 

Here’s more about why you need to incorporate this model and how it works:

Reasons to Use the Content Repurpose Model 

Imagine creating 10 separate pieces of content. You would need to brainstorm the topics, design an outline, and then execute each piece separately. This takes time. A lot of time. The more time you spend, the more money it costs you, and the less often you can deliver value to your audience. 

How can you cut down the time it takes to produce content?

Repurpose it. 

Instead of creating a blog post, podcast, video, social media post, and newsletter that are all separate and about different things, use the content repurpose model to create all of those and more around one main topic. 

The content repurpose model streamlines your content creation process. The top reasons you need to incorporate this strategy include:

  • Save endless hours on content creation when you repurpose content into new pieces. 
  • Make content creation an easier, smoother process. 
  • Reduce the resources (money and manpower) that you need for content creation. 
  • Deliver high-quality, high-value content to your audience every single day. 
  • Increase your SEO and brand awareness with more content. 
  • Create more content is optimized for each platform. 
  • Dominate your industry and position yourself as a powerful authority. 
  • More opportunities for inbound and outbound links to all of your own content. 

How the Content Repurpose Model Works

Think of the content repurpose model as a reverse pyramid. You are using one large piece of content and then breaking it down into smaller pieces of content. The steps of content repurposing include:

Create Your Pillar Piece

Your pillar content is the main piece of content that you are starting out with. This may be an eBook, a long-form video, a longer podcast, or a speech. All of the other pieces will be derived from your pilar piece, so it should be descriptive and index all of the main points.

Create Micro Content 

The next step is to break down your pillar piece into micro-content. Micro-content is just short-form content that is pulled from your pillar piece. You can turn your long-form video into multiple blog posts, many different social media posts, quotes, mini videos, and more. Take the best moments from your pilar content and turn them into multiple pieces of micro-content. 

Distribute the Content 

Next, you must share your content. You can share your pillar content on major platforms like YouTube, IGTV, Facebook, and your website. Share some micro-content via the rest of your social media. Share articles on your blog, in your newsletters, and as LinkedIn articles. Use your micro-content to drive your audience to your pillar content. 

Assess the Response

After distributing your content with your audience, it is time to listen. The best way to figure out which content is effective is to listen to your audience. Look at your analytics and evaluate responses to determine which content resonated best with your audience. 

Create and Distribute Community-Driven Micro-Content

Use the feedback to create another round of more powerful micro-content for your audience. Create more micro-content from the sections that your audience really enjoyed, and distribute it across your platforms as well. 

Be Agile with Content 

Even once you’ve become more comfortable with creating all mediums of content, it can take a while to nail your distribution strategy. Closely monitor your analytics to determine the best times for posting across your platforms. Listen to the feedback your audience provides to guide your future content creation. The things that consumers resonate with may sometimes surprise you. Be adaptable and flexible with your content strategy, and always remember that the primary goal is to deliver value. When you offer value, you start building relationships that are then easier to convert to long-term business relationships. 

Master Content Progression and Repurposing with Attract and Close 

Most companies “help” you with your content marketing by just writing all of your content for you. While this helps you in the short term, it makes you totally dependent on them every step of the way. You only get content when they give it to you, and you’re left in the dust about how content creation really works. Attract and Close will help you master modern marketing by teaching you how to effectively produce your own content. I experienced team will guide your strategy while helping you learn exactly how to achieve high-quality video content and master the content repurposing model. Using these methods, we will streamline your content marketing strategy so you can attract more customers than ever and rapidly grow your business. For results-driven content marketing practices that will help your business scale, schedule your free discovery call HERE.

Need Marketing Help? Let's talk!