Blogging Not for You? Fresh Ways to Create and Share Content

When it comes to content creation, consistency is key. Consistent content is what builds trust with consumers and keeps them coming back. While keeping a regular blog is a great way for any thought leader or influencer to appeal to their audience, it isn’t the only way to connect with readers.

Whether blogging is something you love, hate, have never done, or have down pat, here are some fresh ways to build a following beyond the blog.

Newsletter

A newsletter is the most effective way to gain direct access to subscriber inboxes. A newsletter is the perfect space to connect with readers, add value, and get some airtime for your brand, especially given that employees are spending on average 28% of the workweek managing email.

  • Sending out a monthly or even quarterly newsletter allows you to stay top of mind and be present where potential customers are already spending their waking hours.
  • A newsletter points followers to the most important aspects of your platform and is essentially a combination of one piece of original content, curation of existing content, and announcements.

These aspects combined help you develop long-term relationships with your followers and create an outlet for promoting new products, services, and events. Need more information? Check out these pro newsletter tips.

Live Video Streaming

Another way to treat your followership to fresh, creative content is through live video. Though there are several video-streaming offerings in the market, Facebook Live and Periscope are among the most user-friendly and widely used. Instagram Stories and Snapchat are also options for informal, spur of the moment sharing.

With 1.65 billion monthly active Facebook users worldwide, it is likely you already have the Facebook app on your phone. Facebook Live, which launched in early 2016, allows users to broadcast the events unfolding in front of them for up to 4 consecutive hours.

The main advantages of using Facebook Live are

  • Ease of use: You are likely already familiar with the app and interface, and streaming a video follows the same steps as posting a status update.
  • Potential reach: 62% of the US adult population now have a Facebook account.
  • Automatic archiving: Videos are automatically archived in Facebook for viewing later.
  • Ease of notification: Followers are alerted by Facebook that you are broadcasting live and encouraged to watch.

Founded in early 2015 and quickly acquired by Twitter, Periscope now has a whopping 10 million users! This breaks down to almost 2 million daily active users who have contributed to an astounding 200 million broadcasts to date.

The main advantages of using Periscope are the ability to

  • Share live streams on Twitter
  • Save videos to your phone’s camera roll (and upload to other social platforms, such as YouTube or Facebook)
  • Use sophisticated fatures like sketching while streaming
  • Broadcast on Periscope via a GoPro

Periscope offers more features and may be the platform to choose for regular video streaming. For more ad hoc recordings, you may find Facebook Live to be your better option. Whichever you choose, there’s nothing like video to get noticed by a broad audience.

SlideShare

Do you or your employees give regular trainings, seminars, or talks? If so, are there ancillary materials that you create for these events, such as handouts or slide decks? You can mine the benefit of the content by repurposing these materials on SlideShare.

Founded in 2006 and acquired by LinkedIn in 2012, SlideShare has accrued over 70 million professional users per month and is one of the most frequented websites in the world. Here is what you need to know:

  • You can login with either your LinkedIn or Facebook credentials.
  • It's a great way to repurpose existing content, to boost SEO, and to improve your discoverability among consumers.
  • It can help drive traffic to your website.
  • You can generate leads by inserting surveys and collecting email addresses in SlideShare presentations for a fee.

While this is by no means an exhaustive list, it does illustrate some creative and time efficient ways to continue expanding your platform’s reach. Interested in learning more? Check out these tips on increasing your digital footprint.