In the digital age, people spend a lot of their time online consuming content. And businesses worldwide are competing for attention. So how does your content stand out in such a noisy world? Creating content with purpose might just be the answer.
Creating with Purpose to Bring Value
The average person works about 8 hours a day and sleeps around 6-7 hours every day. That leaves us with less than 9 hours to do everything else from spending time with family to shopping, cooking, eating, and cleaning.
To add to that, recent studies found that in 2020 people spent an average of almost 7 hours a day consuming content. That’s a lot of time!
We can largely thank the Covid-19 lockdowns for that. But regardless, that trend isn’t declining as fast as it inclined.
The Value of Digital Content
If you think of time as money – and you should – the time spent consuming content would amount to a lot of money.
And people spend their money on things that give them value.
Of course, value is subjective. But whether it’s time, status, experience, or necessity, we’re ultimately giving our money in exchange for some sort of value.
So, you have to ask yourself, what value are you giving people in exchange for the time/money they spend consuming your content?
What purpose does your content serve?
Related: Instant Bread: Why Every Business Needs a Purpose
Defining Your Content’s Purpose
The products and services you offer need to provide value, and so does the digital content you create.
Think of your website and social media accounts as bookstores or libraries. What books or media would you be offering visitors?
Surely you won’t be shelving books full of product ads now, would you? And yet that’s what many businesses do; post every day about their products or services.
Unless it’s a library specifically made to archive poster and banner ads of cultural significance, no library should home that many product ads.
What Content Should You Create?
Ideally, you want your content to add value to your brand and ultimately serve your business purpose.
And even though you shouldn’t pigeonhole your content into just one category, it would make it a lot easier for you to create content that is focused on just a few topics or niches.
One way to do this is to write down the purpose, or objective, of each of your marketing channels (i.e. Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.).
So, for instance, your Instagram account could focus on discussing certain topics with a specific target audience, while your LinkedIn discusses different topics that serve another target audience.
All in all, you want the majority of the online content you create to collectively contribute to your brand and business purpose.
Busineses Should Create Meaningful Content
As a business owner, you want to position yourself as a thought-leader. You want to be the role model of the ideal social hierarchy. Because that’s when people would look at your business and say “that’s what we should all be doing”.
Consumers admire businesses that fulfill a market need while solving social problems. And people favor brands that put their customers’ needs first. Because that’s social proof that their business is, in fact, purposeful.
Therefore, as businesses, our commitment to the betterment of society should be tenfold that of an individual.
And in an era where most interactions happen online, businesses should focus on adding meaningful and well-thought-out media content to their digital marketing channels.
How Creating with Purpose Helps Your Business
At the end of the day, every business needs to be profitable. And every executive and marketing decision should result in a favorable outcome for everyone involved.
So, how does creating content with purpose help your business and your audience?
1. Purpose-Driven Content Brings Clarity to Your Vision
What’s your brand’s vision? What does your brand stand for? And how does your business contribute to society?
An online presence that works toward your vision through purposeful content helps people understand what your brand is all about, and what you’re doing to get there.
And along the way, it can help you streamline your brand’s goals too.
As you begin to research and create more purpose-driven content, you will also start to gain more clarity on what you should do to fulfill your vision.
Ask yourself: how does the topic or idea of the content you’re creating contribute to your brand’s purpose? How would it influence people’s thinking and decision-making?
2. Generating Ideas is Easier When You Have a Purpose
It’s easy to run out of content and marketing ideas.
When you’re creating content that’s always focused on selling, you’re constantly thinking of ways to hype up your product or service. And you have to think of clever copywriting, catchy designs, and attention-grabbing videos.
But when the content you create has a meaningful objective, you are less likely to run out of ideas. Because you’re constantly trying to serve that purpose or solve that problem.
And you won’t need to worry about the perfect slogan, catchphrase, or jingle that will remind (or annoy) people of your brand. People will remember your brand through its contributions to society.
3. Meaningful Content Keeps Your Brand Relevant to People
The world is ever-changing and market needs are changing. What better way to stay current than to discuss your goals directly with the people who are genuinely interested in your vision?
Sharing purpose-driven content with your audience helps you promote your brand’s values. And over time, people will begin to associate your brand with these values. Your brand could even become a source of inspiration and influence for the causes it cares for.
When you’re consistently promoting meaningful discussions and values through purpose-driven content, you will attract the people that share your values and ideals. People who believe in what you’re doing and why you’re doing. And these people are the ones who will stay loyal to your brand and advocate for it, even if they aren’t buying your products.
Authenticity is Key
When it comes to creating content with purpose, authenticity is crucial.
Don’t advocate for values or causes that your business doesn’t practice or believe in. That can negatively impact your branding and marketing.
Focus on the causes and values that you genuinely believe in, even if they’re small or unpopular.
Creating content about a current trending event may bring your posts up to the front page and boost its reach, but if the topic doesn’t align with your brand’s message it could make people question your brand’s integrity.
So, steer clear of trending events if they aren’t related to your brand’s purpose and overall vision. It’s okay to miss out on some opportunities.
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