You likely know already that the ideal digital marketing strategy is made up of evergreen and topical content. Evergreen content applies to any and all email, social media, and blog content that can be enjoyed in a week, month or even a few years from now without losing relevance. The problem that many brands have is assuming that people only want to see up to the minute, on-topic content that is ‘hot’ and happening.
While there is something to be said about highlighting current events that align with your business, focusing purely on topical content can end up making it harder to reach people who are interested in what you are offering rather than the next big story. This is why balance is so important in your digital marketing strategy.
Creating a Well-Rounded Digital Marketing Strategy
How exactly do you go about creating a digital marketing strategy that is balanced and evergreen, yet still in tune with current events and hot topics? Let’s take a look.
Use the 80/20 rule
A good way to ensure that your strategy is balanced enough to reap the benefits of both evergreen and topical content is to focus on creating roughly 80% of content that can be read at any point, with 20% of content that is time-sensitive. When the majority of your content can be shared easily at any point without losing any relevance, you will see far more conversion. You will still be able to bring in a small amount of ‘hot’ topics, however, which will ensure that your social media feeds stay fresh.
Keep your focus aligned
Whatever you are sharing, it is essential that your content is aligned with your brand voice and your core focus. One of the many mistakes that companies make with digital campaigns is getting carried away by trends that are not even closely linked to their primary business. For example, those fun challenges that everyone seems to be sharing may be great for your personal page, but unless they have some relevance to your business, they will not add genuine value. This is why evergreen content is such a powerful tool – it is closely aligned with your core business, which means that your followers always know what to expect when visiting your channels.
Choose topical content wisely
When you do share topical content, make sure that you are very careful about what you share. Political posts, religious posts, reactive posts, angry posts, any type of content that can be seen as bullying, offensive or harmful, and any other content that could be misinterpreted in any way is never a good idea. Likewise, highly time-sensitive posts should be used very carefully and not scheduled. If you are sharing events, make sure that you have all of your facts straight to avoid looking silly if plans change at the last minute. When you use the 80/20 rule, you will have a bit of flexibility to add posts on the go. Use this freedom wisely and you will be able to see the rewards of a balanced content plan.
Try the 80/20 approach and you should start to see a difference in engagement across your digital marketing strategy.
