In a world where we’re constantly bombarded with content, it’s easy for your videos to get lost in the noise. But what if we told you that you could get big results by thinking small?
That’s the power of microcontent.So, what is microcontent?
Microcontent is small, bite-sized content that is easy to consume and share in up to one minute or less. Although it may be small, it packs a big punch.
Micro content can be short content in any format. It can be text, image, or video based.
We’ll focus on the most important format and show you why you should be using it today.
What is it? Micro video content.
Why Micro Content Works, And You Should Be Using It
The average online adult’s attention span is fewer than 8 seconds. We live in a world where people mercilessly scroll through social media feeds, looking for something interesting.
Your content needs to hook viewers instantly and make its point in a hurry, or it’s on to the next.Micro content is quick and engaging, and it’s the perfect way to grab your viewer’s attention and build brand awareness.
It’s also highly shareable. If a viewer comes across a 15-second clip of yours they enjoy, it’s easy and low-risk to pass on to their friends.
Meet Your Audience At Their Place
If you only post videos to YouTube, your website, or Facebook, you limit your ability to build an audience.Take successful long-form content you’ve already created and chop it into interesting snackable bites you can share elsewhere.
Post a 15-second short video on your Instagram Story and a 10-second clip on TikTok and Twitter. Suddenly, people who have never come into contact with your brand see your content.
You can give them quick teasers as an appetizer and link back to your central marketing hub for the main course. For some of you, your hub may be your YouTube channel.
For others, you should drive traffic to your website or landing page. Your micro content works at the top of your marketing funnel to build awareness for your brand.
Help guide those viewers down funnel with links. Bring them closer to the action you’d like them to take.
You also keep your accounts active and your followers engaged when you post content across all social media sites.
Multiply Your Content Creating Efforts
The best part of all? You didn’t have to create anything new. You already did the work. The video is there. Now it’s time to squeeze some extra life out of it.
Say you’re a content creator and consistently upload one video weekly to YouTube. You embrace the power of micro content and spin off three short clips for TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram. You’re now putting out four bits of content each week instead of one. You’d be up to seven if you included Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube shorts.
Or say you’re a business owner. You regularly use video content as part of your overall marketing strategy to attract new customers. You have a catalog of marketing videos you’ve put on your website, Facebook or LinkedIn page. Demo videos, explainers, how-tos, customer success stories, ads, etc.
Pick the best ones that align with your current goals, and edit them into quick hits you can post on social media. Give your brand messaging new avenues of opportunity, and you’ll be surprised how quickly it can grow your bottom line.
You don’t need to post on all platforms, and you shouldn’t at first. But if you’re serious about growing your brand and audience, pick one or two other platforms and test micro content for yourself.
Repurpose, Reuse, Recycle – Get The Most Out Of Each Creation
All right, so micro content is the ideal way to leverage your content marketing efforts. How do you go about getting started?
Good question.
Let’s look at Gary Vee and his content strategy as an example. He uses a reverse pyramid model to create content, and it contains three essential steps:
- Create and film long-form “Pillar Content .”Pillar content is the original content you upload to try and attract new customers or build your audience
- Pick ‘highlight moments’ from your original content. Edit down into short clips in the proper video format for each platform you upload on. Add text, animations, or graphics where it helps to clarify your message and make it pop
- Distribute your content! Always upload your pillar content first (as your micro content will link back to it!) Next, upload your micro-content to supporting social media platforms, and link back to your original content
Follow this plan for all new content you release to turbocharge your results. You’ll get significantly more impressions or views over time compared to posting only the original content.
When you first start, generating activity on your secondary platforms may take time. Keep consistent with it, and constantly learn and tweak your approach.
Your secondary platforms are great places to test new ideas and receive instant feedback. You’ll quickly see what generates buzz vs. what fades away into nothingness with a background chorus of crickets.
What about all the existing content you already have?
You have a great chance to get some extra mileage out of it.
First, ensure it has a strong call to action to nudge viewers toward your desired outcome.
Your call to action could be to like, comment and subscribe, or watch another one of your videos next. Or visit your website, sign up for your newsletter, or buy your product or service.
Whatever action you want them to take, give them a compelling reason to do so right then and there. This way, when your micro content funnels them back to the original video, it’s ready and waiting for them.
Next, craft memorable snack-sized content bites from your existing pillar videos. Then, push those tasty bites out on the social channels that make the most sense for you. Always link back to the original video.
Bonus Points If You Do This Too
Give your audience more of what they want.
It sounds so basic, yet too many creators and businesses focus instead on what THEY want to tell their viewers or customers. Instead, focus on what your viewer or target audience wants.
If you listen in the right places, they’ll tell you. Then you package it up nicely and serve it to them.
With micro content, this leaves a beautiful opening to expand the 3-stage reverse pyramid to 6 stages.
- Pillar content creation
- Create shareable micro-content
- Distribute all content. Pillar first, then micro-content
- LISTEN to your feedback. Monitor comments, shares, and any interactions your content generated
- Create new micro content from what your audience tells you they loved
- Distribute new micro-content across your most impactful social media channels
Ok, so here’s the deal. After you initially distribute your content across all platforms, monitor the comments and feedback to see what resonates.
The Power Of Short Clips
You can target those moments and turn them into short clips, knowing they were already effective enough to generate feedback.
Then publish your new pre-vetted micro content on whichever social platforms produce the greatest results for you. If you are ambitious and initially upload snippets to every known network, that’s fantastic!
In the final round, take the content you know will perform, put it onto your biggest platforms only, and watch it take off. That could be IG and TikTok for you. Or perhaps it’s Facebook and LinkedIn.
Note: If you are a solopreneur or content creator doing everything yourself, you can simplify the process. Keep it to 3 steps by posting your pillar content and waiting for a day or two. Give your target audience time to respond, find out what they like, and create your micro content around their responses.
Help Is Only A Few Clicks Away
We get it – adding one more thing to your plate might seem impossible.
Micro content creation is worth your time, however. It’s a simple way to hack your growth and get your brand in front of new faces.
If you’d like to benefit from micro content but aren’t sure where to start or if you have time, there’s an easy solution. Find a professional editor and partner up. It’s the best thing you can do to inject some adrenaline into your content marketing strategy immediately.
You benefit in so many ways when you work with a great editor and keep them around for the long run:
- Your video content improves in quality. Your videos engage your target audience better and hold their attention longer. More viewers see your message in full before they skip or scroll on by
- Your branding stays constant and recognizable across all platforms
- You save your precious time. And mental bandwidth. You have a reliable video editor who consults on all of your projects and takes the editing work off your plate
- Over time, your editor develops a sixth sense of how your business operates. Your communication and workflow processes simplify and become silky smooth. You spend less time involved with or worrying about editing
- You can refocus your time and mental energy on tasks that actually help you grow your brand – like creating more content!
Editing Work Is Usually Dull And Always Time-Consuming
On average, it takes 1-2 hrs of editing time for every minute of finished video. And that’s if you’re experienced and know what you’re doing.
Otherwise, you can easily spend days editing a short clip, wondering when it’s good enough to publish.
Professional editors take care of it all for you. They also already get micro content and help clients repurpose content daily.
Your editor helps you nail down your video style and keep it consistent.
Your editor also understands how to format your clips for each platform you upload on. Most social media content is viewed on a mobile device and needs to be mobile-friendly.
Get In The Fast Lane
Your next customers are on a wide array of online platforms. And they are relentlessly bombarded with an avalanche of ads every time they turn their screens on. The average person is estimated to see 6000 – 10000 online ads per day!
No wonder people have short attention spans.
How can you cut through all that noise and get your message in front of them?
And how do you get them to pay attention once it’s in front of them?
That’s the billion-dollar question.
One of the best ways to improve the number of impressions your marketing makes is to embrace micro content.
Meet your audience where they like to hang out. Get on multiple platforms and put teasers out there.
Make your content short (under 30 seconds), to the point, memorable, enjoyable, and above all – provide value. Teach them something useful, give them a quick answer to their problem, or make them laugh!
Then lead them back to where you really want their attention. Bring them down your marketing funnel, where you can convert them into subscribers or paying customers.
Multiply the amount of content you are putting out there, and do it well, and you’ll be amazed at how fast your revenue grows.
Give your audience more of what they want…and they will give you more of what you want.
If you have any questions about getting better at micro content for your channels, then contact us here and ask how you can use small content to drive big results.
