As Jim Carrey presented a Golden Globe recently, he made a joke that actually provided simple yet remarkably valuable advice: “You know once I say this, it can’t be unsaid.” From a keynote address to a social media post, everything we say in the digital age is never completely erased. Sounds scary, right?
It can be but, since it’s a new year, let’s look at that as a positive opportunity. Everything said can and, most likely will, be captured in some way, which means that the content created with every interview, background meeting and public speaking engagement can provide fodder for media pitches, marketing materials, bylined articles and social media posts – if you think about it creatively. Here are a few examples:
- Video – Video clips from speeches, participation on panels and recorded interviews can be included in newsletters, posted on websites, sent as supporting materials to media, as well as offered to future conference organizers for credibility. There are opportunities to include clips in social media posts and to be posted on YouTube for the more than one billion users on the site — almost one-third of all people on the Internet.
- Visuals – Approximately 40% of people respond better to visual information than to plain text. To increase viewers’ engagement, content can be strengthened and/or repurposed through visual quotes, infographics, word clouds and more. These visuals can then be included in relevant articles, marketing materials, blogs and social media posts.
- Pitch Fodder – The potential for opportunistic outreach to turn into secured media opportunities often depends on the ability to react and respond quickly with quotes and clear expertise. By repurposing the content from previous interviews, speeches or panels, the pitching process can often be streamlined simply by having valuable information on hand. Journalists can then benefit from snapshots of your expertise and add credibility and insight to their stories.
- Editorial Content – While topics and quotes from speeches and interviews can be used in pieces to support media outreach, it can also be used to create blog posts, bylined articles, newsletter content and more. Referencing the source– specific interviews and conferences—can also increase credibility.
The content we create can spread like wildfire and live long past the original placement– and there are increasingly more innovative ways to ensure that happens. So, say the things you don’t want unsaid and, with media training, careful preparation for public speaking and a hint of creativity, you can be sure to create content to support your brand in more ways than one.
-Alaina Shulman
Image from Wikimedia Commons
