Slice and dice seven ways to Sunday

Imagine taking one bite of your favorite dessert and then throwing it away.

Better yet, imagine wearing a pair of your best-fitting jeans once, and then immediately donating them to Goodwill.

What a waste, right?

Well, I’m here to tell you that this is what companies do when they don’t leverage their best content to its full potential.

Founder and CEO of Crackle PR Parry Headrick recently said, “Not repurposing your best content is like throwing away your entire wardrobe after wearing it once.”

He’s not wrong.

One of my lifelong mentors and current PPG vice president of corporate and government affairs Bryan Iams has always encouraged me to “maximize the moment.” To take great content and slice it seven ways to Sunday in order get the most out of it.

Did you land a killer story in the Wall Street Journal? Shout it from the rooftops. Rooftops = notifying leadership and sales, posting to the employee intranet, pushing via social media today and in a few months, too. Take that winning pitch and see how you can make it enticing for other reporters.

Did you record a video message of your CEO highlighting the company’s recent progress? Make a 30 second cut for social. Ensure your frontline employees are in the loop by sharing on your digital signage network. Showcase it on the homepage of your website. Incorporate it into customer presentations. Did she say something about leadership that inspired you and others? Use that for a pitch to workplace and leadership reporters.

Did you host a grand opening event for employees? Invite the media. Hire a photographer. Get video footage. Engage local elected officials. Ensure the proper branded signage.

And if you don’t? Well, you know the adage. If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

Leveraging a key moment in time or a piece of content in multiple ways and through multiple communications channels ultimately garners the maximum number of eyeballs on your announcement or news. (Cough: reputation management. Employee retention and productivity.)

Communications practitioners work too hard to build relationships, draft breakthrough pitches, launch products and finally land that piece of coverage to let their content be used once then thrown away.

Remember, the media coverage, the video, the event — these are all just the tip of the iceberg. Where communicators can truly leverage the value of their content generated is by maximizing the moment through multiple content streams.

Want to learn more? Visit www.kirkpat.com.

By: Katie Regan