The content game is changing

Two updates — think of them as appetizers, or tapas — before today’s main course:

(1) After being a “lurker” for two years, I’m finally publishing content on TikTok. (Wooo!) I realized the biggest thing stopping me was the BS self-limiting excuse “I don’t know the app very well...” So, I’m posting (nearly) every day to learn the app and algo while I figure out my niche, strategy, and tone. It’s been a fun creative challenge as I start journey to 10,000 followers. 

Lately I’ve been sharing tips for marketing to executives, how I handle the most common pricing objection in sales, and hard-hitting topics like what does “rizz” mean? 

@learntoreed

Hit your 30s and all the sudden words take new meaning. No one tells you. It’s very confusing. How many of these words do you know? I thou... See more

If those are your jams, follow me for more. 

(2) A couple weeks ago I told you how I got to 7 revenue streams and I mentioned I’m launching my 8th revenue stream soon. Well, the time has come. Next week I'm announcing the biggest project of my career and I’m breaking the news here first. Stay tuned to be the first to know 👀

This week I started working with Chris Vasquez to help him build his personal brand and content strategy.

Chris is the CEO of Quantum, a recruiting agency, and he’s investing serious time, energy, and resources into building an audience that few executives are doing right now. He has all the individual pieces — a unique POV, he’s committed to the long game, and he’s clear on his message, audience, and tone. 

I’ve told him he’s possibly the easiest client I’ve ever partnered with. He’s a dream CEO for his marketing team because his vision is clear and ambitious:

But he’s missing one thing: the plumbing. 

Or put more eloquently, he asked me to help him design a brand and content strategy that’s cohesive, intentional, and impactful. That’s why he called me.

Ok, now you have the context. 

Here’s why I’m bothering to tell you this. 

We had a very direct conversation today (Friday) about how he can make the biggest impact and see massive results, and I shared a recent realization:

Great “how to” content isn’t enough anymore. The game has changed. Context is just as important as your content.

It’s not enough to be an expert, share what you know, and do “hard teaching.”

It used to work beautifully. I know because I built much of my brand and reputation openly sharing what I’ve learned both as a SaaS sales rep, a Head of Content, then now as a creator and entrepreneur. 

But now, at least in B2B, expertise is not enough. The game has changed.

Why?

ChatGPT has turned everyone into a *holds up finger quotes* “expert”. Everyone now has a research assistant they can use to spew tactical content under the guise of experience. 

This influx of expertise-led content has sparked the opportunity, and the necessity, to differentiate yourself.

Don’t get me wrong, people like tips for being better at their job and making their lives easier. 

I don’t see that ever changing. 

But what people want right now are the vulnerable moments, stories, and emotions that accompany your beliefs and tactics. The want to know YOU, the person — they crave the story behind your content because shared experiences are relatable. 

As I told Chris:

You can easily make a video about “3 ways to hire world-class executives”. And people would like it. I’m sure it would do well.

But if you want to create 1,000 raving fans as fast as possible, you need to share WHY and HOW you came to the realization.

Imagine if you shared how one of your clients had two key executives quit in the same week. You shared their anxiety and doubt from losing them, then how you helped them adapt and quickly place two all star hires in 60 days. 

That’s not just informative, it’s relatable.

And because it’s relatable, it’s more entertaining. 

This is the new must-have ingredient to earn and keep attention across your content.

Here’s a framework you can use to improve your content immediately

You know I like to get actionable, so I shared this framework with Chris. You can use it too. I hope that you do. 

When creating content, always include a story, even if it’s a quick two sentences to frame your “how to”. 

Think of content like this:

Experience → Realization → New Behavior

Layer in my formula for highly engaging content (insightful, relevant, actionable) and you get:

Experience (relatable) → Realization (insight) → New Behavior (actionable)

Resist the urge or habit to just share what you know. Practice taking your audience along the journey for how you got to that lesson.

By the way, this isn’t just advice I’m telling you and Chris — I’m switching it up too. 

You might have even noticed the meta-ness of today’s post: I’m telling a story to convey my advice of sharing more context (ie, stories). That’s intentional.

It’s also a huge reason why I’m pushing myself to post on TikTok. I want to get better at sharing more of the behind-the-scenes, unpolished parts of my journey as a Head of Content, entrepreneur, and creator. You’ll see it across my content engine:

→ I’m going to share highs and lows of my journey launching said mystery project on TikTok

→ I’m beginning to share my day-to-day decisions running a B2B content marketing team on LinkedIn (like which metrics I’m measuring this year)

→ I want to start sharing a monthly “content strategy” report card with you here where I reveal how my content strategy is helping me double The Reeder revenue this year. (If that sounds intriguing, lmk!).

You get the idea.

If you’re reading this feeling some butterflies at the idea of sharing more personal parts of your journey, I’m right there with you. It ain’t easy. At least it’s not natural to most.

But the truth is, we need to adapt if we want to grow and win.

Invite your audience along for the journey and you’ll get more engagement while growing a niche and eager fanbase.

Holler at you next Saturday,
Devin

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