Out of Content material Concepts? Strive Borrowing One or Two

Many entrepreneurs spend their lives making an attempt to distinguish their merchandise by way of content material. 

Everybody needs their merchandise to sound like nobody else’s. Each marketer needs to determine such distinctiveness that their product is taken into account the outlier out there (in one of the simplest ways).

Content material entrepreneurs wish to personal the reply to a specific buyer’s want or a disproportionate share of conversations concerning the particular downside their services or products clear up.

However that stage of differentiation is almost unattainable. Mark Twain mentioned, “There’s no such factor as a brand new concept. It’s unattainable. We merely take loads of previous concepts and put them right into a form of psychological kaleidoscope.”

There are no new #Content ideas. Run existing ideas through your mental kaleidoscope, says @Robert_Rose (borrowing from Mark Twain) via @CMIContent. Click To Tweet

Within the present AI-driven copycat tradition, differentiation looks like a no-win situation. Entrepreneurs making an attempt to create that distinctive story or positioning keep away from generative AI for concern that their contributions will introduce their secret recipe into the machine’s studying mannequin. On the opposite aspect, many entrepreneurs really feel generative AI’s content material is “shut sufficient for rock and roll” (to borrow a phrase from Nazareth).     

Even in the event you might give you one thing distinctive, it looks like your creation would rapidly be copied (or realized) till it turns into simply one other drop in a roiling ocean of noise.

Is discovering that uniqueness nonetheless a prerequisite to success?

No. And it by no means was.

Uniqueness isn’t a requirement for #ContentMarketing success. And it never was, says @Robert_Rose via @CMIContent. Click To Tweet

Parallel play in content material advertising

In 2016, two researchers studied how firms in rising markets develop profitable enterprise fashions and differentiation. They discovered the extra profitable firms in a brand new trade didn’t fear a lot about being totally different. As an alternative, they centered on borrowing the very best concepts from others of their house.

The researchers referred to as this a type of “parallel play,” after a time period psychologists use to explain how younger youngsters play collectively. They sit close to one another however usually play by themselves. Despite the fact that they’re not enjoying collectively, youngsters take note of what others are doing and borrow concepts to assist them accomplish one thing.

The researchers discovered that companies concentrating on new markets echoed this type of play. These entrepreneurs didn’t contemplate developments from new opponents of their house one thing to keep away from or differentiate in opposition to. They watched and borrowed a few of their competitor’s finest concepts. 

Content material entrepreneurs – particularly these working for challengers to huge manufacturers – can be taught and profit from this parallel play idea.

Sure, everybody needs to create unique tales and specific them in numerous narratives. However you’ll be able to have a look at others within the proverbial sandbox and be taught from their success.

I don’t imply you must copy concepts or have a look at different entrepreneurs’ playbooks as templates. Among the extra useful examples I’ve seen come from firms borrowing an concept that didn’t work out for others and reconfiguring it into their very own core messaging.

Borrow ideas from other #Content marketers playing in your proverbial sandbox – even ones that didn’t work for other brands, says @Robert_Rose via @CMIContent. Click To Tweet

Flip somebody’s mediocre concept into your nice one

Right here’s an instance from a big skilled providers agency I just lately labored with that makes a speciality of serving to huge firms implement huge expertise tasks. The corporate deliberate to maneuver into advertising tech implementation (suppose digital asset administration, advertising automation, personalization, and so forth.).

Their advertising group confronted the problem of making a narrative for his or her model that differentiated the corporate within the house. They wished to develop a content material pillar round the concept enterprise leaders want higher perception into altering buyer wants and the flexibility to pivot their advertising approaches rapidly.

The corporate’s management frightened that that storyline didn’t differentiate as a result of it sounded much like content material their opponents had tried.

Nonetheless, the advertising group believed they might make that concept resonate. The corporate had made a reputation for itself in a selected area of interest: serving to gross sales leaders optimize their operations by way of a classy method to analytics.

The group deliberate to make use of that status as a basis for making the basic “want for perception and agility” message into basically differentiating positioning for senior advertising leaders.

It labored.

They constructed on their status for stylish analytics to develop a whole content material pillar round this concept, together with thought management, a model marketing campaign, and gross sales enablement messaging.  

The important thing was borrowing an previous concept and making it theirs.

Borrowing concepts > copying concepts

Borrowing nice concepts goes past duplicating. It includes taking a mixture of concepts from different locations and reworking them into one thing that turns into yours. That’s what Mark Twain described as a “psychological kaleidoscope.” Profitable debtors twist and switch concepts into totally different mixtures.

The photographs are new however constructed from the identical previous items of coloured glass used for ages.

George Lucas has mentioned he borrowed the thought for Star Wars from Akira Kurosawa’s samurai basic The Hidden Fortress, which got here out in 1958. Ridley Scott’s 1979 hit Alien borrows closely from one other 1958, It! The Terror From Past Area.

And for an enchanting instance of the identical concept delivered to life in numerous methods, attempt watching Thor (2011), Vehicles (2006), and Doc Hollywood (1991) on the identical day. You’ll be amazed at what number of related scenes and plot factors these films share. (The lead character will get stranded in a tiny city with unfamiliar methods.)

So, the following time you are feeling stumped when in search of that subsequent nice content material pillar to your model, have a look round. You may see some coloured glass mendacity subsequent to you. Watching the child enjoying close by can encourage you to do one thing related in your distinctive approach. 

So don’t be afraid to borrow parts from others infrequently.

It’s nonetheless your story. Ensure you inform it effectively.

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Cowl picture by Joseph Kalinowski/Content material Advertising Institute