Creating & Distributing Phenomenal Content — Part 2: Messaging Through Varied Media

You might have heard the old adage, “the medium is the message.” Marshall McLuhan, a twentieth-century media theory expert, coined the phrase, and it basically means that the medium used to convey a message influences the way the message is perceived. It’s not rocket science, but it’s important to think about whenever you’re creating content.

First question to ask yourself is: what’s the best medium in which to present this content? Maybe it’s an email. Maybe it’s a YouTube video. Maybe it’s a tweet, or a postcard, or a Facebook post, or…a mime act. Don’t be afraid to try new things, but don’t be novel just for the sake of being novel. Sometimes a simple old blog post is what a certain message calls for.

“Make sure you match the message to the medium, always keeping in mind the purpose of the communication and what you hope to achieve,” says Matt Murphy, CMO of Chime. “Put yourself in the target audience’s shoes: what will get the best response for this message, with this audience? Communication is a transaction — what does your audience really want, and what will they give you in exchange for it?”

Audiences are changing, but they’re still diverse in what appeals to them. Many don’t have time to read word-heavy blog pieces, but do have the opportunity to listen to podcasts, for example. The Ring in the Sales weekly podcast is a perfect example of how to play to strengths and weaknesses: real estate agents spend a fair amount of time in the car, so listening to a podcast while driving to open houses or geofarming is an ideal way to multitask.

Your audience may respond well to short YouTube videos that come up in their social media feeds (like the 100 million hours of video watched every day on Facebook), or a digest-style email may be the right touch. It all depends on your goals, and an understanding of your audience’s habits and preferences is essential to matching the message to the right medium.

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Want to learn more? Get all this and much more in our FREE eBook, Creating & Distributing Phenomenal Content, available here.