Happy Thursday, fellow content enthusiasts.
I’m writing this on what may be the most beautiful fall day of 2022. And because of that, we’re gonna skip the cute stuff and get right to the goods.
Aka… A bike ride is calling my name.
Today’s estimated read time: 4.2 minutes
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One Original Idea: Build It Tilt It, And They Will Come
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A few months back, I shared a bit about the origin story of Magnetic and how it wasn’t really that original…
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The simple equation I shared had come from The Tilt, a content website I regularly follow to learn more about all things content creation. Their thesis on a content tilt is that it can boost your audience growth in an overloaded digital content environment. And in our case, with Magnetic, that is a crowded email inbox.
Here’s the formal definition of a content tilt:
→ It’s that area of little to no competition on the web that actually gives you a chance to break through the noise and be relevant.
But this is the real kicker:
As I’ve reflected more on how I’ve seen a content tilt executed, there are two paths you can take:
- Creating content with a unique perspective or unorthodox opinion about your area of expertise.
- Remixing the delivery mechanism or distribution tactic.
An example of the first tactic could be content like “The Bizarre, Interconnected History of America’s Love for Cheese and our National Interstate System.” (Shout out to my friends at AEI for a great example!) The content is original and unique in both its perspective and insight.
On the other hand, if you’re using tactic #2, you might produce daily commodity price reports with interesting, snappy TikTok videos versus copy-and-paste email updates. You’re not necessarily sharing an original insight, but you’re delivering the content in a unique, creative way and possibly even on a new channel.
So, naturally, I’ve always keenly observed and noted when agriculture companies use this strategy in different forms of content.
Below are a few examples I’ve noted in the past few months:
Written Content
Ambrook is pursuing an interesting ‘content journalism’ approach under the Ambrook Research brand that focuses on ‘data-driven storytelling for modern agriculture.’
The Leaf Agriculture team presents unique content like “What Agtech Can Learn from Fintech” and “Apps & Infrastructure in Agtech.” These examples use models or insights from other industries but apply them back to agriculture.
Social Content
John Deere is a beast here… I’ll let my post below speak for itself, but they constantly are challenging the status quo of social for big ag companies.
June 30th 2022
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On a smaller scale, @TopThird, a division of StoneX, brings ‘real talk’ to commodity markets. It’s like your buddy talking to you about crop prices on the tailgate bed. And with 26.2K followers on Twitter, I’d say it’s working for them. Here’s a taste:
September 30th 2022
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Video Content
YouTube still feels ‘early’ for many ag brands. Still, I’m noticing more teams making investments in their video content and doing more than just ‘crop updates’ or ‘agronomy tips’ filmed on iPhones in the field.
One group I’ve watched from afar is Pioneer Seeds and their YouTube channel. Their Crop Doctorate series has legs (61K views on their 1-minute debrief of micronutrients ain’t bad). Plus, their ‘Research Ride Alongs’ get traction too.
These are just a few examples of folks who I think are doing things differently, in a very ‘content tilty‘ way.
But my point is this: Sometimes, it takes a little creative spin to make your content catch someone’s eye. And you shouldn’t be afraid to experiment with new topics, angles, channels, or formats.
It’s worth the time to see if there isn’t a little tilt in your back pocket to reinvent or reimagine how content could be done for your company.
P.S. — If you know of a great brand in the industry that you believe is putting a ‘content tilt’ on full display, let me know by replying to this email. I’d love to feature them in a follow-up post down the road.
Three Interesting Finds
1. The Google is at it again.
If you play in the content space and SEO is on your radar, you probably heard about the recent Google Algorithm Update.
And while there is plenty to dive into to learn more about the changes here or here, the key takeaways from Heather Murray were short and sweet:
2. The Community v. Audience Debate, round II
I tee’d up the audience vs. community concept in the last edition of the newsletter, but @thesamparr gives us an even more straightforward breakdown here:
September 28th 2022
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3. “If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.” – Elmore Leonard
A writer from the Magnetic team sent me this quote above and noted how she felt it nailed our writing style guide.
In our case, “avoiding writing that sounds like writing” means being clear, concise, and a tad punny. For others, it might mean having a ‘jargon killer’ editor or only using basic math examples in business writing.
Regardless, these are great words to live by, no matter how you produce content or who it is for.
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