That’s the key to creating more content in less time, but here is what you must also do….think like a multi-platform, multimedia online publisher.
Here’s an example:
This morning, I was trying to get some itinerary ideas for an upcoming road trip in a state where I don’t have a lot of recent travel experience.
I go to the state tourism website, and there’s gobs of great stuff on there, including a section called Trails that should have given me what I wanted – highlighted places thematically grouped together, and then laid out on a map so I can visualize driving around to them.
Instead, when I drilled down, all I got was what I get way too often from tourism websites: an alphabetical list of places.
Do you know how discouraging it is to see a list starting with “A” places – Aardvark Restaurant, Al’s Chicken Wings, etc. – and look at the bottom of the website and see that you’re on Page 1 of 10 of these listings?
Forget it.
So, without naming the site in question, I griped a bit from my personal account on Twitter. Theresa Overby from the Baton Rouge, Louisiana CVB (Convention and Visitors Bureau) saw my tweet and began asking me usability questions, in light of an upcoming re-do of their website.
How Did a Twitter Discussion Become Content?
We went back and forth, exchanging good ideas, and then I began to think like a publisher….”Where else online would this info be useful to people?”
In 30-40 minutes, I had posted:
1) On the Tourism Currents Twitter account, of course, where we talk about social media and tourism. I went to Twitter’s search engine, gathered the relevant tweets together in a search string, and captured the conversation. Then I took that link and tweeted it on Tourism Currents‘ stream.
2) On Facebook. Since Facebook and Twitter people are their own communities and you can’t assume people are in both places, I then took the same link and published it as a status update on the Tourism Currents Facebook Page, making sure that I tagged the Visit Baton Rouge Facebook Page in the update, of course.
3) In the blog post you’re reading right now, with the addition of a screenshot graphic edited in a super-basic way using the Print Screen function, pasting that into Paint and then cropping it the way I wanted it and saving as a JPEG. Boom. Done.
That’s how you get more use out of the content you create, including random Twitter conversations. It’s almost like getting more hours in the day.
That thought process of thinking like an online publisher also happens to be the latest Two Pages of Terrific download available in the Tourism Currents Store, if you want more where that came from (like 9 different ways to use one photo.)
How do you use your content in multiple ways? Let us know in the Comments!
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So this is how you get so much done, you are smart and you use smart methods. Good piece, practical information. It shows another way to benefit from Twitter.
Thanks, MissDazey. I’d do even better if I stuck to a better daily schedule. Too many things interest me. 🙂
Shelia,
Excellent example… one suggestion though — you made it too hard on yourself. You should look over at Storify.com (you can use your Twitter to sign in).
The tool is designed to let you do exactly what you just did, only easier. It would also have allowed you to bring other items (other than just tweets) into the story to make it more complete.
You can buy me a beer at BWE or SoMeT to thank me for this most excellent helpful hint ;-))
@TomMartin
Hi Tom,
Hey, that’s a GREAT idea! I got an account at Storify but never have gotten around to figuring out a way to use it – you’re right, this situation would work.
Beer. Owed.
Hi Emma,
I know that there are lots of automation tools, but I advise people to be careful with them, as each channel and each audience is different.
For example, I can always tell a Twitter account that is auto-tweeted from Facebook; the tweets are often cut off because they’re too long, and all the links are on.fb so I know I’ll be sent to some Facebook Page where I’ll have to Like it before reading the information.
Done well, they are certainly a timesaver, though.