I recently binge-watched The Karate Kid reboot Cobra Kai on Netflix. It came highly recommended from a friend and I found it to be a much-needed dose of nostalgia as I caught up with Daniel Larusso and his arch-nemesis, Johnny Lawrence. Like many binge-watching pro’s, I finished two seasons in a single weekend.
As a creative, I find inspiration in the way the classic film approached creating fresh content from a storyline more than three-decades-old. Other reboots such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (the 30-minute comedy is being rebooted into an hour-long drama) and Fuller House to name a few, teach communicators and business leaders the value of being able to creatively turn stale content into current quality storytelling your audience will enjoy.
Here are a few examples of what “rebooting content” is not:
- Re-sharing an old blog with a new title and image – there is no effort involved in this strategy and your audience can tell.
- Changing verbiage within an article to fit a different audience. For example, changing the word “enterprise” that appeals to larger corporations, to “start-ups” to attract smaller companies. Both businesses have different needs. Changing the verbiage in this way is a complete fail.
- Taking Instagram posts and republishing the content to LinkedIn. While it may feel like you are “repurposing” content, you are essentially cross-promoting your blog or promotional material to a different audience. More effort is needed on this front.
Turning old content into new media requires more than making small tweaks to old information. A reboot’s value means attracting new organic visitors, clients, etc., to your site. Same goal, new method.
For example:
The Karate Kid (your old content) picks up with both characters living completely different lives. Daniel is seemingly accomplished with a wife and kids. Johnny, on the other hand, is still struggling to figure out his path (your rebooted content).They are eventually reunited again through karate (your common goal/objective).
Need another example? Here’s what revamping content looks like from a B2B perspective:
Change Mediums
Content creators are privy to the fact their audience is constantly changing and adapting to new forms of media. When you revamp content, you must meet your audience where they are.
The Karate Kid was originally released on VHS in 1984. The reboot is currently streaming on YouTube and Netflix. While it seems like a no-brainer, selecting the right medium for content from even a year ago is imperative. Where is your audience now? Are they on TikTok? Are they watching live content from LinkedIn? Do you have a blog on lead generation that did really well on your site a year ago? Great. Now turn the blog into a podcast episode on iTunes or Stitcher, or “go live” on the social media platform where you have the most followers and bring on an expert who can talk in detail about how lead gen has changed tremendously over the last 365 days. For an added bonus, include your listeners with access to a gated e-book with step-by-step instructions to help them restructure their lead-gen process and increase their bottom line.
Know Your Audience
When it comes to a reboot, audiences are familiar with the storyline, so creators must use the right combination of fusing the old with the new.
The updated iteration of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air will not feature a laugh track, it’s now a drama series. The show will now explore, in an hour, societal issues the comedy version could only cover in 30 minutes. Even though the tone of the series has changed, the characters are still addressing issues and pain points the audience can resonate with right now. When you are revisiting content, consider the pain points that have existed for your potential customers and how your company can address them today. Have your potential clients struggled to digitally transform for years? How can you rework existing content you have shared with them in the past to make it attractive? Maybe your old messaging was too serious and not relatable. How can you shift the information you deem important to gain their attention?
Entertainment Value Matters
Communicators should be wise enough to use all forms of media, i.e. everything from YouTube to TikTok, to their advantage. Believe it or not, B2B consumers prefer entertaining forms of media. Short video clips, infographics, and viral content have become your new “salesperson.” How will you show up to your potential client? How will you upsell or retain your current ones? Visual content is critical to B2B marketing, so choose wisely. Our brains process visual content at an incredibly high speed. The human brain processes visual content 60,000 times faster than text.
Remember Content Is Currency
Producers and tv executives would not consider a reboot if they didn’t believe there was value and profitability. Just like their teams are thinking about content, especially when everyone is home and in front of their tv screens, brand marketers must understand the need for B2B content is in high demand. In 2019 alone, 41% of marketing budgets were spent solely on content. Great content helps a brand establish its relevance within their industry and brings organizations closer to their clients and prospects.
Great content creation is intentional requiring constant updates in response to changing attitudes, trends, business realities and technologies. Thinking outside the box means taking advantage of those “moments of inspiration” to create binge-worthy content for your audience that prompts action and reinforces key selling points for your audience.
