Think Like A Showrunner: Week 6
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Last week, we discussed retention and keeping your supporters engaged. In this last post in our series, let’s focus on keeping your supporters updated.
Pretend you’re a showrunner, and it’s now the final season of your show. Not only do you need content for the regular episodes, but you also need content for the grand finale. It takes roughly 300 hours of footage to create just one episode—but for the season finale, you also need a two-hour special that ties the entire series together. You need to evaluate the content and present it thoughtfully.
Similarly, in the social good space, it takes hundreds of hours of work behind the scenes—which most supporters do not see—to run a successful organization. All those hours of work lead up to each newsletter (your episodes), which then culminate in the annual report (your finale). Just like a showrunner, you need to tell your story by deconstructing the content.
The Power of Microcontent
Microcontent is shreds of information that leave an impression on the audience in a short period of time. The average reader’s attention span is 8 seconds, so you shouldn’t expect supporters to read every word on your website or in your newsletter. You need to leverage the power of microcontent.
Did you know that the brain processes video 60,000 times more quickly than text? While it may shock you, showrunners use this information to their advantage. When a new season for a show approaches, the showrunners create several videos showing snippets of it. We know these videos as trailers. Recently “teasers,” which are even shorter versions of trailers, have gained popularity. This is why we all know when a major show is releasing more episodes—because we see it everywhere! By releasing microcontent, you can make sure your supporters are informed of your organization’s successes and upcoming activities.
Types of Content
You may not be producing a television show, but you have plenty of content you’re already sharing that you can turn into snippets.
Here are a few ideas:
If you think about it, social media is built on microcontent. It’s a continuous cycle of information in small doses. This type of publishing encourages microlearning—the accumulation of knowledge and understanding through exposure to small pieces of information. Social media is a powerful tool to encourage microlearning.
Maybe you’ve recently written a compelling impact story, complete with photos. Post the most engaging picture on social media and link to the full story. Likewise, you could repurpose a lengthier blog post by extracting the digestible bits and using them in short posts. For FAQ content, pick your desired timeframe and post one question with its answer. Your audience will appreciate the free content and may be intrigued enough to visit your website or start a conversation.
These are just a few examples of how to encourage microlearning within social media. Look within your organization’s own content to find “teasers” and “trailers” to engage and inform your supporters, and get ready for a great finale. For more help, tune in to Organizational Best Practices: Marketing—Newsletters and Annual Reports.
Pretend you’re a showrunner, and it’s now the final season of your show. Not only do you need content for the regular episodes, but you also need content for the grand finale. It takes roughly 300 hours of footage to create just one episode—but for the season finale, you also need a two-hour special that ties the entire series together. You need to evaluate the content and present it thoughtfully.
Similarly, in the social good space, it takes hundreds of hours of work behind the scenes—which most supporters do not see—to run a successful organization. All those hours of work lead up to each newsletter (your episodes), which then culminate in the annual report (your finale). Just like a showrunner, you need to tell your story by deconstructing the content.
The Power of Microcontent
Microcontent is shreds of information that leave an impression on the audience in a short period of time. The average reader’s attention span is 8 seconds, so you shouldn’t expect supporters to read every word on your website or in your newsletter. You need to leverage the power of microcontent.
Did you know that the brain processes video 60,000 times more quickly than text? While it may shock you, showrunners use this information to their advantage. When a new season for a show approaches, the showrunners create several videos showing snippets of it. We know these videos as trailers. Recently “teasers,” which are even shorter versions of trailers, have gained popularity. This is why we all know when a major show is releasing more episodes—because we see it everywhere! By releasing microcontent, you can make sure your supporters are informed of your organization’s successes and upcoming activities.
Types of Content
You may not be producing a television show, but you have plenty of content you’re already sharing that you can turn into snippets.
Here are a few ideas:
- Infographics
- Video highlights
- Donor spotlights
- Impact stories
- Special-event teasers
If you think about it, social media is built on microcontent. It’s a continuous cycle of information in small doses. This type of publishing encourages microlearning—the accumulation of knowledge and understanding through exposure to small pieces of information. Social media is a powerful tool to encourage microlearning.
Maybe you’ve recently written a compelling impact story, complete with photos. Post the most engaging picture on social media and link to the full story. Likewise, you could repurpose a lengthier blog post by extracting the digestible bits and using them in short posts. For FAQ content, pick your desired timeframe and post one question with its answer. Your audience will appreciate the free content and may be intrigued enough to visit your website or start a conversation.
These are just a few examples of how to encourage microlearning within social media. Look within your organization’s own content to find “teasers” and “trailers” to engage and inform your supporters, and get ready for a great finale. For more help, tune in to Organizational Best Practices: Marketing—Newsletters and Annual Reports.
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Organizational Best Practices Blog
06/21/2019 7:07pm EDT
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