When it Comes to Content? Accept Death
There’s a concept in traditional Japanese culture called “Wabi-Sabi.” Born of the combination of two terms (Wabi, the loneliness of living in nature and Sabi, defined as a flower past its bloom), it’s a primarily Buddhist philosophy that deals with understanding the impermanence of life. It suggests that things are constantly dying, changing, and being reborn as new things. An accompanying philosophy is known as “Mono no Aware”—the Acceptance of the Eventual End of Things.
In other words, everything that is, everything that will be, will change. And, it has an expiration date. And that’s ok. Or, well, it should be. Coming to terms with that idea in all walks of life is important. Or so a therapist told me years ago.
I’d argue that the fashion of the 90s and early grunge will never change and will never die. But that’s my own journey. And a hill I’m willing to die on.
Your Content Has a Lifespan
What I do know will die is your content. And it should. Who you are as a brand, much like these buddhist beliefs, is constantly in flux and impermanent. Your logo, your values, heck probably even your CEO, will change. And will probably do so multiple times over the span of your business’s successes. And failures.
So why are you still holding on to that blog from 2010 about Lady Gaga wearing a dress made of meat and how it represents something bigger in society?
(Also, let’s take a moment and remember when that was the biggest thing we had to worry about. Ah, simpler times.)
Your content is dying. Metaphorically. From the second you publish it on social media onwards, it is becoming increasingly irrelevant because you mentioned a moment of pop culture, it was posted by a former colleague, it represented a value that is no longer valued, or a million other reasons. Maybe even the research and statistics you cited are outdated–and new studies actually refute the evidence you used!
Even from an SEO perspective, that thought-leadership piece has a finite lifespan when it comes to what people are searching for–and even how people are searching as algorithms and formulas change.
This doesn’t mean you’re doing content wrong. But it does mean you need to re-think how you’re approaching the content you create.
Rebirth. Repurpose.
When you do create a piece of content, understanding and planning for its eventual demise provides you with an opportunity to think creatively about how you’re going to use it–and what strategies you can implement to get the most out of it. While it is relevant, can you turn that presentation on visual guidelines you gave to a client into a:
Blog?
Podcast?
Video?
Case Study?
Look for creative and relevant ways to stretch the lifespan of the content you create to offer additional touchpoints that can attract eyes to it. It’s a great way to not duplicate efforts while also filling out a content calendar–as well as getting maximum value for temporary pieces while they’re referring to topical and current news/thought-leadership.
But, also, set a calendar reminder for the same day you publish that piece a year from now and revisit it. Can you repurpose it to make it relevant to today’s ideas and audiences? Update it with new statistics and research? If you can’t, it might be time to retire it to greener pastures and make way for new content that’s more relevant (and searchable) than blogs past.
Your content will die. And that’s ok. But letting it die without even trying to get full use out of it isn’t.