The Importance of Content-on-Content

What does content on content have to do with a Russian doll? A lot, believe it or not. Let’s start by analyzing the Matrioshka. You’ve surely played with one before. The mechanism is very simple: there’s a larger hollow doll, which will have a smaller doll inside — and so on. This toy of Russian origin starts with a minimum of five dolls and there can be as many as desired, but always ending in an odd number.

Matrioshkas may all have the same shape, but they differ in their facial design, eyes, patterns and colors. This unique characteristic of finding one doll inside another, each one different from the previous, can become the essential foundation on which to build and grow your business. The concept of content-on-content follows the same idea — getting smaller ideas from a big one.

For instance, from a video you’ve recorded, you could create a podcast, photos, bite-sized social media posts and even new content derived from the original material, as well as text or resources for future projects. Sounds familiar? Just like how you get smaller dolls with the same essence but varying format and design from a larger Matryoshka doll.

Certainly, there may still be some questions regarding the importance and application of content-on-content, so let’s delve further into the topic to better understand it:

Why is content-on-content important? What are the benefits of this strategy?

The most immediate benefit is the optimization of resources. Every effort invested in creating content will result in us staying in the consumer’s mind for as long as possible. We offer them what they’ve already consumed through other channels and even a different piece of content. However, be careful, as the selection criteria must prevail in order to offer quality content.

But… Why is it important? Let’s take a look at some of its main benefits:

1. New audiences, new channels. There are countless platforms available for publishing content — and the number continues to grow. Each channel on which we decide to publish our content will have a different type of consumer. For instance, the average user of Facebook isn’t the same as the average user of TikTok. This means that, by publishing our content on different platforms, we can reach new audiences with different sociodemographic characteristics, expanding our reach and potential impact.
2. Adding extra value to your content. When we apply content-on-content, we have the opportunity to make our content even richer. How can we do this? If it was already working well, we can add images, audio, new characters and even videos to increase the value of the content. By varying the format, we can provide extra value.
3. Planning for the future. It will allow you to draw a long-term content strategy. Publishing certain parts of the content on social media will extend its lifespan and help you focus your efforts on other areas of planning.
4. Positioning. Content-on-content helps you optimize your content for search engines. However, it’s necessary to review and supervise the keywords. This will result in greater visibility and a new positioning that can help you reach your buyer persona.
5. New ideas. By relying on previously published content, new and better ideas will emerge. For instance, creating a multi-part content guide on the same topic.

Techniques for implementing content-on-content

There’s no content-on-content manual, but there are a number of techniques and tips that can help you:

• Revising and optimizing past content. If something works, update it! It’s important to fine-tune, update and optimize content to increase its value and prevent it from becoming stagnant.
• Using social media to reach new users. You may have already advertised it on your social media some time ago… but you can try reposting it to reach new users who may be interested in your product and who didn’t have a chance to consume it the first time.
• Transform the format. Use the content and apply it in new channels. The lifespan of your content can be extended as long as you want. There are various platforms for video, audio, images and written content. Try editing it and publishing it in a new and unexplored format.
• Look for evergreen content. Important dates in the year, holidays, annual events… All of these can be used to structure your content, as they are elements that users consume every year and will never become outdated. The best thing to do is to give them a new twist and find a more attractive approach, to avoid falling into common places.
• Focus on what your audience likes. Your success rate will increase if you manage to offer what your audience wants or needs. It’s as easy as checking the views and observing which content generates the most interactions.
• Dive deeper into the topics that have worked best — don’t abandon them. If a piece of content has worked well, find ways to expand and add new value to that element, such as related archival information or an interview with an expert.