Information in the blog post was obtained from the HubSpot Blog, Semrush and Moz.com.
How many times have you started writing something, only to realize three-quarters of the way through, that you’ve completely missed the point you were trying to make? And I don’t just mean kind-of veered off track, but jumped tracks and trains and destinations altogether. I wish I could answer this with a resounding NEVER! The fact of the matter is, I’m a dive-in with both feet kind of person, and this has happened more times than I’d like to admit. So, what do I do next? Do I scrap the whole thing and start fresh? Do I set that piece aside to use later? Do I rework the thing to try to fit the topic at hand? Do I cry in a corner for all the lost time before strapping on my boots and getting back to work?
With a larger marketing team, this problem is pretty small potatoes. You have people to bounce ideas off of, and other team members to catch your derailment quicker than a small team might. But if you are part of a large marketing team, you probably wouldn’t be looking for answers here in this blog post. So my small marketing team member, don’t go cry in a corner (although this is a therapeutic beginning to turn around for me, so do it if you must). Here’s how to regroup, get back on track, and avoid going off-topic in your content marketing.
Identifying the Root Causes
When you find yourself veering off track in your social media marketing endeavors, it's important to figure out the underlying reasons for this derailment. One powerful technique that can aid in this process is the BRAVE technique, as outlined by Moz.com's blog post "Feeling Stuck: What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do"
Breathe
Amidst the chaos of creativity and the pressure to perform, it's easy to become overwhelmed. The first step is to take a moment to breathe deeply. Inhale tranquility, exhale tension. By calming your body with deliberate breathing exercises, you can center yourself and regain focus. This physical grounding can provide the clarity needed to reassess your direction. I’ve also found it to be very helpful in preventing me from throwing my laptop across the room in frustration.
Reframe
Instead of panicking when you realize your mistake, view it as an opportunity for growth. Consider that there would be limited room for development if every task were within your comfort zone. By reframing challenges as stepping stones to progress, you can transform obstacles into opportunities. If reframing doesn’t work and you find yourself panicking, try taking a shower. Some of my best ideas have come to me in the heated fog of the bathroom.
Affirm
The power of positive affirmations cannot be overstated. Shift your internal dialogue from self-doubt to self-assurance. You cultivate a mindset conducive to productivity and success by consciously reinforcing positive self-talk. And if you can’t think of positive things to say about yourself, imagine what your dog would say to you if he could talk, when you’ve just gotten home he can’t contain the tail wags!
Visualize: Harness the potent force of visualization to pave the way for success. By vividly imagining yourself achieving your goals, you prime your brain for success. Visualization creates neural pathways that mimic actual experiences, enhancing your readiness and motivation to tackle challenges head-on (Suleman, 2024). And visualizing yourself achieving your goals is WAY better than trying to picture an audience you’re giving a speech to naked.
Energize
Do something that brings new energy to the situation. This may be taking a shower, playing with your dog, or taking a snack or exercise break. Anything to take you away from the situation entirely so that you can come back to it with renewed vigor.
Understanding the Impact of Off-Topic Content
In social media marketing, staying on topic is more than just a matter of organizational discipline—it's essential for maintaining a meaningful connection with your audience and achieving your marketing objectives. Let's delve into the impact of veering off-topic and explore the unique challenges faced by small marketing teams.
Risks and Ramifications of Losing Focus
Diluting Your Message: The Clarity Conundrum
When your content strays from its intended focus, the clarity of your message is compromised. Social media users have limited attention spans and are inundated with a constant stream of information. As a result, they crave concise, relevant content that resonates with their interests and needs. When your messaging becomes diluted by off-topic tangents, your audience may struggle to decipher your message amidst the noise. This lack of clarity can erode brand trust and diminish the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
Audience Disconnect: Losing Engagement
Off-topic content has the potential to alienate your audience and lower engagement levels. Social media users follow brands and influencers for specific reasons—to access valuable insights, relevant information, or entertaining content within a particular niche or industry. When your content deviates from these expectations, it can disrupt the connection you've worked hard to establish with your audience. As a result, followers may disengage, unfollow, or overlook your posts, leading to decreased reach and impact.
The Unique Challenges of Small Marketing Teams
Navigating the intricacies of social media marketing is inherently challenging, and small marketing teams face a distinct set of obstacles in this endeavor.
Limited Resources and Expertise
Small marketing teams often operate with limited resources and manpower, making it difficult to maintain focus amidst competing priorities. With fewer team members available to oversee content creation and strategy, there's a heightened risk of veering off-topic or spreading resources too thin across disparate initiatives. Additionally, small teams may lack specialized expertise in certain areas of social media marketing, further complicating efforts to stay on track and deliver impactful results.
Flexibility and Agility
Despite their limitations, small marketing teams possess a unique advantage in their ability to pivot quickly and adapt to changing circumstances. Small teams can embrace agility and experimentation in their approach to content creation and strategy. By capitalizing on their nimbleness, small teams can leverage off-topic content as an opportunity for innovation and creative exploration, provided it aligns with overarching goals and resonates with their audience.
Strategies for Course Correction
Finding yourself off-topic in the whirlwind of content creation can feel like stumbling into uncharted territory. But fear not, for there are several strategies you can employ to course-correct and regain your bearings.
Scrap the Whole Thing and Start Fresh
Sometimes, the best approach is a clean slate. If your off-topic content veers too far from the intended focus or fails to resonate with your audience, don't be afraid to hit the reset button. Embrace the opportunity to start anew. By acknowledging the derailment and seizing the chance for a fresh start, you can realign your efforts with your content strategy and ensure maximum relevance and impact.
Set That Piece Aside to Use Later
Not all off-topic content is destined for the recycling bin. In some cases, the ideas and insights within a piece may hold value for future endeavors. Instead of discarding the entire creation, consider setting it aside for future use, allowing you to capitalize on the time and effort already invested while maintaining focus on immediate priorities.
Rework the Thing to Try to Fit the Topic at Hand
When faced with off-topic content, a third option presents itself: rework and repurpose. Rather than scrapping the entire piece, explore ways to realign it with the intended topic or messaging. This may involve revising sections, reframing the narrative, or incorporating additional context to bridge the gap between the original content and the desired focus. By leveraging your creativity and editorial skills, you can breathe new life into the material, transforming it into a valuable asset that aligns seamlessly with your content strategy and engages your audience effectively.
Salvaging Salvageable Content
If you decide to rework what you’ve already got, there are some things to consider. Before embarking on a comprehensive editing journey, assessing the salvageability of your off-topic content is essential. Begin by taking a step back and evaluating the piece in its entirety. Rather than diving straight into the minutiae, consider the overarching theme and relevance of the content to your audience and content strategy. Ask yourself critical questions:
Does the topic align with our content strategy and resonate with our audience?
Are there opportunities to tweak the angle or perspective to better suit our objectives?
Does each section flow seamlessly into the next, maintaining coherence and engagement?
By conducting this initial assessment, you can identify salvageable elements within the off-topic content and formulate a strategic plan for refinement (Cox, 2022).
Future Creativity in Content Marketing: Avoid Off-Topic Derailment Again
In the aftermath of veering off-topic, it's essential to implement strategies that foster future creativity while maintaining boundaries to prevent future derailments. Let's explore how to cultivate innovation and safeguard against wandering off course again.
Utilizing Strategic Frameworks and Templates
Streamlining Content Creation Processes
Efficiency is the cornerstone of productivity, especially in the fast-paced world of content creation, and it is paramount for small marketing teams. Implementing strategic frameworks and templates can streamline your workflow, enabling you to produce high-quality content at a rapid pace. Rather than starting from scratch with each new project, leverage pre-established frameworks to guide your creative process and expedite production.
Leveraging Templates for Consistency and Focus
Blog post templates offer a structured approach to content creation, ensuring consistency and focus across your publications. Whether crafting pillar posts, how-to guides, or listicles, templates provide a blueprint for organizing your ideas and communicating them effectively. By adopting a templated approach, you can expedite the writing process, mitigate writer's block, and maintain coherence within your content strategy.
Conclusion
In the content creation journey, finding that you’ve veered off-topic can be a frustrating detour, but it's not a dead end. The key to turning things around lies in understanding why it happened and how to navigate back to the main track. By employing the BRAVE technique—Breathe, Reframe, Affirm, Visualize, Energize —you can identify the root causes of this divergence and realign your focus.
There are various strategies for course correction, whether it's starting fresh, setting aside content for later use, or reworking it to fit the intended topic. Whichever direction you choose, as long as you’re staying on brand, keeping your audience in mind, and contributing something valuable, a wrong turn is not the worst thing in life.
Disclaimer: No AI was injured in the production of this content. AI (ChatGPT) was used as a tool to supplement, enhance, and make suggestions in writing this blog post.
Resources
OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (3.5) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/share/dad95193-408d-4d0a-b947-3086826cfdd1
Lindsay Kolowich Cox, January 12, 2022. 11 Editorial Skills You Need to Become a More Efficient Editor, https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/speed-up-editorial-process
(Cox, 2022)
Sydney Go, January 30, 2024. How to Write Blog Posts Faster: 12 Tips to Speed Up Your Writing, https://www.semrush.com/blog/how-to-write-blog-posts-faster/
(Go,2024)
Tazmin Suleman, April 9, 2024. Feeling Stuck: What to Do When You Don’t Know What to Do, https://moz.com/blog/feeling-stuck
(Suleman, 2024)
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