You’ll Need More Fresh Content in a COVID World
I’ve been consuming pounds and pounds of content during this crisis. And from time to time, it will appear as if some organizations haven’t added any fresh content for years on their website or in their social feeds. And it made me wonder: Is fresh content in a crisis even more important? I believe the answer is yes, but I couldn’t find any research to back up my hypothesis.
Interest heightens for news and information during a crisis. And this crisis is a doozy. So with consumption of media sky high, the need for more and new content makes sense.
In normal times, we can see Facebook campaigns drop off when content begins to get stale. Google knows when you last updated your website and other content. The algorithms Google uses rewards fresh, up-to-date content. According to Brandbliss, “Google employs a so-called freshness factor, an algorithm that prioritizes new, frequently updated content over old and outdated web pages. Why? Because nobody likes stale content, and certainly not Google.” So even in non-crisis times there a real SEO/robot reason to have fresh content.
The balance is always how to use the power of frequency against when a message’s effectiveness degrades. We know that you need a frequency of around 10 to 15 to breakthrough clutter, but during a crisis, when people are watching sources for news and information you may only need a frequency of around 5. And you many need more diversity of messaging. You can spread out your messages and run different messages simultaneously, but you are still going to need more content. Lots and lots of fresh content.
Building and Authority Website
The more informative and valuable content you publish (that is industry specific), the greater authority Google grades your website. The specialists win, but if you’re not selling yourself a specialist, then your authority grade diminishes in Google’s eyes.
In 1996, the year we started our advertising and fundraising firm, Bill Gates said that on the internet, “Content is king.” In a crisis, fresh content is kingier.
Mark Mathis
Mark wrote his first direct-mail fundraising letter in 1981 for the University of Iowa Center for Advancement. The effort raised a few million dollars in undiscovered wills and legacy gifts. From that day forward Mark discovered a love of the big idea that moves the needle.
After 12 years at KWWL, Mark became a business owner as a co-founder of ME&V — rebranded as AMPERAGE in 2015. After 25 years of leading creative teams in video production, graphic design, PR, writing and web development, Mark transitioned out of ownership in 2021. Today he serves in an employee role as special projects consultant.
He is creatively ambidextrous — son of an artist and engineer — and famous for distilling complex ideas down to a few words and a few visuals. Mark is a writer. When he found that many nonprofits struggled with complex branding puzzles, he wrote the book, “NonProfit-NonMarketing .” He also wrote a novel called “Reenactment.”
Mark is an active blogger OneMinuteMarketer® with nearly 1,000 readers each week on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. One of his most popular YouTube videos is on “How to Look Good on Zoom.”
One of Mark’s fondest business memories was being named to INC 500 two times and attending the INC 500 conference with other winners. Mark is considered by some a Civil War expert (and that explains his novel). Mark also served as an adjunct professor in the business and in the communications departments at Wartburg College.
Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa and is currently vice president of the University of Iowa Journalism and Mass Communications Advisory Board.
Mark is married to state Sen. Liz Mathis, and the two love to travel, even when it means being trapped by a volcano in the Czech Republic for three weeks.