Early January is traditionally the time of year when most people think about change. We set goals, make plans to achieve them, and attempt to start the new year off right. We reflect on what worked – and what didn’t – in the previous year. And we resolve to do better.
If you’re thinking about mixing up your content marketing, now is a great time to plan for the changes you want to make in 2022. Before you do that, though, let’s take a quick look at some changes that hit in 2021.
Democratization
One big change in 2021 was the Great Resignation. America saw a rash of quitting throughout the year, but it really ticked up in August, September, and October. Mid-career workers and young people went looking for better opportunities or went out on their own to found solo businesses. Some older members of the workforce retired early.
Hiring pressures weren’t the only trends on the side of individuals in 2021. The rise of independent journalists, freelance copywriters, social media influencers, and self-employed creators continued apace. While large organizations do still produce content, much of the digital realm has been taken over by new voices: individuals, small merry bands (pirate skiffs), and partnerships.
As we close out 2021, we can definitively say that content is controlled by the many. And as you begin planning for 2022, you might want to consider embracing that, rather than avoiding it.
Decentralized Content Creation
2022 is an excellent time to decentralize your content creation.
What does that mean? It means crowdsourcing.
If you’ve been reading our blog in recent months, you’ll know that we’re passionate about a concept we call employee advocacy.
If you haven’t read what we’ve written about this idea, you can scroll back through some of our recent archives to check out posts like, 3 Reasons Employee-Generated Content Makes Sense or How to Cultivate Influencers Inside Your Company.
Employee advocates are influencers inside your company. They’re workers that you’ve empowered to create social media posts and articles on your behalf. They submit their content to you for approval, and then post it under their own names, on their own social media profile.
If you think about it, your best employees have already been doing this for you in person for years. They’ve been recommending you to friends, family, and acquaintances. This is just a new way for them to be your best ambassadors, doing what they used to do in person in the digital realm.
We think that if you experiment with letting your forklift operators, delivery drivers, technicians, designers, architects, and even your HR people create content, you’ll find hidden talent with your company.
You’ll also engage your employees in a new and creative way.
Engaged Employees are Good Employees
If you can pull it off, and successfully make content creation interesting for your disparate workforce, your people will feel more invested in their jobs. (One way you can do this is by gamifying your content creation, which we’ve covered in a previous post.)
If they’re more invested in your company, they’ll also be your best advocates to potential new employees. That’s right. They’ll help you avoid future staffing challenges and solve any current ones you’re facing.
A happy, engaged workforce is one of the best recruiting tools available. New recruits will be intrigued to hear your current workers talk about this new content creation program you’ve implemented – one in which anybody, at any level, can craft posts.
If engaging your employees helps you solve any hiring challenges you’re currently facing, it can reverse the Great Resignation of 2021 (at least for your company). Which will make 2022 a great year.
Keep the Good, Throw Out the Bad
When making resolutions for the new year, we typically try to keep what worked in the old year, and throw out what didn’t.
Decentralizing your content can help you embrace the good side of 2021, while mitigating the bad. You’ll have more content, better content, and happier employees. But you won’t have 2021’s quit rates.
January is the time for trying new things. Give employee advocacy a try.
