Think about your favorite TV show, and why you love it so much. The chances are it’s the drama, the characters and how it keeps you coming back for more. Those cliffhanger endings are vital for TV shows, but did you know that you can create the same drama and suspense with your content?
Episodic content is the future and if you’re not using it, you should be. It’s a collection of blogs, articles, and videos that follow on from each other. Each piece of content ends with a cliffhanger and encourages people to wait for the next piece of content.
The Benefits of Episodic Content
Your target audience doesn’t become loyal consumers after one interesting post. It takes a long time for them to engage with you and become your advocate. This is one reason episodic content works because it can build brand loyalty.
People will return – If you tell an interesting story, then people will want to know more and they’ll return to your content. Providing a case study is a fantastic way to draw readers into your series. Talking about a situation and intriguing the reader will make them want to know the outcome of the story.
Get more subscribers – Just like you create a series link for your favorite TV shows, your readers will subscribe to your mailing list so they don’t miss your next piece of content.
Promotes credibility – If you want to build trust with your audience, create episodic content. The more people relate to your content, the more they’ll trust your brand.
You rank higher – Episodic content is evergreen, and popular with search engines. It’s a great way to link search engines with user patterns and your website will rank higher.
How to Create Episodic Content
There are many ways to create episodic content, but the most popular is through a written or video series. Both require a lot of planning and skill, but once you know the basics, it’s easy.
Tell a Story
There’s no point creating episodic content if it doesn’t tell a story. The most successful advertising campaigns create stories for people, based on real-life situations. You need to create a compelling storyline, plan your plot and treat it like you’re creating a novel.
Never Forget the Cliffhanger
Have you ever read a story or watched a video that never got to the point? People seem to have forgotten the power of a cliffhanger. Nobody does cliffhangers better than soaps, and you should use the same technique with your episodic content.
Always leave your consumers wanting more and don’t give too much away each episode. Tell a story, but end it to leave the reader in suspense.
Subtle Calls-to-Action
Your calls to action shouldn’t be too obvious with episodic content. They should invite people to subscribe but not actively ask them to. Episodic content is to tell a story, not to sell a service.
You can learn a lot from these call-to-action examples, but remember to make sure yours fits the story. A good call-to-action won’t stop the reader from enjoying your content.
Strategize Your Content
Sharing your content on social media is vital for it to reach readers. Think about your target audience, and use research to see which platforms they use, when they use them and how they engage with shared content. It’s important to make your content accessible to a range of people and use as many platforms available to you.
Find The Right Time
Releasing your episodic content too quickly will ruin the suspense and excitement for your readers. However, waiting too long has the same effect. You need to find the right time and think about your readers daily lifestyle. There’s no point releasing episodic content in the middle of the week when they’re distracted at work.
Great Examples of Episodic Content
If you want to create the best episodic content, then you should learn from these amazing examples.
Coca-Cola is the most famous soft drink company in the world, and they know the importance of connecting with their teenage market. The series focused on the challenges teenagers face and each story had the main character making an important choice. Should they be compassionate or cruel? The impact was huge and Coca-Coca sent an important message.
Toyota combined brand influencers with episodic content for their Appetite For Life series. They used celebrity chef Andrew Zimmern to present the series and show connections between food and cars.
Spotify creates content for aspiring musicians in the form of an episodic series. The brand gives artists an in-depth look at how to promote their music and features advice from best-selling singers like Sheryl Crow and Mike Posner.
Sahouri combines technology with insurance to give consumers top tips and advice. The company uses questions and answers to make the process of getting insurance simpler.
The Future Is Episodic Content
While some companies are using episodic content, not everyone has jumped on board. Now is the perfect time to take advantage of this and immerse yourself in episodic content. Using it correctly will build your brand and give you a large following. Remember these vital steps:
Tell a story.
Leave your audience wanting more.
Know when and how to share.
Send an important message.
So, do you enjoy episodic content? Have you used it before or are you planning to in the future? Let us know! Click here if you’d like to create an episodic content video series.