Meaningful media helps your business grow in today’s noisy landscape. When you turn off the noise and turn up the magic you get three things:
- Simplicity
- Clarity
- Purpose
1. Automagically share your instagram photos on Twitter
Automagically sharing photos on Twitter makes your feed more visually appealing. But sharing photos on Twitter isn’t quite so seamless. It’s mostly a text-based platform, which is why it’s even more necessary to pump up the magic. So… why not create a secret magic recipe?You can use the platform If This Then That (IFTTT.com) to create a recipe which will automagically share your Instagram photos to your Twitter stream.
Once you turn the recipe on, people can now view your beautiful photos on both platforms — just like magic. But please be sure that the photos you share on Instagram best suit your brand. For example, if you run a shoe company but share photos of food on Instagram, this will leave a bad taste in your customer’s mouth (pun intended). And it’ll likely cause a lot of confusion with your brand messaging.
Strive for clarity with your messaging by making sure what you choose to share has meaning behind the photos. If it’s not immediately apparent, at least make sure there is some sort of symbolism that corresponds with your brand.
For example, when Audi isn’t sharing photos of cars, they may share an image of tire tracks in the snow. This leaves room for imagination, while still aligning with the core of their brand.
2. Tell stories
You don’t need to be David Copperfield to meld storytelling with magic. Let your imagination run wild. Weave worthy moments of your brand story into your content to make your magic credible. This shows that you’re a quality showman, which builds trust with your customers. Telling stories also creates more impact across your various media platforms, if you tell them right.3. Cross-post content
When you find the magic in one platform, you’ll want to cross-post it to another to re-create the magic. But wait. You’ll want to make sure you have the magic touch.Each social network has a different set of tricks. So make sure that you don’t cross-post content without understanding the conversations first. Some social networks simply work well together. Others? Not so much.
For example:
- Pinterest and Google+ go together like peanut butter and jelly.
- Instagram and Twitter can work together well too (see above).
- Facebook and Twitter are completely different conversations. Do not automatically share the same content across both of these networks. Hashtags are helpful on Twitter but can come across annoying on Facebook.
- LinkedIn and Twitter can work well together (just make sure you remove any hashtags when sharing your updates on LinkedIn).
4. Use visuals
Couple the written word with beautiful visuals to achieve depth and clarity of the experience. And yes, the right visuals make it an experience.Make sure each visual you choose makes sense for your brand. For example, if your customers are of the Millennial generation, find images that best represent this demographic. You can do this by either using vintage-style photos, or making young people the main characters in the stories you tell and the images you select.
5. Curate content with context
Context clarifies meaning. When you use context, you get not only clarity — but meaning and purpose. And this makes for awesome magic.For example, instead of using the headline of an article in a tweet, why not tweak the tweet so that you create context around why you’re sharing it? This makes your content more meaningful. And in turn, it creates more meaning around your media.
Anyone can share a simple headline. But when you take the time to tweak it, you show that you’re human. And humans can make some awe-inspiring magic — if we curate accordingly.
6. Slow it down
“There is more to life than increasing its speed.” ~ GhandiSeek out more substance with quality content. Learn how to slow down the fast-paced media of yesterday and use slow media to inspire instead. Slow media helps you laugh, think, and question the status quo. Slow media helps you rise above the noise, and settle into your stories (no screaming necessary).
7. Elicit enchantment
Enchantment is “the state of being under a spell.” When you elicit enchantment, you build an ecosystem around your brand — and you engage with your customers in a real, authentic way. But as Guy Kawasaki discusses in his book Enchantment, it’s a process, not an event. The best way to keep enchantment strong is to enjoy the process. That’s where there’s proof.8. Do less marketing
Your media platform has more value than any marketing that you create. Your media is where the magic happens. And here’s the thing: when you put the focus on creating high-quality media first, you don’t need to use as much marketing.More media, less marketing is the way to go. You’ll instill more meaning and trust into your brand. And you’ll cut to the core of who you are, so that you don’t need to market yourself as hard.
9. Intersect science and magic
Data-driven metrics can sometimes take away certain synergies. So, no matter how technically savvy you become, make sure that you leave room to get transported by magic. When you believe that there’s more to life than you know about, you start to sync with synchronicities. The other synergistic benefit is that this concept also allows for some insightful stories.10. Be human
Magicians may seem like machines, but the best ones know how to show that they’re human. They are masters at explaining the nuances of human behavior and awareness. They use the various quirks in human perception to learn how the mind works and they use psychology as the underpinning of their tricks. They know that magic is not only about being human — it’s also about being smart.11. Gain levity
Levity is the luxurious lack of a leash. Well, that’s my definition — which is why levity is necessary when you’re magically making media. You don’t need anything holding you back when you need to be lifted up, up, up and away.Now, the dictionary definition of levity is “humor or frivolity, especially in the treatment of a serious matter.” You don’t need to be a comedian like George Carlin, but it can’t hurt to try to levitate towards the art of comedy.
12. Create art
Kurt Vonnegut believes that “the arts are… a very human way of making life more bearable.” And I think he’s onto something.Writer and ceremonial magician Alan Moore believes that magic is indistinguishable from art — and that it’s the manipulation of symbols, words, or images to achieve changes in consciousness.
So the next time you seek a magical way to make meaningful media, know that you’re co-creating your future consciousness — by creating art. Laugh, think, tell stories, sing, and create. Just make sure it’s magical.
What are some other magical ways to make meaningful media? Please comment below.
Photo credit: Big Stock Photos
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