We're obsessed with numbers.

Views.

Likes.

Followers.

Impressions.

Engagement.

And don't get me wrong.

Metrics are useful.

But I've never understood the obsession with creating content purely because the number went up.

A million views can still be useless

If the wrong people watched it, what did you actually achieve?

I'd much rather create something that gets 5,000 views from exactly the people a business wants to work with than 500,000 views from people who have absolutely no interest in buying anything.

This is why I think targeted content beats vanity metrics.

It's about relevance.

Start with the person you want to reach

Who are you actually trying to attract?

A potential customer?

A new employee?

A sponsor?

Another business?

An athlete?

A consumer?

The answer changes the content.

Once you understand the audience, you can start asking what they actually want to see.

And that's where content gets interesting.

Give people something

Teach them something.

Make them laugh.

Show them something they haven't seen.

Tell them a story.

Make them feel something.

Give them a reason to stop scrolling.

“Here's our company.”

“Here's our latest product.”

“Here's another picture of our office.”

That's not necessarily bad content.

It's just not particularly compelling.

Content should support the business

The content itself isn't the goal.

It's the vehicle.

Maybe you want more enquiries.

Maybe you want to build credibility.

Maybe you're trying to attract talent.

Maybe you're launching something.

Maybe you simply want people to understand what you actually do.

Work backwards from that.

Then create content.

Not the other way around.

That's where good production comes in

Video, photography and graphic design are tools.

The important question isn't:

“Can we make something cool?”

It's:

“What should we make, and why?”

Once you've got the answer to that, making something cool becomes a lot easier.

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