We love Moz’s Whiteboard Friday, which features Rand Fishkin or someone from the Moz team presenting a short video that answers a specific question about content creation, SEO or digital marketing.
The gimmick (and by gimmick, we mean “brilliant concept”) is the use of an actual white board. Here’s a look at why Moz’s Whiteboard Friday is so effective and what other sites and brands can learn from it.
Each Whiteboard Friday Answers a Specific Need or Question
Each Friday post hones in on a single question, concern or problem that’s impacting the audience (digital marketers, site owners and SEO professionals). The videos aren’t long — they seem to fall right around the 10 minute mark on average — but they pack in a lot of information.
Posts usually answer the big what, why and how questions relevant to the topic. Moz doesn’t just define and make the topic relevant, though: Whiteboard Fridays almost always deliver very specific, actionable advice.
Takeaways:
- Good content creation is directly related to the audience’s need
- People are busy, so provide value in under 10 minutes (that’s about 1,000 to 1,500 words of well-organized text, max)
- Make content actionable whenever you can
[ctt template=”4″ link=”Y889p” via=”yes” nofollow=”yes”]#ContentMarketers can learn valuable lessons from Moz’s Whiteboard Fridays. [/ctt]
Moz’s Content Creation Uses a Recognizable Image Concept
One of my favorite things about Whiteboard Friday is the genius reuse of time and content. First, someone writes up the main points on a whiteboard. The same content (which only cost a few minutes’ time and an investment in colored dry erase markers) is repurposed multiple times.
- The whiteboard content becomes a visual for the video
- A high-res image is offered, turning the whiteboard image into an instant infographic
- Moz breaks the image up into smaller pieces to illustrate the post
Takeaway:
Apply the three Rs to your content:
- Reduce: Is there waste in your content creation process that can be removed for lower costs, great efficiency and better performance (Are you using too many words? Does the process include unnecessary back and forth between creators, editors and publishers? Are you posting too much?)
- Reuse: Can the content be used again as is? Moz’s Whiteboard image is a great example.
- Recycle: Can the content be dismantled and formed into something else? (A series of blog posts becomes an eBook; an article becomes an infographic.)
Related: Is Your Content Helping or Hurting Your Sales Funnel?
Whiteboard Friday Provides Users with Multiple Ways to Get Information
Moz does a great job of catering to various types of learners with the Friday posts. Auditory learners can listen to the video content, visual learners have the images and video and those who learn by reading have the video transcript. As someone who personally has a terrible internet connection, I love that I can read the information instead of relying on a video.
Takeway:
Always present your content in multiple formats and channels to engage more users. You don’t have to re-create the content every time, though you do have to test your processes. Moz simply has someone transcribe the videos, and they post that as an article under the media.
Not everyone can get away with this: Rand Fishkin is so good at content creation, he naturally speaks in a format that makes a great blog post (plus, there’s probably some prep work going on there). Remember: never just copy the experts; instead, find what works for you and your audience.
[ctt template=”4″ link=”1OdMv” via=”yes” nofollow=”yes”]Use Moz’s Whiteboard Fridays as a lesson in reducing, reusing and recycling. #ContentMarketing[/ctt]
Rand and Co. Are Active in the Comments Section
Finally, Rand and the Moz team are active in the comments section on their posts. People can make observations and ask questions with actual hope that someone will answer, which leads to regular robust engagement.
Takeaway:
Don’t set it and forget it. Content creation is an active process, and you have to play to get paid. In other words: Stay active on your profiles, forums and comments sections.
