Not every piece of content gets the same level of attention. In fact, it’s likely that only a small part of your content will bring the most traffic. Basically, it’s the 80/20 rule applied to content creation.
There’s nothing wrong with this, especially if you post consistently. But why not increase the chances of your content gaining traction?
How?
The answer is content atomization. It’s the practice of taking a large, preferably successful piece of content and breaking it down into “atoms” that you’ll scatter across different channels.
Atomization is a highly effective content strategy, and this article will show you how to reap its many benefits. But first, let’s clarify a common misconception that people have about content atomization.
Content Atomization vs. Content Repurposing
If you’ve ever repurposed your content, you might think there’s no need for atomization. After all, it’s the same thing, right?
Not exactly.
The core concept of breaking down large content might be similar across the two practices, but there’s an important difference here.
With content repurposing, you’re using an existing piece to create new ones. You can even copy some parts of it verbatim and use it in other pieces. When atomizing your content, you’re not recycling the content itself, but the ideas it came from.
Let’s say you write a killer blog post that ends up being a massive success. Repurposing would mean you’re turning some sentences into short video scripts or Instagram posts. If you wanted to atomize it, you’d take a point from the blog that can be elaborated on further, and then create a new piece of content around it.
So why would you do this? Why not save time by using your existing content?
If done properly, atomization is definitely worth the effort. Here are some of the main reasons why:
1. Building Authority
To atomize your content, you need to cover a topic from many different perspectives in various forms. Only an expert can do that successfully. The deeper you dissect the topic, the more you’ll position yourself as an authority.
Of course, this will only happen if you keep providing value as opposed to covering a topic just for the sake of atomization. If you keep coming up with interesting angles, your audience will see you as the go-to source of knowledge.
2. More SEO Opportunities
The more content pieces you write on a topic, the better your chances of ranking higher in a search. This is especially true if you select the right semantic keywords for each topic and find a way to connect your posts through internal link building.
Now, since the topics will be built around an overarching theme, you should be wary of keyword cannibalization. Make sure that your target keywords don’t overlap so that your posts don’t compete with each other.
3. Higher Engagement
With the busy lives we all lead, it’s no wonder that people’s attention spans are shortening. As a result, short-form content has been among the hottest trends in digital marketing in the past few years. And we don’t see that changing any time soon.
According to HubSpot’s survey, 89% of marketers plan to keep investing equally or more in short videos. They’re highly engaging, as are short-form blog posts, infographics, and different types of bite-sized content. Content atomization allows you to leverage them and boost your overall engagement.
4. Streamlined Content Creation
Do you ever find yourself running out of content ideas? Atomization can be a great way to overcome this issue!
You’ve probably heard the saying that creativity thrives under constraints. Well, it’s absolutely true. By focusing on one theme, you can dig out a plethora of angles from which to cover it. And as you’ll see in a bit, the key to successful content atomization is careful planning. By scheduling content pieces in advance, you’ll always leave yourself enough time to come up with fresh topics.
How to Atomize Your Content
Have the above reasons made a strong case in favor of content atomization? If so, you might be wondering what it takes to start.
The good news is, atomizing your content is pretty straightforward. Here’s how it works in a nutshell:
1. Plan Ahead
Like many other content marketing strategies, atomization isn’t something you figure out as you go. It requires careful planning of content topics, types, and distribution channels.
As daunting as this may seem at first glance, it’s actually quite simple in practice. All you need is a content calendar, which can be as basic as an Excel spreadsheet.
Once you decide on the piece you’ll atomize, brainstorm potential topics you’ll derive from it. Think about which form would best suit the new topics, and where you should publish them.
Always make sure to have a plan for at least a few weeks. That way, you’ll never risk falling behind and coming up dry when the time comes to post a new piece.
2. Atomize by Audience and Funnel Stages
When planning content atomization, you’ll want to go beyond the basics. The very point of the practice is to use a single piece of content to target different parts of your audience during different stages of the buying journey.
Large pieces of content often have something for everyone. After all, they’re meant to capture as much attention as they can. Much like you’d segment those who read a popular pillar piece, you’ll want to do likewise with individual pieces that will target them.
At the same time, atomization is a great content strategy for guiding people through different stages of the marketing funnel. Some pieces can be interesting facts or information published just to draw someone’s attention. Others can be more bottom-of-the-funnel pieces that include CTAs and focus on conversions.
To get the most out of content atomization, always know exactly whom each piece needs to target. Create all pieces with this in mind, and you’ll see how effective they’ll be.
3. Distribute Your Content Properly
You can publish atomized content to just about any platform.
But that doesn’t mean you should.
Hopefully, you have at least a rough idea of where your audience spends their time. If that’s not the case, it should be at the top of your priority list. It’s a crucial bit of info for every content marketing effort you’ll make.
Once you know where to meet your audience online, you should match your atomized pieces to those spots. If it’s a quiz, it should probably be on your website or landing page to qualify leads. If it’s a short podcast episode, try to get it on the platforms your audience uses the most. Think about where your “atoms” will be the most fruitful, and publish them in all the right places.
Disseminate Your Content
Content atomization is an excellent way to ensure an uninterrupted stream of highly effective pieces. Instead of just coming up with content ideas from scratch, you can stick to a theme and keep your audience engaged. To recap, here’s a list of steps you should take:
- Find large content pieces that you can atomize.
- Identify the key parts/topics you can create individual pieces around.
- Create a content calendar that will factor in your audience and funnel.
- Create your content and publish it on the right platforms.
Go ahead and give atomization a shot. Follow the tips outlined here, and your content will cast a wider net than ever!