4 benefits of exclusive content for your digital strategy

Before spring 2020, lots of people wondered what going to work would look like in the future. Would workers jump into hover cars and fly to their jobs every day, Jetsons-style? Would automation make it possible to work for just a few hours a week? Would new online technologies mean more and more people choosing to work from home?

Then, the COVID-19 pandemic struck across the world. With populations from Melbourne to Mexico City on lockdown, millions of people found their ways of working transformed overnight. Offices, shops, restaurants and schools closed their doors. For many, work needed to be done from home; for others, work needed to adapt to new, fast-evolving conditions.

Although most lockdowns have ended, the huge changes to the way we work did not disappear. Instead, work continues to change—month to month, week to week and even day by day. As governments, businesses and individual people adjust to COVID-19, the future of work has never looked so uncertain. Or so close. Read on for the key takeaways about what may be coming next. 

Going online

In the mid-1970s, a big, buzzy idea about the future of work emerged called the paperless office. At the time, an office without paper would have sounded ridiculous. For example, the typical office relied on paper memos, reports, forms, orders, invoices, bills, receipts and correspondence. Add in photocopies and that’s quite a mountain of paperwork! But personal computers were just beginning to arrive in business settings and over the next decades, electronic files, documents and mail followed.

The long shift toward a paperless office went into overdrive in 2020 as workers went into lockdown. Suddenly, the office needed to be not only paperless, but also entirely online. And though the concept of remote work has become more accepted in recent years, few businesses were completely prepared for it. As a result, the demand for new solutions has exploded. Videoconferencing, digital publishing and remote management tools help recreate the office online so that employees can log on, stay connected and work safely from home.

Despite an often abrupt move to the online office, remote work seems likely to extend into 2021 and beyond. In the United States alone, almost half of all workers were still doing some of their job at home by the end of the summer; one in four were fully remote. Recent surveys suggest that over 90% of office workers don’t expect to go back to their desks full time. Plus, the online office has offered unexpected benefits beyond safety and flexibility. With no commutes, people have saved billions of hours of time and decreased pollution.

Communicating change

However, offices aren’t the only workplaces that have undergone dramatic changes in 2020. Half of the workforce leaves home to do their jobs, a figure that includes the category of essential workers. From doctors and nurses to farmers and grocery staff, most people have had little to no options for working from home. In order to protect workers on-site, all types of employers needed to react fast. New policies boosted sanitation standards, limited capacity, encouraged social distancing and required masks.

And throughout the year, businesses have often had to modify those policies as the pandemic progressed. Due to the evolving situation, clear communication has become more important than ever. First, employers must keep workers informed about protective measures and rules to ensure everyone’s safety. Next, businesses must let customers know what actions they are taking and what to expect in store. Email, online employee handbooks and digital customer guides are essential ways to communicate this information quickly and clearly.

In fact, lockdowns and limited capacity led to more use of online tools in “offline” fields like hospitality. While the Internet is already big business, there’s room to grow. For instance, restaurants unable to welcome customers published take-out menus on the Internet and stores focused on improving ecommerce channels. On the other hand, some traditionally in-person activites went totally virtual. Museums, conferences and events took advantage of video and interactive media to create new kinds of experiences online. 

Finding balance

Amid the pandemic, workers have been confronted with lots of new experiences—and not all are as fun as a virtual dance party. Some must cope with strict and at times challenging safety protocols. Others have been isolated by working from home alone for months. In almost every situation, workers face the danger of burnout. The pressure of such major changes to daily life can cause stress, anxiety and depression. Looking ahead, balancing new habits with long-term needs will be key to the future of work.

Now, people are reviewing how work will fit into their living spaces and their lifestyles. In many places, workers are moving away from cities to find more nature and bigger homes. They’re planting windowsill gardens, setting up home offices and creating community services with colleagues and neighbors. It’s too early to tell which trends have staying power and which will fade with time. But no matter what happens to the water cooler, one smart bet is on the importance of staying connected. 

That’s because everyone agrees that relationships matter at work. People will always need to know their coworkers, understand the culture of their organization and meet with their managers. In 2020, workers have tested out an unprecedented range of solutions for getting their jobs done in difficult circumstances. As businesses begin to make choices about the path forward, they also need to consider the best ways to keep workers engaged, in touch and focused on the future.

In conclusion, you might need a crystal ball to know exactly who will still be working remotely six months from now or where masks will be required. However, you can be sure that work is changing. More flexible, more transparent and more digital work is likely to be a lasting legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic. And as for flying cars? Maybe in 2040—or sooner than you think. 

Read this article in our 6th issue of Calaméo Magazine, as well as many others on the theme of work:

And if you haven’t read all the other issues of Calaméo Magazine yet, you can find them right here.

The Content Creator’s Guide to Social Media

Thanks to social media, delivering content to thousands of people at once is as easy as hitting the “Post” button. But it isn’t always easy to achieve the results you have in mind. That’s why we’re bringing you a new series all about making these channels work for your digital publishing needs. Our final entry: how to promote content with Twitter.

Why use Twitter to promote content?

As social media networks have evolved over the last decade, Twitter has taken on an increasingly complicated role. It began in 2006 as a simple “microblogging” platform designed to let users share thoughts of 140 characters or fewer, but tweeting has become especially popular among politicians, journalists and comedians. As a result, Twitter can be tricky territory for businesses in general and digital publishers in particular.

That isn’t to say businesses aren’t successfully using Twitter to communicate. The platform boasts 187 million monetizable daily active users that companies are eager to reach. However, achieving the elusive status of a brand that is “good at Twitter” may not be the most sensible goal for your business. In fact, unless you have a dedicated Tweeter on your social media team, you may find it challenging just to keep up with trending topics.

Instead, focusing on your audience provides a more practical option for digital publishers who want to promote content with Twitter. Customers are comfortable tweeting brands to ask questions, solve problems and offer feedback. Once your business’s account is set up, this kind of interaction makes Twitter a great place to have a conversation about your content. Read on for our best tips for including Twitter in your digital publishing strategy.

Embrace the format

First, consider the tweet. Although the text used to be capped at 140 characters, Twitter doubled the length of a tweet to 280 characters in 2017. But don’t be fooled by the extra room—any links you share in your tweet are included in the character count. In addition to being short, Tweets tend to have a short “lifespan.” Unlike the evergreen content of Pinterest or social posts on Facebook and LinkedIn, Tweets are usually seen by users for 15-20 minutes.  

This brevity might make it seem awkward to promote content with Twitter if your emphasis is on longer, more immersive digital publications. One common strategy to get around this issue involves sharing your content multiple times. Since your tweets probably won’t all surface in the feeds of your followers, it’s a safe way to improve your publication’s chances of getting noticed. (Just be sure to tweet about something different in between!)

But even the savviest Tweeters know that overall, the platform is rarely a strong source of referral traffic. Research estimates that under 20% of social referral traffic to outside articles comes from Twitter. While that doesn’t mean you should abandon plans to promote content with Twitter, it should inform both your expectations and your strategy. To make a bigger impact, invest time in finding the right audience and having a conversation.

Find your niche

Before you can go looking for your ideal audience on Twitter, you’ll need to have a pretty good idea of the target audience for your content. In other words, who is your content created for? For example, a white paper might be aimed at B2B managers in your business’s field. Or a video about new fashion trends could be aimed at young adults. Knowing your target audience is an essential part of any digital publishing strategy.

Next, investigate where your target audience is active on Twitter. Despite the outsized attention that a few high-profile users attract, there are lots of smaller communities having their own conversations. The discussions among start-up founders, entrepreneurs and professionals happening on Business Twitter may be a good match for your B2B digital publications, but with a little research you can find communities for all kinds of interests.

Hashtags are a simple tool to help you promote content with Twitter in the right places. (No surprise there—modern hashtags originated on tweets back in 2009!) Identify a couple of hashtags that appear regularly in your target audience’s Twitter community. Then use them in tweets to share your digital publications. But beware: your tweet’s hashtags and overall tone should always fit your content. In other words, trendy hashtags, jokey messaging and lead generation rarely work together.

Define your goals

In the end, the success of your strategy to promote content with Twitter depends in large part on having a clear idea of what you hope to achieve. Because of their format, tweets may not prove to be a huge source of traffic for your digital publications. However, Twitter is a unique channel for keeping in touch with your audience. You may prefer to prioritize followers, profile visits and interactions over the number of clicks your content receives.

An audience-focused strategy still provides plenty of opportunities to share your content. For instance, you can choose a single tweet to pin to the top of your profile. Simply select a high-performing tweet that links to the digital publication you want to boost. This easy step has big benefits. Any user who stops by your profile is guaranteed to see your promoted content first.

Ultimately, the fast-paced conversation that happens on Twitter makes it a flexible tool for businesses. You may use tweets to broadcast service updates, offer customer support, advertise or strengthen your brand. But for digital publishers looking to promote content with Twitter, establishing your presence and opening up a connection with your audience is the best way to start.

Ready to start?

Now that you’ve got all the details about how to promote content with Twitter, it’s time to turn your online documents into great digital publications. Sign up for your free Calaméo account today and explore what digital publishing can do for you!