274: Amanda Natividad — Mastering Content Creation and Audience Engagement
Dec 6, 2023
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Amanda Natividad, an expert in marketing and writing, shares valuable insights on creating unique and engaging content, understanding social media algorithms, and the future of content creation with AI. She emphasizes the importance of being liked rather than just being the best to grow your audience. Amanda also discusses the role of a fractional marketing director and offers tips on using tools like SparkToro for audience research. Don't miss her amusing story of how she got Rand Fishkin to follow her!
Creating content that is refreshing and relatable helps establish meaningful connections and build a loyal audience.
Zero-click content, such as micro-threads and condensed summaries, can capture audience attention and keep them engaged within the platform.
Focusing on two selected social media platforms as communities and building an owned platform helps effectively communicate with the target audience and maintain control over content.
Deep dives
The Power of Being Refreshing and Relatable
In this podcast episode, Amanda Natividad discusses the importance of being refreshing and relatable in content creation. She shares her own experiences of finding her unique voice and perspective in marketing and how it has helped her build a strong personal brand. She emphasizes the need for creators to focus on their target audience and create content that resonates with them. By being themselves and offering something unique, creators can establish meaningful connections and build a loyal audience.
The Rise of Zero-Click Content
Amanda Natividad talks about the concept of zero-click content, which refers to stand-alone content that provides value even without the need to click on external links or go deeper into the context. She explains how this type of content, such as micro-threads on social media or condensed summaries, can capture the attention of the audience in a time when platforms are promoting on-platform engagement. Amanda explores the opportunities and challenges of creating engaging content that keeps the audience within the platform.
Building a Strong Personal Brand in the Changing Landscape
Amanda Natividad shares her insights on building a strong personal brand in the evolving landscape of social media and audience building. She encourages creators to focus on finding their unique voice and perspective, rather than trying to be different for the sake of standing out. Amanda also reflects on the power of serendipity and how creating content can open doors to unexpected opportunities and connections. She discusses the balance between aligning with the platforms' incentives and creating content that is meaningful to both the creator and the target audience.
Choosing Social Media Platforms
When it comes to social media platforms, the speaker suggests focusing on two instead of just one. Instead of treating these platforms as mere marketing channels, they emphasize the importance of considering them as communities. It is recommended to identify the existing communities where the target audience is present and understand one's role within those communities. By creating content and building relationships at scale on these two selected platforms, individuals can establish their presence and engage with the target audience. Simultaneously, the speaker advises building an owned platform like an email list or a personal website to maintain control over content and not be solely dependent on algorithms.
Understanding Different Networks
To effectively communicate across multiple platforms, it is crucial to understand the unique characteristics and preferences of each network and its respective community. While certain content, like a meaningful blog post, can be replicated across platforms, other types, such as short pithy tweets, may not work well universally. The speaker recommends considering the purpose and audience behavior on each platform and aligning the content accordingly. For example, the podcast episode discusses how the indie hacker audience tends to frequent websites like Kotaku and gamepressure.com, indicating a potential shared interest in gaming. Authentic communication with the audience involves using their vernacular and speaking their language, which helps establish credibility and better connect with them.
Amanda Natividad (@amandanat) is an expert in marketing and writing. She talks about using humor and strong marketing skills to understand what people on social media like — and what resonates strongly enough to make them do things. We discuss making content that's not just different, but interesting and true to your audience. Among many intriguing stories, one cool thing she mentions is how Rand Fishkin started following her (and how she overreacted to it!). But it worked out. She quickly found herself working with Rand on SparkToro. Amanda even shares a few tips on using tools like SparkToro to better understand what people want to see, who they interact with, and where they are.
We talk about the future of making content, including using AI for new ideas. Amanda believes in growing your audience by being liked, not just being the best. She's planning to grow her marketing course and talks about how a fractional marketing director can help small businesses and solo workers. This chat with Amanda is full of easy-to-use advice for improving your marketing. Enjoy!
00:00:00 Creating Unique and Engaging Content 00:14:20 Refresh vs Different in Content Creation 00:26:01 Advice on Using Social Media Platforms 00:36:45 AI in Ideation and Meal Planning 00:44:06 Future Audience Growth and Marketing Exploration 00:52:50 Fractional Marketing Director's Importance
