Humor relies heavily on metaphor, double-entendre, and wordplay to carry an audience from one idea to the next, one joke at a time. It can spice up a comedy or break the tension between serious dramatic scenes.
However, while Drax’s literal application of everything enlivens Guardians of the Galaxy, the same type of thinking will hamstring content creation. An estimated 30-50% of the population struggles to think abstractly, which means that they cannot transfer an idea from the literal meaning to the practical application.
At Hook Point, we stress the importance of using high-performing references as a lodestar to creating original and vial content. Simply put, you have to watch a lot of content, research what’s getting stellar numbers, notice patterns in successful content (we call those performance drivers), and then abstract those patterns onto your own content. This means you’re going to have to learn from content that’s wildly different from what you have in mind for your own product or message, but you can transfer what works in content A to content B.
This level of abstract thinking requires three elements:
- An open mind–you have to be willing to explore what other creators and industries are doing and entertain the idea that they might be onto something
- Teachability–you admit you might be able to learn something from another creator who’s doing something really “out of the box” but also getting big numbers
- Imagination–you can take those learnings and picture how you can transfer them into your own content.
The good news is that you’re a content creator, so those three elements should come naturally, right? Well…maybe. If we’re honest, it’s often true that it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks. However, in a social media landscape that shifts from trend to trend every few weeks, or even days, the content creator who can adapt quickly and apply new learnings will set the trends instead of reacting to them.
Think about it this way. When you leave a relationship or a job, do you throw away everything you learned about human behavior and how to be a good partner or colleague? Hopefully not! Ideally you apply the hard-earned life lessons to the next chapter of your life. Likewise, treat content creation as an opportunity to learn something new and improve. Pretty soon, your content will be the reference others look to for inspiration.
Want help with your social media strategy? Connect 1-on-1 with Brendan’s team here to see if we are the right fit to work together.
