Creating content without a vision just passes the time.
We need a north star when steering the ships of our businesses.
In ship navigation, the captain uses an “error correction” approach when directing the ship.
They understand where their ship is headed. They know their “north star.”
And if the ship ever goes off course, they merely correct the error.
They don’t see this error as a “failure.” They understand that there are factors outside of their control.
And when they become aware that they’ve gotten off course, they realign the ship towards this north star.
In this article, we’re going to develop a content vision that focuses on your audiences’ needs (not yours).
This’ll allow us to create content that resonates with an audience.
High Impact Content Is Always Informed By This “North Star”
Planning and creating a larger vision is common practice within lots of business domains.
However, I notice it’s often neglected when dialing in the content creation process.
And since content creation is a major pillar for online business success… we must discover this vision.
If you neglect this process (and don’t constantly revisit it), you’ll end up wasting your energy, time, and money.
Not having clarity on your “north star” creates a stagnant business that lacks both direction and action.
High impact content is always informed by this higher purpose. And every piece of feedback we receive from our content (both internally and externally) will allow us to keep moving in the right direction.
We start this process by asking the following:
What’s the “ultimate result” you’re helping your audience achieve?
And this “ultimate result” becomes your north star for your content creation.
When you’re steering your business’ ship towards getting more leads, customers and profit… you’ll simultaneously be moving in a direction that makes a LARGE impact on your audience and customers.
Creating a vision for your content ensures that you accomplish both business growth and a positive impact.
Aristotle & Developing Your Content Vision
Creating a “content vision” ensures that you accomplish business growth and create a big impact on your audience.
Here’s how.
Back in the day, Aristotle introduced this idea of Teleological Causation. This has become an interesting area of study for both physics and philosophy.
The main idea of teleological causation is that something exists because of its higher-order purpose or intention. And this is the case for most complex systems.
Here are some examples:
- Since people wanted more efficient ways to travel… the automobile was designed.
- Since people wanted more efficient ways to pick up food and eat it… utensils were designed.
- Since entrepreneurs wanted an automated AND efficient system to support their revenue stream… the idea of “funnels” was created.
A higher purpose or vision caused an action to occur at a lower level. It’s a “top-down” causation model. Let me explain a bit more…
How Teleological Causation Transformed My Health
Here’s a personal example of how “Teleological Causation” has worked in my life.
I have Type 1 Diabetes. And my health has been both a challenge and priority throughout my life.
Growing up, my health vision was to build a ton of muscle mass. I was inspired by bodybuilders and wanted that aesthetic look.
So I began taking action that was in alignment with traditional bodybuilding approaches. Heavy weights. High protein. Etc.
When I was in college, I started to feel the cumulative effects of this approach on my joints and digestive system. To be honest, my health was in shambles despite my “aesthetic” look.
This is when I shifted my health vision. Instead of trying to build muscle mass… I set my purpose on optimizing my hormones and gaining more energy.
After some research, my new vision caused me to COMPLETELY change my lifestyle:
- I began intermittent fasting
- I started meditating consistently
- I began consuming a moderate amount of protein (instead of a high amount)
- And so on…
In essence, if I didn’t change my health vision… my actions in the present moment would’ve probably stayed the same.
And now my health is much better!
Teleological Causation For Your Content
Many people think that their business goals will be achieved from a “bottom-up emergence” paradigm.
For example, if I build a funnel and create some content, then “business success” will emerge.
But without a clear vision first, you won’t be compelled to take the proper actions to actually fulfill that vision.
When you create a future vision… this motivates you to take action in the present moment so that you begin to create this “future vision” into reality.
And in many ways, this vision changes your behaviors.
Your vision or purpose INFORMS the actions you take now.
When you create a “content vision,” every piece of content you create will be filtered through this vision.
This will enable you to create content that gives you the ability to build trust and grow your audience.
Why?
Because if your vision is focused on solving specific problems for your audience, your content will be automatically filtered to add value.
Understanding this principle of teleological causation is vital for your content marketing and business success.
Create Your Content Vision
We create content visions so that we’re clear in our direction. And once we’re clear on this direction… we feel more confident to take action.
Here’s your first step for dialing in your content creation vision or purpose.
Identify the ultimate result that you want to help your audience achieve.
And once you have a general idea, turn this into a “how-to” statement.
For example: “How to help low-carb dieters lose 20lbs of weight.”
Once this purpose is set, every piece of content you create can be aligned to this higher vision.
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