Provide Content That Answers Your Audience’s Questions

Ever since the ending of Return of the Jedi, fans wanted more content, mostly to satisfy their unanswered questions.

When they wanted to know how Anakin Skywalker became Darth Vader, they were given the prequel trilogy. When fans wanted to know what happened between the three-year war between Episodes II and III, they were given The Clone Wars animated series. Now when fans wanted to know what happened to Luke, Leia and Han in the aftermath of Return of the Jedi, they are being given the new sequel trilogy.

Remember, you need to give your fans what they want. Your fans are the ones that will purchase your services from you, so you need to provide them with an adequate amount of information so that they continue to buy from you instead of your competitor.

Reuse Your Content

You may find yourself struggling to develop content for your readers. While it’s important to provide fresh content for your readers as well as for your SEO efforts, there is nothing wrong with reusing past content. Need some convincing? Lets take a look at the premise for The Force Awakens. WARNING SPOILER ALERT:

• The new entry takes place 30 years after Return of the Jedi
• The surviving factions Galactic Empire have formed a new military threat called The First Order.
• The First Order has developed a weapon of mass destruction called the “Star Killer Base,” which is capable of destroying entire planets.
• A small military force called The Resistance seeks to destroy the new weapon and defeat The First Order.
• One of the commanding Generals of The First Order is a mysterious lightsaber-weilding masked villain.

Does any of this sound familiar to you? The premise of the new entry is more or less a rehash of the original Star Wars Movie. The Rebel Alliance was attempting to destroy Empire’s weapon, The Death Star. Also, the new villain, Kylo Ren, looks oddly similar to Darth Vader.

When developing a content strategy, you may find yourself with limited resources, which may prevent you from constantly developing new content. If you had past content that was very popular, there is nothing wrong with re-purposing it by updating it with new and additional information. If it worked once, it will surely work again.

Similarly, while the premise of The Force Awakens seems to be following the concept of A New Hope, it will surely add a few new twists, which will satisfy loyal fans.

Brand Loyalty

If Star Wars has taught us anything, it’s definitely that a great brand will always prevail even if you make a few mistakes here and there.

For example, while the prequel trilogy was a financial success, many fans were not pleased. However, Star Wars has such a loyal fan base that they were able to forgive the mistakes of the prequel trilogy…even Jar Jar Binks.

This type of loyalty cannot be bought. It needs to be created and nurtured over time. When you have loyal followers, they will anxiously be waiting for any new content and products that you release.

Social Media Etiquette

It is important that you practice good etiquette on social media. In Episode II, Attack of the Clones, C-3P0 said:

“There must be some mistake! I’m programmed for etiquette, not destruction.”

Humans, not robots; run social media and humans make mistakes especially in the heat of the moment and when they’re feeling emotional. But you need to watch what you write on the Internet, whether it is a rant or what you thought was a harmless joke.

After all, social media has the power to make or break your career. Therefore, it is important that your brand has a strict social media policy that you avoid any harmful blunders.

Take Advantage of the Holidays

Looking back, you’ll notice that the six previous Star Wars movies were all released in May. The release of a Star Wars movie usually kicked off the summer blockbuster season. The Force Awakens, however, is being released shortly before Christmas.

Why the sudden change? Simple, they’re trying to take advantage of the Holiday season. Star Wars is not just a movie franchise, it also contains:

• Toys and Action Figures
• Card, Board and Video Games
• Books
• Clothing and Other Merchandise

By releasing the new movie during the holiday season, they are hoping to take advantage of the hype and excitement, and that customers will buy other merchandise for their children, family and friends.

If you are in the retail industry, make sure you take advantage to the holiday season. It’s the time of the year when people are willing to spend money. If you have an e-commerce website, make sure that it is optimized for maximum user experience.

Nostalgia + Innovation = Success

Looking back at the prequel trilogy, one might ask: why was it considered a failure? If you ask a die hard fan, they might tell you:

• The movies relied to heavily on CGI.
• The plot and writing was horrible.
• The characters were unlikable.
• …Jar Jar Binks.

The main reason why fans were unhappy with the movies, however, is probably because they were “too different from the old movies.”

Many fans, however, are excited for The Force Awakens. Why? Mainly because they are using the original actors from the original movies. Don’t underestimate the power of nostalgia. While the filmmakers will surely add new innovations to the movie, they’re also trying to capture the elements that made the original Star Wars movie such a success.