Whether you’re trying to promote your business through websites, blogging, or social media, the trickiest part is always going to be finding fresh and engaging content. On the one hand, you want to be able to project a consistent brand persona while posting on a regular basis. On the other hand, this is much more easily said than done because sooner or later you’ll find yourself running out of truly unique things to say while staying “in character.” It’s really one of the biggest challenges an online promoter has to face these days.
More often than not, content creators find inspiration in the Internet – there’s always something new online, and all you need to do is find it. This is, of course, one of the most effective ways to find something to talk about (trending topics do wonders for engagement). But nearly everyone uses the Internet to gather content ideas. It would be better to have another resource. Voicemail for both business and personal use is a nice place to start.
Does anyone even use voicemail anymore?
Despite what many people may tell you about how awful having to leave or listen to voicemail really is, there are still some folk who prefer leaving and listening to voice messages. For many of them, the attraction lies in the fact that it still gives communication a “human touch” even if it’s not real time communication. The human voice – whether you’re hearing it or using it to express yourself – makes connecting with other people much easier.
Other people who like using voicemail tend to use it to prepare for public speaking or to express a creative idea on the go. For example, Isaiah Mustafa (the Old Spice Guy) famously recorded his “Look at your man” audition piece on his friend’s voicemail. Some songwriters leave themselves voicemail snippets of the songs they’re working on.
How is that supposed to help with content?
Most professional or business voicemail messages are basically set up like this: “Hi, [call recipient name] this is [caller name], and I’m calling about [urgent topic]. Would you mind reaching out to me at [contact details] when you’re free?” This is because we’re taught to only think of this phone feature in the context of function. But if you really contemplate on the possibilities of voicemail as a content resource, you will see that it has a lot to offer.
- We all know that speaking and writing can be quite different for each other – as such, questions and topics posed over voicemail tend to be different from the ones posted on social media, forums, and the like. Responses to such questions and discussions of such topics can lead you to unique content.
- Even if you get the same questions and topics as the ones you find online, the approach to them can be quite unique. You can explore these different approaches in creating content for social media or blogs.
- If you’re using advanced voicemail, you can download a digital copy of some messages (thank you messages, compliments, and the like) and post them with your own two cents. This counts as multimedia content, which a lot of people really like.
- You can actually encourage people to leave you random messages on voicemail. This not only engages your readers – it can also get your creative juices flowing.
Can you think of other ways voicemail can help you with content creation?
