What is Evergreen Content?
Evergreen Content describes information that never goes out of date. It's an essential concept for bloggers, social media marketers, writers, and video producers because content that goes out-of-date becomes old, like “yesterday's news.” Evergreen content is desirable since you can read it, watch it, or listen to it over and over again and never loses its value.
You've probably seen examples of evergreen content but didn't realize that it was a deliberate use by a writer or video/movie producer. Here's how. Technology is a rapidly changing factor when producing a motion picture or novel. In just a few years a change in technology can make a movie that uses older cell phones seem “dated.” As a result, many writers and producers select a period for a story where today's technology like smartphones and wireless networks didn't exist. By setting the story intentionally in the past where rapidly changing technology isn't used, the story has a longer lifetime and stays “fresh” for a more extended period.
Stories set in the past are one way to make content longer-lasting since history doesn't change the settings. Think of stories like Outlander, which is set in two time periods, both in the past or a movie like Saving Private Ryan, which is set in World War II. Another way is to make content evergreen is to use a fictional setting, like Lord of the Rings, where Tolkien created an entirely fictional world. Science fiction and fantasy writers are only limited by their imagination to create a fictional world. Sometimes technology does catch up, like the submarine of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, or driverless vehicles.
The advantage of a historical or fictional story setting is that the technology doesn't make the story seem dated and avoids the rapid changes we are witnesses to as everyday users. This approach works well for fiction, but what about non-fiction, which is much of the content we see and use every day on the web, on television, and in print.
News
News, by its very nature, is content that becomes old, but people want the latest news. Some websites, blogs, and Youtube channels are news and current information publications. The purpose of their content is to report on what's new, knowing you, as a reader, are always going to be coming back to see the fresh information. If you blog or create content about things that change, you're providing a valuable resource for people who want to stay current about a particular topic. As a content creator, the better your access to information sources or the better your ability to find unique stories, the better your readership will be since you will have an edge on others who report on these topics.
Apple, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook all have annual conferences and announcements that are difficult to attend and often by invitation only. If you're trying to report on the latest products or services from one of these companies, having access to these conferences is essential. You might be in a profession like clothing, health-care, or another field where you have an “insiders” access to breaking news and trends. If so, news can be part of your content strategy.
News gets old, so it's not the best approach for evergreen content, except when a historical archive of information makes sense. Archives are collections of past issues of any publication and can be a valuable source for research, but it's what happened in the past if it's news.
Dated Content
Technology changes fast, so content about how to use it becomes obsolete rapidly. In fact, you may find the pace of change frustrating as you try to keep up with the latest versions of social networks, smartphone applications, email, operating systems and other technologies that undergo rapid changes. My pet peeve on technology that becomes dated has to do with automobile electronics. Each manufacturer uses a different approach to in-car electronics and makes changes every model year, often so drastic that reading the owner's manual is required reading for a new car. And of course, once you learn how to use the system, if you get a new model or change brands you'll likely have to learn how to use another one again.
Computer, smartphone, and other electronic product makers sometimes balance the needs of the user in keeping a familiar look and feel, while introducing new functions and features that will require some learning. Others issue updates that make more drastic changes. As a result, content about technology can become dated. But it's not the only topic that changes.
We live in a world where everything changes Adapting to change what makes us human. And understating what makes us human is one way to focus on evergreen content since humans haven't changed much for a while.
Evergreen Content
Finding topics where things don't change as fast (or at all) is the key to evergreen content. Let's take a look at an example of some long-lasting evergreen content.
Shakespeare's plays are still performed today, hundreds of years after being written. The storylines and characters have been copied and updated for many stories since they are still relevant today. Here's a quick synopsis in case you've forgotten the significant parts of the story.
Romeo and Juliet is a classic story about two lovers who come from feuding families, meet, fall in love and are married in secret. After the secret marriage, Juliet's father announces she is to marry Paris. Juliet arranges with Friar Lawrence, who married them in secret, to fake her death. The scam will result in her not being able to marry Paris, so she and Romeo can run away. Juliet fakes her death, but Romeo, unaware of the pretense, assumes Juliet is dead and kills himself. When Juliet awakes she takes her own life. The funding families, seeing the tragedy their feud has caused, agree to end it.
You can take this story and put it almost anywhere in the world, in any time in history, or the future, since it is about love, family relationships, betrayal, and misunderstanding. West Side Story is one of the most famous adaptations, taking the basic storyline and characters and placing them in New York City.Many of Shakespeare's stories have used and adapted because he wrote about timeless issues that affected people.
So what can we learn from Shakespeare about evergreen content? It's a good idea to relate whatever create to people, using characters and emotions instead of just facts or products. Communicating a story with people involved in your content will increase it's lifespan and appeal since people like stories about other people. Stories about people using your product or service will have longer-lasting value, but there are some additional ways to make your content evergreen, using historical events.
Your business or organization consists of the people involved and the unique way of operating. The way a company works, how it functions and does things is often called “process.”
Stories and content about the people and the process in your organization, even if it's one person, are what make you different, and your audience is interested in knowing more about that side of your origination. A good product or service is essential, but usually, people will make purchasing decisions based why something matters to them. So where does this lead you? Try your history, a story which will always be evergreen since it is part of your journey.
Content is not just about a product, but how that product came to be, about what decisions did you make for its design, color, packaging or production. How you chose to get into the business, cause, or topic you've chosen, your challenges and your successes and the people and organizations who helped you along the way. Take a look at everything you do in your business, and it is a potential source of content, and while the specific products and services you offer may change, the story of how you adapted is a story that has a long-term value.
To my way of thinking
While the web can seem impersonal, businesses who build stories about their history and processes are easier for potential customers to connect with since there's more than just a product or service, there's a person involved. Purchasing a product or service allows the customer to connect with a person by choosing who gets the money.
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