We’ve all heard the saying “the Internet is forever,” but is it still true? On some levels, yes. But on the levels critical to your business’s marketing strategy—no. Though your content will technically live online forever, in the marketing world, it’s digitally dead once it no longer gains engagement. 

Content Lifespan: the average amount of time people engage with content.

The Internet is flooded daily with millions of different types of content, each with a lifespan that ends once lost in the digital sea. Think of hitting “post” on Instagram as equivalent to a drop of rain falling into the ocean. It lands on the surface but will eventually get lost in the waves.

The Challenge: Making Your Content Live Longer

There are different types of content and different platforms for sharing content. What you share and where determines the predetermined lifespan of your content.

Summary of Lifespans per Platform:

• TikTok 
  • Instant Expiration 
• X (Twitter) 
  • 15-18 minutes
• Facebook
  • 6 hours
• LinkedIn
  • 24 hours
• Instagram
  • 48 hours
• YouTube 
  • About 20 days

Content Lifespan: Digital vs. Print

Along with social media posts, other marketing collateral, such as your business’ website, emails and even printed content, has a lifespan. For example, research shows that the average lifespan of a website is 2 years and 7 months. 

Research also shows that while our lives grow more online each day, printed marketing materials have a longer lifespan than those online. For instance, the average lifespan of an email campaign is about 1.5 hours, but direct or printed mail marketing remains relevant for an average of 17 days. 

Unlike digital marketing, the tangibility of printed materials demands more attention and lingers in the minds of consumers much longer. Printed materials also don’t have to compete with the oversaturated online landscape of the Internet. In fact, researchers at Canada Post found in a study that 75% of participants could remember brand names from print, while only 44% could do the same for digital.

The Solution: Create High-Performing Print & Digital Content 

So, how do you extend the lifespan of your content and make the most of your marketing efforts? Create high-performing, versatile content. 

You might be thinking, “I already work really hard on creating and perfecting my marketing content.” Unfortunately, effort and beautiful content get wasted all too often because the key to high-performing content lies in the planning put into it. 

Planning and expertise in both your audience and the marketing tools used to reach them are essential elements in expanding the lifespan and value of your content.

Equation to Creating High-Performing Content:

Effort + Time + Planning + Expertise (Marketing + Target Audience) = High-Performing Content

How to Make it Happen: Turn to a Team You Can Trust

As a business owner, time is your greatest resource, so it’s essential that whatever you invest it in pays off. Consider your marketing efforts. Does your content gain the engagement it deserves? Does it reflect the brand image you want for your business? And most importantly, does it align with and achieve your business goals? 

If you answered “No” to any of the questions above, you might be investing your greatest resource into efforts that aren’t paying off. It’s time to trade in wasted time and effort on short-lived content with high-performing scalable marketing assets that live longer and reach more people. 

At JCW Creative, our marketing experts deliver trust, guidance and execution. By taking the time to understand your business and its story, you can trust us to create and execute marketing plans that align with your business goals and extend the lifespan and value of your content. 

Once we gain an expert-level understanding of your business, goals, audience and needs, we combine it with our expert-level marketing knowledge. From there, we plan, create and execute! The result: marketing that makes a lasting impression and a greater return on investment.

From engaging social media content and print collateral to all the elements that make an exceptional website, we are your guide to creating high-performing content that brings value to your business with results that pay off. 

Ready to extend the lifespan and value of your content? Let’s talk it out! Reach out to us today, and we’ll set up a no-string-attached marketing consultation.