Are you watching the content game from the sidelines?

Thinking of content as a cost center, and not the revenue generator it is, is costing you sales, a community that roots for you, and brand equity—and ceding ground to competitors.

With the start of the (American) football season coming up, it's difficult to think of the National Football League (NFL) without NFL Films, thanks to the latter's content strategy and innovations that brought viewers under the helmet.

Slow-motion game sequences. Steam rising off of bare heads. Mic'd up players and coaches. Dramatic music. Screwball sound effects. Aged film. All of these choices add up to a distinct, identifiable brand experience. The games may be unpredictable; the product content is not.

Collectively worth $228 billion, the NFL is the most valuable sports league in the world. A large part of its foothold is thanks to creating fan-service content that's celebrated the game-day experience since the league's earliest days. This also built a bulwark against bad behavior off the field (a different conversation—this piece is about a proven content strategy that can be adapted to fit other brands, be it social, written content series, podcasts, or scripted programming).

𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀, 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗽𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼. Too many view content creation as a cost center, failing to factor in the ground they're giving up to competitors by not staking their place early in the conversation among audiences. By waiting to jump in, brands are missing the opportunity to shape their own lore and create a community of invested, loyal fans.

𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘯𝘰𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗴𝗼 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗳-𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱𝗹𝘆, 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗜.

Is it easy? No.

Is it worth it? Yes.

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝘀 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀.

No one's ever scored a touchdown from the bench.