We have a misconception about content.

We also have one about life (similarly related).

We believe we need to craft perfect experiences for meaningful connections. We think we can create positive outcomes by being well-intentioned and planned. And you are right. But think about the time and energy it takes to do that regularly. It's exhausting.

And while you can't avoid them, you can have fewer of them and increase more unscripted and "perfect" moments. Essentially have fewer expectations, damn it. Because the truth is, I don't care how clean your home is to have a meaningful time with you.

We have the same belief about content. To "add value," we need to spend significant time and energy on it and have it be "exceptional." If we don't, our audience won't find value in it, and it'll waste their time.

There is truth in that: spending time on highly produced content rewards your audience. And there is truth in this: Your audience is human and can get value from more human content.

What is low-fi content (and what it’s NOT)

In this context, "more human" means low-fi, which means having a rough quality, not [musically] smooth and refined. And low-fi music is one of the more popular genres right now (at least on YouTube). People connect with rawness and realness, and it's okay for some of our content to be less produced.

What I don't mean by low-fi content is:

• Lazy and sporadic content that wastes your audience's time
• Spammy, unrelated, or unhelpful content (I.e., content for content's sake)
• Technical issues like poor audio or video that is shaky and hard to watch

What I mean by low-fi is content that is well thought out (to serve your audience) yet under-produced. An example is a selfie recording instead of a highly produced video. Or a weekly podcast where you riff on a few topics and take questions from the audience.

It's valuable content because it's relatable and authentic vs. polished and refined.

It's also content that only some companies and individuals are willing to try. And that means it's a blue ocean for you and me. Not only that, it's helpful to supplement high-quality content with consistent low-fi (quickly produced) content.

You must balance low-fi and highly-produced content to remain effective with your marketing efforts.

To understand how to implement this concept, here’s a four-pronged approach: PESO (paid, earned, shared, owned), channels, budget, and content type.

PESO

(Don’t get mad, but I’m going out of order as I explain this)

Paid media should almost always be highly produced. If you’re going to put a significant budget behind it, you want the content to be top-of-the-line. Also by investing more time and money into paid ads, you can nail the first impression.