I walked across our kitchen floor a few days ago and experienced that somebody-spilled-something-sticky-feeling on the bottom of my bare feet. Ever done that?

That’s bad-sticky! But when we talk about sticky-content…that’s good-sticky!

Speaking of sticky – do you know the story of the Post-it® Note? You know, those little yellow notes we can’t live without!

The Post-it® Note was invented as a solution without a problem (yes, you read that right). It was created by Dr. Spencer Silver, who happened to develop a unique, re-positionable adhesive. But (at the time) the 3M scientist didn’t know what to do with his discovery. Six years later, one of Dr. Silver’s colleagues, Art Fry, remembered the light adhesive when he was daydreaming about a bookmark that would stay put in his church hymnal. And as they say – the rest is history.

Today, the Post-it® Brand boasts more than 4,000 unique products. It’s become one of the most well-known and beloved brands in the world.

Content Stick-ability!

Most content exists for a simple reason. Consider your products and services. Why do they exist? For what purpose were they created?

Whether it’s offline or online marketing content or social media content that links back to your website, a landing page, or a blog post – your content must be evaluated by a simple analytic!

Max Lincoln Schuster said, “Never forget that people never buy things or services…they buy solutions for their problems.”

Solutions…without problems

Back to the Post-it® Note story. Recall the subtle result of its invention – “The Post-it® Note was invented as a solution without a problem.”

Marketers, copywriters, content creators and curators, bloggers, social media writers and users must remember – not all that’s written or created solves something. And if that’s the case our content becomes just more “word-noise” in an increasingly noisy universe already overloaded with information!

I’m passionate…no, I’m OCD (with respect) about relevance. I have a background in church leadership and hours of writing and public speaking experience in that venue. I was driven then – and still am – (come “hell-or-high-water”) to find and provide practical…actionable principles in what is typically irrelevant to modern life and culture.

When problems and their solutions often elude the masses, why create something that’s irrelevant? It’s like the proverbial carrot-on-a-stick (available but out of reach) to our readers, clients, etc.

How to be a solution-source through creating “sticky” content.

>Listen

The phrase “you’re talking so much…I can’t hear what you’re saying,” applies. In today’s marketing-numb culture it’s profitable to listen. If you want the most ROI on your social media, online marketing, email promotions – whatever it is – develop a new bias…LISTEN!

Cup-your-ear to not only your customer feedback surveys but also your social channels. TweetDeck, HootSuite, News feeds, etc. can help you keep your-ear-to-the-groundswell of chatter about any industry niche – including your specific dental business niche.

Dental suppliers, dental manufacturers, dental practices, dental continuing education, dental publishers, dental marketers, and dental consultants are talking on social media. They’re promoting and they’re engaging there. Start listening.

>Leverage

Here’s where things can get sticky (in a good way). Content that’s sticky with problem-solving quality is your leverage point. If you’re listening to your industry and what they’re talking about – from patient to promotion – you’ll get a good idea about problems that need solving.

Become a problem-solving rock-star by using case studies, whitepapers and articles. Use some link-leverage by linking (more on that in a moment) back to blog posts via your various social media channels (Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, etc.).

You have more leverage (and the potential for it) than you think!

>Lift

Lift happens when you engage your “followers” and “friends” beyond the one-way conversation of content, content, content! And engagement happens when others retweet (RT) or mention your content to their “tribe” of followers and friends.

It’s called “social” media for a reason. Anti-“social” behavior gets sniffed out as fast as spam in your inbox!

Lift your stick-ability by lifting others and their content. Be generous with RT’s (retweets on Twitter), @mentions, #hashtags, #FollowFriday “love,” comments on blog posts and articles, “Likes” on Facebook pages, “Circle-friendly” behavior on Google+, and linking back to others’ (even competitor’s) quality content.

Let these tips “stick” as you’re creating problem-solving…solution-oriented content. Even better write them on a Post-it® Note and stick it…somewhere you’ll notice when creating content.

And if you want some help – contact me to create some stick-ability for you (I promise I won’t leave a sticky mess…like on my kitchen floor…oops, maybe that was my-bad!).