Would a content hackathon help with the challenge of coming up with great content ideas?
Would it help with the difficulty and cost associated with bringing together design, development, copy, and promotion to actually bring our ideas to life?
From start to finish, a feature content piece or website resource can take months to complete, and many more months to promote within your industry.
But what if you could cut the time it takes to produce an amazing piece of content from months to 48 hours? Is it even possible?
The short answer is…yes!
What Is A Content Hackathon?
When we think of “hackathon,” we often think of coding or computer programming, but that doesn’t have to be the case.
A content hackathon, similar to a marketing hackathon, consists of bringing your most talented freelancers or employees into one room for 2 days or so.
You’ll need a:
- Copywriter
- Designer
- Developer, and
- Plenty of snacks and energy drinks 😉
You’ll also need an excellent content topic or concept—ideally something that appeals to multiple audiences and can be promoted in different ways to stoke interest in your brand.
Do you want to create an infographic, like this one detailing eight proven approaches for choosing great infographic ideas?
A game? A whitepaper, or maybe even a quiz?
Try to have this sorted out before you plan your content hackathon so that the team can maintain focus.
Then, set a realistic timeframe in which to complete your desired piece of content … say an infographic within 48 hours.
To motivate employees or freelancers to participate, try incentivizing the hackathon by funding a fun team outing as a reward, or paying 25-50% over their usual rate to complete the project quickly.
Incentives are key when asking employees to deliver exceptional work in a short amount of time.Click To Tweet5 Important Things To Remember
The key to success with a content hackathon is having an open mind.
These 5 tips are super important to consider when hosting a content hackathon:
- Come to the table with a few “ready to go” ideas
- Vote on a group leader or project manager early on to ensure the group stays on track
- Decisions have to be made and agreed upon quickly
- Take frequent breaks
- Have FUN!
The theme of a successful content hackathon definitely revolves around teamwork!
Why You Should Absolutely Consider A Content Hackathon
Aside from producing an awesome piece of content in 48 hours that you can promote on social media, you may also find that your group grew as a team.
A content hackathon can create opportunities for your team to see:
- Where they are slow and might need to ask for help
- What their biggest roadblocks might be for future projects, and
- What areas they can easily conquer
And if you never do another accelerated project like this, you can still use these discoveries for everyday teamwork and culture.
I highly suggest taking a crack at this fun strategy — our team will be soon!
Creating amazing content doesn’t have to be a long, grueling process—in fact, it can take as little as 48 hours from start to finish.
Whether you’re using freelancers, or in-house content, have $500 or $5,000, you can still do great work, grow as a team, and cut the red tape with a content hackathon.
Have you hosted a content hackathon before? We’d love to hear more in the comments section below (and will be sure to share about ours after it happens)!
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