Evergreen content: How to tell stories that stand the test of time
The year is 2063.
A curious creator is scouring the internet to find some content creation tips and stumbles across this blog post.
To their surprise, the words within are still applicable all these years later.
That’s because this blog post was written to stand the test of time. It’s been carefully crafted to avoid contemporary language, specific references and other telltale signs that anchor it to a particular moment in time (apart from the following statistics…)
Yet with around 250,000 new websites going live and over 1 billion stories posted across Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp every day, it’s getting harder to write or design content that will stand out to future readers.
So how do you create something with relevance that stretches far into the future? Is it even possible to make ‘evergreen’ digital content in our fast-moving world?
Why evergreen?
Creating evergreen content is important for many reasons. It will save you lots of time. It signals to search engines that you’re a trustworthy and authoritative source, helping your website appear higher up in searches. And, if it’s done well, it can bring in a steady flow of organic traffic with minimal effort required.
Is truly evergreen content possible?
The short answer is yes; but it can be difficult to get it right.
There are several typical features that give away the age of your content and will eventually make it feel outdated:
Technology is evolving at lightning speed
Culture reflects society at a given moment
Social norms (like language or social attitudes) shift over time as we build a better understanding of one another
Even scientific dogma is sometimes challenged by new research
You only have to watch an episode of TV from 10 years ago – complete with clunky mobile phones, strange haircuts and language that feels problematic by today’s standards – to realise how fast things change.
It’s still possible to make timeless content which avoids these vast frames of reference, but it requires some effort and planning. The key is to focus on broad topics, ditch anything too specific and find subjects that will always be relevant to your audience.
Let’s dive into some Dos and Don’ts:
Don’t
Make date references in relation to the time of writing. Phrases like ‘next week’ or ‘last year’ tie your content to a specific moment in time. Instead, get creative with your language to avoid using dates or temporal references.
Make references to recent or upcoming events. Refer to events like COP27 or the London Olympics in isolation rather than ‘looking forward to’ or ‘reflecting on’ them.
Use contemporary slang. Certain words and phrases might well resonate with young people today, but they will be cringe-inducing for the next generation.
Make specific cultural references. This could be music, television, film or anything in between. Where possible use neutral stock tracks or timeless classics as opposed to what’s popular right now.
Show people wearing time-specific clothing. Whether it’s images to accompany a blog post or footage for a video, try to avoid shots of people wearing distinguishable outfits, even if they’re currently at the height of fashion. Suits, shirts and sportswear will give you a bit of leeway. Flares, PVC trousers and shutter sunglasses won’t.
Do
Choose the right topics. As mentioned above, broader topics with timeless advice are preferable to anything too specific. For example, tips for saving energy in your home will likely be useful for years to come as homes are unlikely to change too much in the near future. A guide to choosing the cheapest energy provider will not, with tariffs and prices shifting regularly.
Choose the right formats. The way you lay out your content will also help you make it evergreen. Lists, how-to guides and top tips are formats that lend themselves to broad language. If you need to highlight a specific example, then frame it as a case study rather than a piece of recent news.
Update as you go. Updating your content with the latest data and examples will ensure it stays relevant for years to come. If you’ve followed the steps above, it will be a straightforward task to insert new stats into a blog post or edit the text of a graphic. It’s a quick, easy way to refresh your best content and it can even boost your SEO score. Of course, the same applies to its accompanying social media copy.
If you get it right, evergreen blog posts, videos and visuals can be valuable tools in your digital arsenal. Here at The Content Engine, we constantly gather data on how our content performs so we can ‘replay’ the best ones later.
By sticking to the Dos and Don’ts above, we make this task as easy as possible for our clients so their evergreen stories go the distance.