5 Content Writing Lessons from “Groundhog Day”

We’re approaching the second day of February, the time of year to bust out the oh-so-classic  “Groundhog Day” on Netflix. The movie focuses on Phil Connors, a weatherman forced to live the same day on repeat after visiting a small town for the titular February holiday. Played with the right mix of charm and swarm by Bill Murray, Phil transforms from a grouchy cynic everyone loathes to a sweet romantic everyone loves by the film’s end.

Phil’s relationship with his adopted town — and its motley array of inhabitants — causes him to drop his biases and adjust his expectations for his own future. Although admittedly less profound than a life-changing, quasi-supernatural repetitive event, content writing benefits from the same general principles that Phil learned the hard way while in Punxsutawney!

In his own words, here are five of Phil’s top tips for companies and content marketing agencies looking to generate valuable, timely thought leadership content for their customer bases (groundhogs excluded).

Don’t Waste Time with Shallow Messaging, Give Real Insights

“What a waste of time! I mean, for someone else that would be an incredible waste of time. It’s so bold of you to choose that.”

Throughout the film, Phil quite regularly puts his foot in his mouth, especially in conversations with his primary love interest, Rita, who is played by Andie MacDowell. Although calling someone’s college major in French poetry a “waste of time” is not a great move in general, Phil was right that most written content on the web today lacks relevance for its target audiences. 

A common content marketing myth argues that content for the sake of content is a good thing. In reality, though, blurbs of text peppered with keywords on a landing page don’t provide any actionable information for prospects. Instead, valuable, helpful content builds equity with B2B and B2C customers. Making good use of relevant charts, infographics, and data visualizations can also be the secret sauce to killer content. 

Regardless, a recent “Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends — North America” report found that almost 90% of successful B2B marketers prioritized valuable information over promotional messaging in their content. Like Phil’s eventual conversations with Rita, depth and relevancy produce better results than frivolous chatter. 

Produce Unique Content

“Anything different is good.” 

As Phil quickly realizes, reliving the same day over and over again can be torture, and your audience knows this truth too. Repetitive content alienates prospects and adds more noise to an already overwhelming digital space. That’s why, at Comma, our mission is to write content worth reading.

Some of the best thought leadership content makes use of new technologies and trends that add to the user experience. In fact, experts view AI, automation, recommendation engines, and advanced workflow automation as key focus areas in determining what’s next in B2B content. 

Innovation and experimentation — particularly if your organization has adopted Agile workflow methodologies — can be a real boon for differentiating between repetitive content and great, unique content. Too much of the same thing might repel instead of attract your audience, so be sure to mix up your topics and types of content regularly.

Create Targeted and Timely Content

“Today is tomorrow. It happened.” 

To convince Rita that he is stuck in a bizarre repeating-time loop, Phil begins to predict everyday occurrences like a kitchen accident or a car breakdown a few seconds before they happen. The sequence of events in Phil’s never-ending day become so familiar to him that he knows precisely the right thing to say in each situation (and how to best manipulate it to his advantage). 

Although stealing money from the back of a van like Phil isn’t your brand’s end goal, anticipating your customers’ needs before they do helps craft a better overall purchase experience. Good content marketers know how to identify where in the buying cycle leads can best benefit from specific messaging and distribution channels. 

Perhaps the best way to achieve this level of insight comes from intelligent, consistent data collection. Forrester identified only 41% of B2B companies that successfully tracked and analyzed audience performance metrics, making this transparency an important focus area for 2022 at many organizations. The ability to pinpoint when and how valuable thought leadership content best fits into your buyers’ journey relies on a deep understanding of personas and consumer life cycles, something Phil inadvertently learns in Punxsutawney. 

Write for Your Existing Client Base Too!

“I wish we could all live in the mountains at high altitude. That’s where I see myself in five years.”

Phil’s cringe-worthy attempts at wooing Rita showcase an important lesson for content marketers: think long-term. Forrester research found that 77% of overall B2B earnings came from repeat customers. Valuable and timely content plays a key role in increasing retention and developing high overall Lifetime Value (LTV).

Content creation is not content marketing, and excellent B2B thought leaders build trust with existing customers on a regular basis. Emails with well-researched data and relevant case studies can increase confidence and set the stage for further investment. Again, though, corporate blog and thought leadership content needs to provide actionable and relevant information to an interested audience. 

Phil’s romantic failures lie in his over-reliance on shallow come-ons; it’s not until he develops a personal connection with Rita that his persistence eventually pays off. The same can be said for content marketing agencies: generate post-purchase content with depth, and customer loyalty (and repeat purchases) will increase.

Get to Know Your Audience

“Ned, I would love to stay here and talk with you…but I’m not going to.”

Rather than mimicking Phil’s snarky comment to Ned at the beginning of the movie, content agencies benefit from investing time and resources into conversations with customers. To create relevant posts buyers actually want, direct interaction with prospects and existing purchasers offers valuable information that translates into better content. 

A CMI study found that only 42% of current content marketers solicit direct feedback from customers as part of their research and strategy process. This lack of interaction with recent buyers results in a major misstep that hurts your work. Although grouping customers into buyer personas can be a good strategy in the long run, an over reliance on profiling reduces individual consumers to a data set and loses the human touch that results in really valuable content.  

In “Groundhog Day,” Phil finally breaks out of his repetitive time loop by turning outward and selflessly providing Punxsutawney’s residents with services they truly need. This only comes after days (and days, and days!) of talking with and observing the people around him. Writing exceptional content that breaks through the proverbial noise comes from talking directly to customers and getting to know them.

Ultimately, the film’s lesson to content writers is simple: turn outward instead of inward. Listen to customers and identify their needs at each stage of the purchase process. Understand the difference between value and fluff. Treat readers like people and not data sets. 

Valuable, relevant content provided at the right time in a buyer’s journey breaks the cycle of meaningless, repetitive chatter found in many corporate blog posts and thought leadership content. Like Phil, you too can avoid pointless repetition in your content. All it takes is some good old-fashioned human connection.

Speaking of connection, shall we connect? We’d love to get to know you, hear about your content needs, and help you overcome the time-loop of constantly trying to keep up with your editorial calendar. At Comma, we help smart marketers save time and get ahead on their content. Schedule a free consultation with our team today.