How to Create Unforgettable Content: 4 Tips Inspired by Nicki Minaj

You may or may not have heard the news, but there’s a new face in hip-hop and it wears a pink wig.

What?

Seemingly out of nowhere came a young woman who quickly built a brand and persona in the world of hip hop and in the process resuscitated the dying image of the female rapper.

In case you didn’t see the Tweet, the female rapper has been an endangered species for the past few years, and now there’s one sitting on top of the world. And Nicki Minaj (pictured) got there by being unforgettable.

She arrived on the scene, made some noise, and built an empire of enthused followers. In the process she turned a lot of heads.

How? By creating a presence that was instantly memorable, and undeniably sticky, which is exactly how the content you create should be. 

Here are four tips for creating unforgettable content, inspired by Nicki Minaj:

1. Say it Loud

Best known for her animated, cartoonish features, Nicki Minaj uses monster voices, foreign accents and even resorts to yelling to get her point across. In short, she didn’t creep into the music industry quietly, and neither should your content.

Like the music industry, the Internet is a vast space with an infinite amount of competitors. That doesn’t mean that you need to adapt an abrasive, exaggerated, inauthentic voice to find success with your content, but it does mean you should say what you mean and stand behind it.

If you find yourself using phrases like “possibly,” “perhaps,” “maybe,” or “in my opinion” as disclaimers for your thoughts and ideas, then your audience will notice that your voice isn’t authoritative. If you’re not standing for something, your audience likely won’t stand with you at all.

 

2. Reach Out and Touch Your Readers

Even if your brand is established, you’ll need to come down from your mountain and mingle with the common folk now and again to stimulate some activity.

And if you’re just getting started? It’s even more important.

Nicki Minaj knew this and worked hard to build a direct connection with her fans to build loyalty.

So, she took to chatting with her fans directly on social media and at shows, she made sure to spend time signing autographs. Oddly enough, from this was born a tradition in which she would sign a female fan’s cleaveage.

Before you knew it, young female fans were clamoring for Nicki to sign their chests so they could Twitpic it and show the world that Nicki was there. Literally.

It may not be the classiest cup of tea, but it’s created veritable demand and palpable buzz in the spaces her audience was spending time.

3. Be Consistent With Your Branding

This doesn’t mean be immobile or stagnant, but it’s important to evolve and change your brand with thought and sensitivity. If you constantly change your branding, then your readership won’t have a grip on your identity as a content creator, which will cost you in authority and credibility.

Nicki Minaj built her following on the back of an already established brand: Mattel’s Barbie.

Calling herself the Harajuku Barbie, after the eccentrically fashionable neighborhood in Tokyo, Nicki made sure to reinforce this branding with a playful, youthful image that found her changing outrageous hairstyles and outfits frequently, like a living doll.

Some women criticized Minaj for opting to brand herself with something “fake” and “plastic” like a doll, but Minaj’s base knew that the Barbie thing was all about imagination and playfulness, not inauthenticity.

4. Think About Quotables and Punchlines

Some have decried the sound bite nature of today’s media, but you know what they say about Rome and Romans. Most consumers latch on to what is easy to remember. And if it’s easy to remember, it’s easy to share on social media.

Nicki Minaj knew this and makes sure to pack her verses full of brow-raising punch lines. She scoffs at her frienemies, and sarcastically mocks her detractors in her lyrics. All while flashing her signature Harajuku Barbie smile.

So, when you’re crafting your content, whether it’s with words, imagery or video, make it something worth repeating. Whether that’s through humor, solid writing, drama or clever editing, doesn’t matter. Just make it stick.

[image: MyPinkFriday.com]

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• Nicki Minaj: Bad Barbie or Admirable Fem-cee? (chicagonow.com)