What is a drip strategy and why you might need one
When people think of a “drop,” the first thing that typically comes to mind is a product release, but drops are - more generally speaking - a highly strategic way to release content to your audience. The appeal of a drop is that it’s a gift to your fandom - from sneakers to nap dresses to the final season of Ozark on Netflix. They are built up with anticipation, occur on a specific date and time, and are limited in quantity, which adds the necessary element of urgency to literally throw fandoms into pandemonium.
You’ve likely seen drops executed, and maybe even taken part in one. Now, there’s another approach that has recently emerged, called a drip.
And no, a drip strategy is not a micro-drop or a basic content strategy. A drip is its own separate strategy. It’s a persistent and sustained way to engage your audience… and it can be applied to anyone with a content strategy [yes, you real estate agents, journalists, small business owners, people doing cool sh*t].
So, why would you need a drip strategy? According to Ana Andjelic in a piece published on Medium, “Drips represent a “play-to-earn” model, where individual and group engagement is continuously and randomly rewarded.” It’s a blend of consistency interwoven with random rewards that creates a layered experience for participants. Think of video games where there are ongoing ways to excite and build momentum, like in Super Mario, with coins, mushrooms, and new levels to rise to, places to explore. A drip is a strategy focused on creating this type of reward ecosystem.
You don’t need to specialize in video games, streaming content, or clothing to create a drip.
First off, even thinking about a drip as it relates to your content is a great exercise. No matter your subject area, you should have some fundamentals in place, including a reason or greater ‘why’ behind your content, and an audience to consume it. If you’ve got these two elements, the next step is a sociological experiment. It’s figuring out - in creative ways - how to make your content as enticing and compelling as possible. When you’ve cracked that code, then figure out how to do it in an ongoing way.
Not sure what that would even look like? Many brands are experimenting with drip IRL. Andjelic gives a great example in MSCHF’s purchasing of Andy Warhol’s drawing Fairies. MSCHF made 999 copies, and is selling them all – without letting buyers know which is the original. The initiative is aptly named Museum of Forgeries.
Over in the virtual world, there are NFTs. NFTs are a drip of sorts because, as Andjelic states, “Drips don’t increase price if demand rises; instead they diversify the offering, systematically creating virtual rarity.” The natural evolution of NFTs to community structures like DAOs and crypto communities, where members pool resources to obtain partial ownership, is even creating micro-economies by mixing physical products with digital NFTs and tokens that members can trade.
Could you imagine your audience teaming up together to co-own something you created? Or rushing to purchase a limited-edition whatever you make? That type of community is what we all want. And to look at it through another lens, it’s the type of environment that audiences want to feel - where there is a sense of access, belonging and ownership. Because let’s remember – followers are people. And we all want to belong somewhere.
If this is something you might want to experiment with as well, here are some things to consider as you build a drip strategy:
Choose your content wisely. A drip should fall into one or more of your content pillars, so that it ladders back up to your macro digital strategy. From there, answer the following →
What content are you uniquely able to produce in a long term and sustained way?
Are you able to make sure that it has cultural relevance [aka will it be fresh and relevant to newscycle/trends?]
Are you able to think of new / unique / different ways to present your work? For example, if you’re a writer, how about branching into video, like TikTok. An Instagram user? How about YouTube shorts.
It’s a marathon, not a race. Sustained and ongoing momentum is the name of the game. We are not dropping bombs, we are bringing audiences along on a group journey filled with surprises and delights along the way. Ask yourself →
Is it possible to frame your content so that you include reveals? Stay tuned’s? Sustained content that rolls out in multiple editions? Can you structure it like the suspenseful rollout of the HBO Show Yellowjackets that sparked a proliferation of fan subreddits and Twitter threads on conspiracy theories?
Gamification. This is where it gets fun. As you’re planning out those moments in the rollout, where there’s buildup and payoff? The next key step is to think about engagement, beyond the surface likes and comments. Thing about →
Key questions, polls, quizzes you could build out. Prizes, award systems, and clues. Literally make a game out of your content and have fun with it [and if you don’t find it fun, nobody else will].
Incentivization and community. The glue for all of it and the sign of a truly successful drip execution is entirely around what - if any - kind of micro-community experience you create. In order to set up for the best case scenario as you work through the content, rollout, and gaming, here’s some prompts for engagement →
Is it possible to frame your content around sparking some kind of dialogue? Perhaps offering multiple perspectives? Are you able to be proactive in your approach?
Are there ways to extend this conversation to a group format? For example, beyond comment sections to a live conversation on a key social platform or more emergent like Twitch or Clubhouse? Or a Reddit or Discord thread?
Is there a way to create a system for implementation? For exclusive access, rewards, acknowledgement in some way.
We are seeing drips emerge in all sorts of ways and across platforms. For example, as we examine the tactical strategy of the new podcast released by TikTok influencer Tinx, it’s significant to note off the top that it’s not a recorded podcast. Instead, it is a bi-weekly airing, live - like a radio show - in 20 minute increments, and is answer / advice based. She builds interest and momentum around the given episode through her two primary social channels - TikTok and IG - all week, and ‘gamifies’ engagement through her regular AMAs, or Ask Me Anythings. If a fan wants to ask a question that they’d prefer Tinx addresses in longform conversation on the podcast, they have to submit it with the 💎 emoji. If it gets addressed, the fan is rewarded and the clip of the content goes back out into her digital ecosystem. So start thinking, get creating, and remember, no big bombs, just ongoing drip, drip, drop.