Your Content Strategy Needs Momentum

What do the following sentences have in common? 

“That’s exactly what we’re building.” 

“Here’s what we just launched.” 

“Let me tell you where the industry is going.” 

“I recently sat down with__.” 

“This is what we’re fighting for.”

These are action phrases. You read them and feel like you’re witnessing change. You see growth, movement. I call this “momentum marketing.” Beneath the surface, there’s a sense that the speaker is being pulled by a current larger than themselves.

If you’re building an executive-led marketing strategy, momentum should be foundational. When a CEO speaks, people listen. Their voice carries weight. The audience assumes they have access to ideas, stories, and insights others don’t.

Your job as a marketer is to prove them right.

The psychological superpower of momentum

Momentum is effective in content marketing because it plays on a core psychological principle known as social proof. When you demonstrate that things are moving in your favor, others want to ride that momentum as well.

For example, a consultant who is booked out six months and is turning down gigs has two things going for them. They have an extended demand. They also have the appearance of being in demand, which further bolsters future demand. 

Meanwhile, the consultant who can’t stay booked—and appears underbooked—has two problems. They’re underbooked, and they appear underbooked, which drives business away. 

Practical ways to leverage momentum

When I look back at my most popular posts on LinkedIn, almost all of them have to do with accomplishments. One was an interview I gave with the Wall Street Journal. Announcing to my network that I was in the WSJ was powerful. People hear a subtle message: This person is worth featuring in one of the largest, most prestigious news organizations in the world. 

Another popular post was about business accomplishments. As a ghostwriter, I seldom get to brag openly about client wins. They’re almost all anonymous. Still, even with anonymity, I can brag about my clients and get outsized reach because people see my work is affecting the world. 

Let’s just rattle off a few more ways to use momentum in your content:

• Talk about big releases

• Pitch the media (and then brag about features)

• Tell stories of growth

• Cast your vision for the future of your industry 

Why? Because excitement sells. Real enthusiasm is contagious. As humans, we’re innately drawn to these stories. People want to be pulled along in the current of success and flourishing. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." 

Momentum looks like confidence

I love reading biographies. One characteristic you notice in many famous people in their fields is that they seem to run circles around everyone else. Things that are arduous for most people seem easy to these people. I’m thinking of Benjamin Graham in the early days of his investing career. I’m thinking of Edward Bernays and David Ogilvy as they respectively entered the marketing arena. Benjamin Franklin in publishing. Serena Williams in tennis. 

We feel inspired watching someone in their element. They see the world differently. The world seems to bend along with them as they strive toward their goals.

These people are top of their fields. They’re talented, hard-working, and famous for good reason. But that appearance of running circles around your industry isn’t reserved for the geniuses. I believe there’s an element of it that comes down to smart marketing.

You can use the momentum of any size to demonstrate that you’re leading the industry conversation, not just participating as one voice among many. 

The key is to speak publicly about your wins. Cast huge vision. Do it all with confidence. The magic lies in learning to communicate with confidence without bragging. I think this mostly comes down to tone. As my football coach said about getting touchdowns, “You can celebrate when you get to the endzone. Just act like you’ve been there before.” 

Talk about your wins with understated confidence. It will seem to outsiders like momentum is on your side. 

It may surprise you what this leads to: How communicating with enthusiasm creates further momentum, setting yourself on a (very exciting) virtuous cycle of business wins.