• by Melissa Kinch , Columnist, October 15, 2025

I scroll through social media for political commentary and friends’ updates. I read Apple News+ feeds, sharing a client story with colleagues. I eyeball email and WhatsApp. I consider buying that cashmere sweater from that retailer ad that keeps following me. I time myself on the mini crossword in TheNew York Times. Being an Angeleno, I check apps for traffic. All before coffee.

Chaotic? Sure. Linear? Hmm. Fact-based, yet emotional and impulsive, kind of disciplined, across multiple channels and screens? Yes.

Most brands aren’t really absorbing this new reality of how people get their information. Instead of following the audience and its information journeys, brands often concentrate on prescriptive channel planning—usually based on how their communications teams are organized, rather than on how audiences really consume content.

Instead, brands should be creating three types of communications content that surround their audiences and meet them where they are—and then figure out their channel strategy.

Successful content planning requires a triple play:

For AI machines: long-form, well-sourced content. Long-form communications content—thorough, well-sourced, and in-depth—is more important than ever because it feeds the large language models behind today’s AI tools.

According to a Muck Rack report, 95% of the content that generative search engines use comes from earned and owned communications content—not paid. This means content such as detailed FAQs, whitepapers, news stories and long-form videos with closed captioning are crucial.

Brands and their partners, influencers, and key opinion leaders must create and format this content so AI tools can access and index it. In some cases, it doesn’t matter if people directly read or watch this long-form content, as long as it feeds answers that those same people seek with AI tools.

For short attention spans: quick content to capture audiences with limited time and focus. Brands need to capture the attention of someone scrolling through social feeds, videos, or headlines almost instantly. I recently heard a social media company executive say that the average person takes 0.4 seconds to decide if they are going to stop scrolling to read or watch a piece of content. This requires stories that provoke audiences with shock, humor, personalization, or cognitive dissonance to break through. 

For the heart:earned, human moments that capture emotions and stop people in their tracks. Audiences crave genuine human stories in an era where every data point is optimized for selling, educating, or influencing. These stories should feature real moments between people—behind-the-scenes glimpses of relationships, deals, announcements, teams, and leaders. How do people act in real life? What is the human impact? How do they treat each other? What is the conflict? Who is winning?

This is storytelling rooted in shared human truths. Planning, capturing, and ensuring the right people see this authentic content may become the most strategic aspect of communications. Think of this as "numb-proof" content: people want to feel and relate on a primal level.

Looking at stories through a triple-play content lens is how brands will reach people in their modern information journeys.