How to stand out in a sea of social media content
Making small talk, sharing a joke, announcing the latest news or wanting to start an in-depth conversation: just like in real life, there are plenty of reasons to make yourself heard on social media.
But no matter which channel you choose, the competition is fierce. How, then, can you make sure your message stands out in the sea that is social media content today?
Quality’s your answer. And by that we mean both qualitative content and a qualitative approach to publishing that content. Not quite sure how to go about it? We’re happy to help.
Social content comes in all shapes and sizes
Catchy Facebook posts, snappy tweets, stylish stories on Instagram, funny YouTube videos, … The list goes on – but choosing wisely is key. The right mix of social media content gives your brand that ‘je ne sais quoi’ (that’s French for X factor). It communicates your brand’s unique personality to the world, in other words, giving it its very own face and voice.
Content has the power to trigger dialogues with entire target audiences, creating one of the most valuable types of interaction between brands and their fans.
Content is often (perhaps too often) used for communicative purposes only. Meanwhile, it’s ideal for branding purposes as well. You can even easily use it as a commercial tool to generate leads and boost sales.
The computer mouse that bore a mountain
Content mountain ahoy! It goes without saying that your brand is not the only ship sailing through the various social media channels available today. Content shock, content overkill, content tsunami: you’re going to have to deal with it in one way or another.
The internet contains more information than we can possibly consume. Due to this continuously growing mountain of content, only a fraction of the things published are ultimately seen and shared on social media.
Fighting for each shred of social media attention
Consumers are not only bombarded with content, they also have increasingly less time to consume it – not to mention their shrinking attention span. In addition, there’s Facebook’s modified algorithm, which means posts are shared less and less, making it more difficult than ever for messages to go viral.
Survival of the highest quality
Unsurprisingly, clickbait is not as successful as it used to be. Publishing crappy content – pardon our French – is simply not an option anymore. Practice shows that brands who do score well on social manage to become an online authority by publishing a carefully selected mix of strong content via the right channels. Now more than ever, brands can make all the difference with top-quality content.
A content calendar is a must
If you’re going to create and publish social media content, you can’t do without a content calendar to properly plan which messages you’ll be sharing when and through which channel. A content calendar is crucial to retain an overview of your own content flow, promotes collaboration between colleagues and literally puts content on your organization’s agenda. Keep in mind not to cram in too much, though, so you remain flexible enough to respond to any current events and unexpected opportunities that prove interesting for your field.
Keep it simple and relevant
Is your calendar all good and ready? Then it’s time to start creating valuable content. Don’t think too far out of the box to begin with, by the way. Keep it simple and relevant to your target audience. Don’t hesitate to look to your own organization for inspiration – we bet you’ll find plenty of admirable people, cool images, interesting facts, … right on your very own doorstep!
Find the optimal content mix
Because not all content shares the same purpose – duh! – we distinguish between different types, including (but not limited to) entertainment, inspiration, education, information, connection, service, conversation and promotion. There’s always one type of content that will best serve a specific purpose, so it pays to choose wisely. Putting together the ideal content mix means always looking at the specific objectives you want to achieve first.
Use diverse content formats
Be sure to publish various types of content and alternate between text messages, images, photos, videos and links to external content. It will help you gain all the more insight into your target group’s likes and dislikes. Moreover, sharing nothing but dry information simply won’t do your brand identity much good. People not only like to know what your company or organization does, they also want to know what, how and with whom you do it.
