Specific input in order for you
to succeed with Content Marketing as much as possible
Content Marketing meets the harsh reality of social media
When businesses have a presence in social media, their self-image often encounters a harsh reality. In this universe, the general public will neither be aware of nor “like” your company in the same way as those who work for it. The number of interactions and scope will not generally be very impressive. Why? Well, it is here that your content will encounter the harsh reality of the channels and the recipients.
Why make it difficult?
As is usually the case, there are no simple answers to difficult questions. Nevertheless, there are som basic rules and assumptions which can be applied. Businesses are often a little too formal and business-like in what they post. It can also often be embarrassing when unprofessional organisations attempt to be popularist. The best approach is to try and explain complex issues as simply as possible. This is an art in itself.
Why do you use social media as a private individual?
If you ignore the kitten videos, what are you interested in and what do you tend to become engaged in and share? This is a good starting point. You may perhaps be amongst the 90 percent of people on social media who are mostly passive and follow the one percent of those who constantly write posts, or amongst the nine percent who actively interact with what the one percent posts. These are generalised figures, but start by opening some mental doors yourself as regards the dialogue surrounding good content.
Use ‘the kitten principle’
To describe social media and the content that will work, it might be useful to think about kittens. In the past, people used to like pictures of kittens; now, people like videos of them instead. It is about entertaining or surprising the recipient. A press release rarely delivers in this way. Lower the threshold for tonality, be knowledgeable, fun and personal. People want to see a human side. The aim is to drive traffic to your own interfaces; it is there that the recipient will convert, and that is why the content must live on your company’s own interfaces that you own.
Use insight to find out what your customers like
It can often be a good idea to start with oneself, but this can also be a trap, and the insight that one obtains is only assumed. If you go through CRM, the marketing automation system and Google Analytics, and interview customers, you will obtain much more valid insight. The collective gut feeling you had might perhaps have diluted the content you produce, the tonality might be a little defensive and boring. Or perhaps you had missed what the target group is interested in. Find out who is following you; it might not be the same people who are buying your products. It might only be employees and their families who are following you. It might be time to think through new content which both highlights all your employees and builds a wider group of followers.
Do not allow SoMe to become a dumping ground for temporary content
Social media is not a channel where you can cut and paste what you have posted. You must have a strategy in order to succeed. This strategy must enable the inclusion of updates and algorithms from the big SoMe players. Facebook recently decided that they would highlight updates from friends and families to a greater extent in the various feeds, at the expense of content from businesses such as your own.