The Social Media Marketer

How To Create Social Media Content That ROCKS

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Used wisely, social media content can get take-your-breath-away results. You post something (for free, I might add), and people not only read what you've written and "like" the post, but they send it to all of their friends, who may send it to all of their friends, like a tidal wave of your personally branded content, rolling effortlessly through cyberspace.

It sounds so easy!  It can be--when you know how to make social media content that rocks.   But there are a few things to keep in mind when creating it.

1. Keep it Fresh. No one is going to "like" or forward content that is boring, repetitive, or old news. Stay on the cutting edge so you can offer up fresh content. How do you do this? Spend a little time each day reading up on your topic, and then think creatively yourself. How can you put a new spin on the topic? What are the latest developments?

2. Develop a Voice. Depending on what you're marketing, develop a voice that matches your content. Candy brand Skittles tweets pithy little snippets every day. They're funny, and people look forward to the original little quotes like, "Building a shipyard for my gravy boats." Funny little sayings are perfect for candy, but what works well for your brand? Do you need to be funny? Authoritative? Wise? Consider your audience and the image of your brand, and develop a voice that fits.

3. Create an Editorial Calendar. Posting clever social media content once in a while doesn't help you much. To become a social content media force you've got to be reliable both in timing and quality. To meet this goal, develop an editorial calendar for your content and stick with it. Using keywords or categories important to your readers, lay out what topics you'll cover and when you'll publish them. Then all you have to do is follow through or hire somebody else to handle content production.

4. Consider Your Timing. When creating your social media content editorial calendar, keep in mind that timing can be everything. If you create content about things to do around the 4th of July but you don't publish it until the 4th of July, you've missed a crucial opportunity. Think about when your readers need the information, and give it to them at the perfect time, not too early and not too late.

5. Be Helpful. Why do people seek out content? To meet needs. Those needs can be as varied as product reviews, medical advice, home improvement ideas, or simply entertainment. Decide which needs you're trying to fill, and be as helpful as possible. Some venues, such as Facebook, give you wonderful opportunities to be helpful. Let's say someone has a problem with one of your products and posts about it on Facebook. You can respond to that concern and help to solve the problem, and other consumers can see that you are helpful and willing to help your customers even with small problems.

6. Keep it Short. Twitter has set a new standard for conciseness. It's not easy to create a meaningful, helpful message in 140 characters, but the better you get at it, the better your writing will be in all areas, not just on Twitter. To practice getting the most bang out of the smallest number of words, use action verbs, and get to the core of your message as soon as possible. Think in terms of newspaper headlines: how much can you tell readers about the topic in as few words as possible.

Once you find your social media content voice and you have a surefire editorial calendar, you can work on constantly improving your content. The better it gets, the more readers you'll have and the better your brand will look in this dynamic marketplace. Start some waves of your own!  Flood the market with your clever, helpful, and cutting-edge ideas.