Optimizing Content for Your Brand - Social Media Handbook Part 4

This post is a part of our Social Media Handbook series. Please read the previous parts here: Social Media Basics (Part 1), Leveraging Creative Properties (Part 2) & Planning Campaigns (Part 3)

Every broadcast medium today suffers from the challenge of being able to create consistently good content for their audiences.

With the frequency of the content shared on social media being much higher than say a radio or a TV show, or a magazine, it is all the more challenging for brands that pursue to ‘socialize’ with effective content.

The Challenge

A major differentiator for a brand amongst the clutter can be effective content. Majorly, because all brands do not have the appetite of spending consistently and heavily on engagements, media spends or gratifications on Facebook.

On other popular platforms like Twitter and Linkedin, the stakes are even high since you have a smaller audience base and the budget requirements of these platforms are much more demanding than Facebook.

Here are some of my experiences that have works for brands.

Can you create additional value for the users?

This is probably the most difficult question to get an answer for, from your client! Yes, the brand custodians should be first ones to give a shot at this hurdle.

However, there are situations where the client or say the product team cannot decide what’s best for such a medium and the social media team or the agency, hence has to take a call on what the most appropriate fit amongst the offerings.

Eventually, the objective should be to create additional value for your fans and followers. P.S. – This is not a mandatory criteria, there a number of brands that exist effectively on social platforms without taking care of this point. How? I have explained that further. Read on.

Pick up a genre

To take the above point forward, the value generated from the content created could cater from one or more of a variety of genres.

It could be based on sharing information, current events, humour, poems, educational, experiential, niche information sharing, etc

What’s your style?

At times, the brand exists on social space amongst intense competition, and does not have a value proposition for its audience on social media. The internal social media team or the agency has to figure out a unique way of putting it across to people.

And there are number of brands that are already doing a good job at it. If one could set a flavour of the page, it creates a strong recall value for your posts and the brand.

Creative opportunities with content

It’s obvious that Facebook is focusing on pushing images and videos more than plain text posts. Hence, on Facebook, working out a plan for creative opportunities for releasing content on the page is a must.

Do not look at a force-fit of visual content with your brand as it can backfire miserably. Also, stay away from copyright troubles; it isn’t as easy to pick an image from Google to use on for your posts as get away with it.

Tie ups

Media tie ups provide great fodder for the brand’s social presence. The terms of volume and frequency of content that will be made available should be closed right during the closure of sponsorship deals.

If there could be exclusive content planned for the users, it works the best. A number of production houses now launch trailers online, and it has worked wonders for some average banners, the same logic applies to brands who can sketch out such a plan for their followers while planning for tie ups.

Create a series

Numerous series of internet memes are doing rounds on social media these days, mostly initiated by individuals. There is a great opportunity for brands to tap into the space.

A consistent series of templatized images with smart communication will help create a strong recall value and a good online following for the brand.

Next up: Outreach sources for campaigns