Creating engaging content is the way to go, talk, write when you are putting ideas, campaigns and initiatives into messages in social media. Ok, but how to do that? Throughout our Content Engagement Epic Series we will discuss how to hook the audience in social media on a message when this platform is seemingly without the slightest trace of reason and predictability. You see, the social CAN be decoded for a richer experience through real time social monitoring. Let’s see some awesome tricks and insights how to get the online hooked on your words!
Own your own social experience
Our daily decisions are all about „saying yes or no” to a possible future line we imagine for ourselves. So are the decisions of a brand. It characterizes itself in a way a person does. Which are the things I love, I seek, I long for, I am inspired by. Who am I, what am I doing here and where am I headed?
When we talk about successful content management in social media, building online reputation, it is important to get channelled in the right flow, and to play the game with awareness: we are not the only ones who seek the users’ attention.
“If we all go for the blonde,” John Nash says ina Beautiful mind, “we block each other and not a single one of us is going to get her. So then we go for her friends, but they will all give us the cold shoulder because nobody likes to be second choice. The best result will come where everyone in the group does what is best for himself AND the group.”
The Blonde represents here all those contents that we – as a brand – are familiar with, our natural playground, the topics we focus on. Our ‘best case scenario’ context when creating messages or aim to engage. The Brunette friends are those topics that we deem to be secondary in terms of our successful online communication and presence. Though, they can actually be decisive factors if we want to succeed in creating a win-win situation with our readers. We shall consciously listen to and act upon these online actors and contexts, even though – or especially beacuse – they are not our top of mind communicational fields.
You can’t just ask customers what they want and then try to give that to them. By the time you get it built, they’ll want something new. /Steve Jobs/
So, how to hook them via social media listening?
First of all, let’s talk about the importance of context. It is a major success factor in social media. And by this, we do not only mean the past and the future a brand creates for its own story. No. We mean the context that is outside of its ‘jurisdiction’. To put it simple: the buzz of the world. The ever-changing inspirational pool that shall be constantly monitored and reacted on. In social listening, it is all about that.
Be socially mature, be socially conscious
With real time social knowledge, being lucky and always aware of your next move can become a constant outcome and your trademark.
- Decode the success factors of online communication activities generated by you or your competitors. These are not random. The backbone of this strategy is the dynamic flow of reactions and contra-reactions.
- Map up every angle of, hold and expand your ‘ground’ in real time without delay. Have an answer even before the question arises, by…
- measuring, predicting & comparing the effects of your messages,
- identifying the driving forces in your consumers’ and potential consumers’ field of interest
- gaining insights regarding your current or potential customers’ purchase intention processes
- identifying opinion leaders & relevant sources
- identifying the likes and dislikes with regard to your services, products, beliefs
- changing desires into brand advantage
Effective social media monitoring is the key that unlocks the door to users’ attention which is intentionally shut BTW most of the times, due to unavoidable and agressive online ad buzz.
Use it to crystallize identifiable content categories. Shape your social media experience and get to know the trend-setting content genres.
The social contentizer
The OOO’s – Obvious Obligatory Occurings aka. the Heartbeat content
Pumps like the heart. Non-consumable in themselves. Decoded already in the flow. Their relevancy is determined by time, dates, and they gain interest by being dressed into innovative approaches. Eg.: Christmas, Mother’s Day, Sept 11 etc.
The Must Have – aka. the ‘M’ content
These news/contents are based on relevant and current happenings that shape the global communication trends. Starts with a BANG, when the news breaks, and culminates by gaining and utilizing different contextual background stories. Like: Trump winning the election, The Italian earthquake in October 2016 etc. They are
– determining the flow of common talk
– and you actually can’t afford to miss out if you want to appear well-informed
The Winning The Clicks – aka. the ‘W’ content
The Viral ones. Familiar and emotionally triggering contexts and new hooks that sponge on them. New shades of existing topics that nobody expects, that nobody can foresee, but when it lands in social media (and offline as well), it is instantly positioned as something you must and want to talk about and reflect on. Driven by the hunger of gaining insight in the life, tragedies, scandals of others, while staying an outsider and actually rejoicing at that fact.
We love being a witness. Eg. the Pokemon Go scandal, the death of George Michael, the break-up of Taylor Swift & Tom Hiddleston.
Socially, it is time to ride the waves
If you want to pull in users, readers, new lovers and followers for your brand – and you DO want to do that – you must be aware of these to build communicational strategies fitting in the common talk like a brick in the wall.
Social listening is about paying attention before opening your mouth.
Reveal the desires of social users and channel it to serve your goal. So, how do these three content categories contribute to that on the long term?
Stay tuned for the upcoming episode and master your online presence.
