Content and Social Strategy

It's a simple yet essential combination. A social media strategy goes hand in hand with a content strategy. There is no point in being a social company or if the brand has no content, or at least a story to tell.

In these times, when we think of a digital strategy, social media is instantly a part of the equation. What most strategies fail to include (Or at least not put enough weight behind), is a content strategy. Social media, is about being social, and being social is about sharing stories. That is why social media by birth and nature, comes from individuals, not corporations or brands.

What is Social Media?
When we hear of social media, we think of the major social networks such as Facebook, YouTube and Linkedin. It is important to really understand what social media is at its core, to be able to understand and work with its dynamics and be best represented in the social networks.

'Social media' is broadcasted media, generated by social communication.

In short, social media is simply defined by the two words the two words 'social' and 'media'. 'Social media' is broadcasted media, generated by social communication. Generally speaking, it is conversational communication that is shared amongst a network or a community of people. By nature, a brand or an organisation is not geared for a conversation, let alone a conversation that is public, but producing and sharing content is a way that brands and organisations can engage or be positioned in the word of social media.

What is Content?

Generally speaking, content is the words that tell the story. Content, usually refers to the text based articles, but also includes audio and video formats. High quality and original content online can generate quality traffic from search engines (Most notably Google). This quality content is a key factor to the search engine optimisation (SEO) techniques many companies are deploying. With society's increased engagement with the internet, content is becoming one of a company's most powerful assets.

Content and the Brand's Position in Social Media

Here are some ways a brand can and use content to position itself in the world of social media.

• Develop a blog, that publishes posts and articles that are topical to the brands target audience. This can alter the perception of the brand as leading authority, building trust and credibility. An online article has the potential to be shared amongst readers, organically sharing
• Use brand pages to publish not only its own articles, but articles from other reputable sites that would appeal to the community. This builds the reputation of the page as a source of quality content, of which the brand's own content becomes aligned with.
• Use video or develop an online channel to put faces behind the brand. Social media is about people, and video is a powerful tool to show the personal side of a brand.
• Create a group on a social network. This opens up the opportunity to generate user generated content, or what I prefer to call community generated content. Hosting a group, is similar to hosting an event or a party. Like any event or party, groups can be closed or open and work best when managed and moderated effectively.
• Host an event (Event based content), and continue conversations about the event on your group, publish photos of the event on social the social networks.
• A company's employees can be powerful social ambassadors. Develop guidelines on how employees should engage the social networks when representing their brand or profession. Proactively assist the development of your employees own individual personal brand.

It is important to remember that social media is about a conversation, and there is a balance to be maintained with holding a conversation. Hosting, initiating and responding to conversations need to be tended to.

Social media is an ongoing commitment, that can be fed and stimulated by content. Next thing to think about... a content strategy.

Jomar Reyes founded Digital-Media-Workshops.com in 2011, in meeting the demands of clients wanting more professional training in digital media. In 2014 he also started lecturing at the Danish Institute of Studies Abroad (DIS) in Copenhagen, having developed the Digital Media in Marketing course. As an experienced creative professional in writing, TV production, photography and music production, he also lectures the Creative Industries course at DIS.

In June 2014, he launched TheDigitalMediaForum.com as an open alpha. This forum is where Jomar will be publishing his thoughts, experiences and discoveries on digital media.