We Are Content Amplifiers
There is a constant churn going on every minute of every day in nearly every business. Today, 88% of U.S. companies are using social media for marketing purposes. Every one of those businesses is working to stand out from the others with the content they create. The battle for the News Feed, the slugfest for attention and the mission for reach continues, but in today's social environment, content creation isn't what it used to be.
Content is and always will be king, but when everyone is working to create valuable, consumable, engaging content, quality just isn't enough, and posting more often can decrease quality, which lowers engagement and in turn negatively impacts a brand's ability to organically reach its audience. This is evident in the results. WIth an average of 0.073% of Fans interacting with Facebook content, 0.035% Twitter content, 0.069% Google+ and 4.21% (the winner) on Instagram, posting just isn't cutting it.
Creating content with legs is the ultimate challenge for any social media marketer, but despite the call for creating engaging and compelling content, marketers need to do much, much more.
Making More from Less
Churning content at a constant rate isn't a solution. The solution really lies in finding what content is resonating with a small group and then amplifying each piece of content through paid promotion, website features, email callouts and so on. Even the best content will go ignored unless it is amplified through multiple channels, and this involves constant vigilance around creating, measuring and then letting it go or amplifying it for more. It doesn't stop at clicking 'Publish.'
Amplifying content to the masses is certainly a worthwhile endeavor, but a more focused option that involves creating content specific to segments means creating something that will be ignored by most but will resonate deeply with a small group. That group can then carry the message organically. Segmentation can be taken even further by creating content specific to individuals based on what they are saying in their social channels about the brand and the category. Addressing unique individuals comments in a customized way means the message sticks.
Finally, all versions of content are not created equal, which means experimenting with which form a message should take be it video, a post, a tweet, a blog post or something else.
Creating Isn't Enough
Content creation is just the first step. It has to be followed up with amplification. Otherwise, creating was a waste of time, money and resources. We create content for marketing, but it's critical to market our content.