“Social media sparks a revelation that we, the people, have a voice, and through the democratization of content and ideas we can once again unite around common passions, inspire movements, and ignite change.”
– Brian Solis
In social media land, this would seem an odd message, but it’s my take on things right now.
When I talk about content, I mean something original, novel and interesting. But, perhaps most of all, I mean something produced by you!
Take a platform like LinkedIn (it’s the platform of choice for those in the B2B space). If you’re connected to me, or have read my feed, you’ll have seen me moan more than once about the dearth of connection-centric material and the fact that, much like Google+, it’s a dumping ground for whatever content shows up in someone’s RSS or Twitter feed.
Not surprisingly, I’ve had some push back from people saying that that’s not the reason they’re on LinkedIn, but, frankly, that’s a lame excuse. Perhaps I’m in the minority, but if I was someone who had limited time to use social media and LinkedIn was the only place I surfaced, I would want to make sure that I didn’t just get to hear about job changes, company updates and what the BBC or some well-known blogger had to say. I would want to hear from those Iâm connected to in a way that made me remember them, or want to take the conversation further with content that sparked an interest beyond (simple) sales promotion. Of course, there are people who take the time and trouble to produce content for LinkedIn (not those supposed influencers), but the problem for them is that itâs drowned out by everything else. Perhaps a better way to think of LinkedIn is to see it as your own CRM platform where you create a list of people to share your content with privately. Right now that functionality is lost save the minority of people who think nothing of sending a random email to promote some off-topic event or promotion. Shame on them.
And what of Twitter?
I donât know where youâre at with your follower numbers but unless youâve got real tight with your Twitter lists â only a few people have bothered to use them â then chances are you struggling to keep up with the number of Tweets, embedded content and the thinking behind the overwhelming noise. At least thatâs how it was for me. Having spent too much time on Twitter, I realised that it wasnât working. For a start, it had become too predictable e.g. the same people were making the same comments or sharing the same material, and I had lost any sense of perspective. In the early days, I looked at Twitter as a place to grow my practice, develop my brand and keep up with the legal sector. Thereafter, I tried to connect with and network with people. I donât know exactly when things changed but I knew that I had to refine my involvement to make sure that I didnât abandon Twitter completely.
About a year ago, I decided to limit the people I followed. I wanted to strip things back and then rebuild who I followed or included in lists, only focusing on those areas that I was really interested in. Also, I wanted to find a way to reconnect with aspects of my life that I had neglected. Now, if you check out the people/companies I follow, you will find an eclectic mix but much closer to who I am. And, even though I spend far less time on Twitter than I used to, when I do head over there, I know that Iâm going to spend time reading the Tweets, engaging with people and clicking any worthwhile links and not skimming the surface as previously. As to content, I wouldnât say itâs a huge improvement save that I donât go anywhere else to find out what someone is saying i.e. Google+ or LinkedIn.
As for Google+, the less said the better. I think itâs a travesty that such a technically strong platform is used by so few people. Not only that but if you were committed enough to produce content only for this platform, then you would quickly recognise that all you were doing was talking to yourself. I know there are exceptions but when I look at those posts that get the most +1s and comments, they are much more likely to be images or videos and not blog posts or even posts written exclusively for Google+.
As I said recently on Google+, I suspect the only reason why people continue with the platform is because theyâve been brainwashed to believe that absent its integration as part of their marketing or business development process, then their SEO ranking will disappear. If thatâs all youâre doing then it doesnât say much for content marketing or your focus on social media.
In my case, I try to share something every day â either my Audioboo micro podcast, my weekly blog (which I publish on a Tuesday) or a story from Cowbird. I also try to look at my friends and acquaintancesâ circles and +1 or comment on what theyâve posted. I suspect I spend no more than five minutes per day and whilst Iâm not sure I get a huge amount of value from the platform, I do feel that itâs richer in content than LinkedIn or Twitter.
Enough said on the platforms. Back to the case in point; namely the lack of engaging content.
I donât know your business or modus operandi, but assuming youâve got your buyer persona nailed down, youâve carved out writing or creative time and youâve a plan in mind for your content, then there shouldnât be any excuse for not being able to produce one piece of quality content per week. You might think that blogs are everything â they are certainly very important â but thereâs no reason why you shouldnât use audio or a short video (try Vine or Instagram) or perhaps a short presentation uploaded to Slideshare.
But of course all of this is meaningless unless you find the time, any time. I know what youâre thinking â the work always comes first â but thatâs no reason not to produce something. Letâs face it, if you knew you had 10 minutes today to produce your stellar piece of content then would you really spend that time on Twitter or LinkedIn? Surely your best bet is to type 250 words and share it to your blog or, better still, you could do a short audio on Audioboo, Soundcloud or Cowbird. (If youâve never heard of these platforms then check them out. Theyâre excellent.)
The other negative that I hear said why people are not interested in producing content harps back to the âWhatâs In It For Meâ mantra. The glib response would be to sayâŠitâs likely to lead to work, (personal) brand differentiation and raising your profile, but thatâs not enough in my opinion. Most people are not bothered sufficiently about their career or business to want to produce something. Instead they default to type using the same suite of marketing or business development tools because it feels safe. But thatâs stupid. Unless youâve seen a significant increase in all of the aforementioned why on earth would you keep doing the same stuff knowing that youâre very likely to get the same outcome? No me neither.
Of course content comes with a big fat question mark but nothing ventured, nothing gained goes the saying. Itâs a bit more than that of course. What you have to think about is how you produce content thatâs beyond your current capability. If I was back working for someone and they told me to produce a blog a month I wouldnât keep peddling stuff that didnât work. I would get help and not necessarily from inside the business. As a start, I would enrol myself on any number of writing classes that abound on the web. In addition, I would look to other industries or sectors and see what makes for engaging copy. In my case, Iâve lost track of the number of times Iâve signposted some of my favourite bloggers like Julien Smith, Chris Brogan, Derek Sivers and Seth Godin but I doubt if anyone has bothered to check them out or better still try to learn from them or someone that they think rocks.
If this all sounds preachy then Iâm not about to apologise. I know thereâs a temptation to think of content through the prism of cause and effect but I fear you will be sorely disappointed, particularly if youâve read how blogging can lead to the development of some earth-shattering business.
Content can open doors or lead to new opportunities but you have to think daily about producing the best content you can but more than that you should do what you do because you love it. If you donât love content then in time you will give up. And whatever spin you put on things you canât really say that content didnât work. Itâs just that (a) you didnât do it for long enough and (b) it wasnât good enough.
OK then, my simple message: if you want to see the benefits of social media then it will only happen when you start to produce brilliant content that engages your audience. Absent that social media will amount to nothing more than a distraction from doing the real work.
If youâre stuck donât be afraid to reach out and connect with me. I canât promise to have all the answers but I may unlock some of your creative brilliance that has remained dormant all these years.