Back to basics: content, content and… #relevance
We all know that content is king when devising a communications strategy, especially for a traditional media programme. So why is it any different for social media, or at least on the face of it?
This issue came up at a CDR Life Sciences’ team meeting on making better use of social media. Let’s face it, social media is everywhere and a sign of where communications are going in the public, private and corporate spheres. Just last week we reported that internet users had five social media accounts.
Things have moved on and gone are the days when social media was regarded as a separate activity within an overall media strategy. However, what is often overlooked is what actually drives a successful social media strategy. The answer is the same ingredient required for all good communications programmes: CONTENT.
Developing an internal social media marketing strategy seems even harder. With social media evolving constantly and with new platforms being launched all the time, where do we start? Which social media platforms should we be on – YouTube, Instagram, Facebook or Twitter… or all of them?
Social media can be a quagmire but even more so if you don’t start with the basics:
- Content
- Content that has been informed by what you are trying to achieve in the first place
- Content that is relevant to your target audience
Considerations for creating a content plan:
- What do you want to say, to whom and why? e.g to educate prospective clients about what you do? Provide resources for journalists?
- Is the content plan aligned with broader corporate and PR objectives?
- What resources do you have/need for your content plan? e.g blog, newsletters, news page, original research/data
Now that you have the beginnings of that all-important content plan, you can then think about where it should appear. Which social media platforms, if any, are relevant for your audience? For example, if targets are mostly on Twitter and LinkedIn, then that’s where your content should be. The basics sound simple but how often we forget in practice.