I went in for some brain surgery the other day, a procedure carried out without anaesthetic, and once he had my skull open the surgeon turned to me and asked, "OK, now that we have your brain exposed which bit would you like me to take out?"
Preposterous, right? I know, and I did not have brain surgery, but suppose I did and this actually happened - I would be totally within my rights to think that the brain surgeon was incompetent, a hack, a charlatan and definitely someone who should not be allowed anywhere near a hospital, let alone a surgery table.
The question is why something which is unacceptable in a brain surgery scenario becomes OK to use in a social media setting? Mashable (a social media blog, of all things) became the latest addition behind the Guardian, ABC, Fox News and a number of other media brands to get on G+ and ask its population of online users "What do you want to see here?"
While on the face of it the question may seem innocuous and designed to provide engagement, make readers feel that the social media content provider is listening to them and that they are part of a conversation, the real question, in this context, is about as ill-conceived as the brain surgeon's in the example I used in my opening paragraph.
Instead of providing all this, it usually achieves the opposite effect. Those who have turned to a brand to provide some content of interest (because they have some idea of what it does and why) will be turned off; those who are least suitable to suggest something usually will (and it will be ignored, which will only make them feel rejected and unappreciated), and many caught between these two ends of the spectrum will feel a little buffled, which is hardly the effect any brand wants to create anywhere, but particularly on Google+.
It seems incredible that we now have to go through the basics, which any mid-year business school freshman already knows, but the approach brands have to Google+ indicates that it's time we did.
So, if you're a brand and want to get anywhere on social media networks here are three guidelines to help you achieve your goals:
1. Know who you are. As a brand you stand for something which makes you distinct from anybody else. Understand clearly what that is, what its values and approach are and how you are going to communicate this to those on the social media network you've entered.
2. Have a content strategy. Do not use every social media platform as just another broadcast channel to funnel all your content through. Have a plan of action, aim at creating engagement, interest and enough of a reaction to help make your content shareable.
3. Be professional. Your job is to provide content that has a specific value for its audience. Do not ask those who follow you what they would like to see. Instead work to guess what they want and be alert enough to respond to their comments and interaction and further fine-tune or reposition what you post on the social network to better reflect the audience needs.
With these three guidelines in mind, social media content posting becomes a means through which you begin to engage your target audience and create a true dialogue, which makes your audience feel valued and your content feel valuable. Otherwise, you should not be anywhere near a social media network.
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Content Marketing