Gary Vaynerchuk of WineLibrary.tv opened the online Social Media Success Summit last night with a fast paced keynote. The Twitter discussion during the session was intense and one attendee commented that the flow of information was like putting your mouth to a firehose!
The one point that came across loud and clear was that to be successful in social media you have to create great content. And lots of it.
Every business is now a publisher, said Vaynerchuk. The right content is the key to engagement. But you have to figure out what content will fill a need for your audience. It's about providing information, being useful and being entertaining.
How do you find out what content to produce? Listen.
Junta42 recently did a great interview with Thomas Hoehn at Kodak.
The interview starts with this question: Does Kodak have a content strategy that's a part of their overall marketing strategy?
Hoehn replies that indeed they do have a content strategy - and it's based on two things:
- Showcasing their products in use.
- Enabling people's self expression and giving voice to their stories
Kodak's approach fits right in with what GaryVee was saying.
It's vital to be listening to your audience and responding with content that makes sense and offers value. The major shift in media consumption, and the low barrier to entry for publishing online, make it possible for anyone and everyone to create content.
The only limitation to success is your ability to create great content. Ask yourself, "Am I the best at what I do?"
Or are you at least in the top 20. Then figure out how to tell your story. Anyone who is passionate about what they write or speak about can do well online today. the playing field has been levelled.
Since he started WineLibrary.tv a slew of similar video blogs have sprung up.  At this time he is still far and away the best. But if someone else produces better content, they could quite easily steal his spot.
PR Takeaway:
Success online is about telling stories and producing great content. The right content creates engagement. Engagement creates loyal followers and customers.
We know how to tell stories. We need to learn to listen to the conversations and tell the right stories online with new tools.  We need to learn to create a compelling social media content strategy for our company, or our clients, and spread that content through the social web.
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