It’s often been said ‘the media’ is a hungry beast – on a 24-hour news cycle driven by the voracious appetite of social media for the next thing. It’s often not even the next big or new thing either. There’s a lot of hum-drum.
One of the many skills journalists use to create news is to tell a seasonal or bigger story from a new or local angle. This is something I’ve been doing for years and is still relevant to my weekly contributions to Dubbo Weekender. There are various ways of both finding and telling these stories now with the technology we have at our finger tips – think mobile video, photos, infographics (using online templates).
Content is often said to be ‘king’ in social media. Despite this patriarchal/monarchist reference, it basically means that it’s not how loud or repetitive you are or how many likes you can get, it’s more about how prepared people are to engage with you and share your information in all its forms – words, pictures, videos, links, downloads (content). The stuff people share (a lot) is sometimes called ‘sticky’ content as it has a life beyond the usual 24-hour (or less) cycle…cue the cats.
This is the stuff of gold. If you are the credible, reliable, original source of that type of content you’ll find a community springing up around you, looking to share your content with others because it either underscores who they think they are, who they want to be or reaffirms the place they believe they have within their own community. Don’t forget every individual who shares your content has their own community – the tentacles of the Word of Mouth Octopus (reach).
Your content needs to be reflective of who you are. It has to reflect your brand, values and core messages. It has to be planned – in advance!
If you find this is something you’re struggling with, Ochre Communications offers training, coaching and consulting services on professional content creation for websites, social media platforms and other communication tools.
More information on our Social Media Matters workshops and booking links are on the Workshops page.
Kim V. Goldsmith 