Social Media Content Strategy

Dan Berlin – Experience Research Director

dberlin@madpow.net

@banderlin

@madpow

The Right Message in the Right Place at the Right Time

ê Social Media is a shiny new tool to get content out there

•  But you can’t just throw content to the wall and hope it sticks

ê There is no longer such a thing as a destination website

•  Google leads to inner pages

ê Instead of simply putting content out there, we must properly plan and unleash it

Research to understand your customers

ê Understand potential customers’ goals, wants, and needs

•  Align these with your business goals and the available technology

Business

Goals

User

Research

Social Media

Platforms

Messaging Workshop

Armed with user data, have a messaging workshop to determine your:

Goals! Audience Voice and Tone Timing Keywords Message!

And to get stakeholder buy-in

Marketing is Your Friend

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ganesha_isis

Where will your content live?

On-site • Make things sharable • Drive traffic • Conversion

Off-site • Raise awareness • Drive traffic • Conversion

Social Media Footprint

Getting the Voice Right

Getting the Tone Right

SEO and Content Strategy Go Hand-in-Hand

ê You can’t have a good content strategy without considering Search Engine Optimization

(SEO)

•  Your content is useless unless it’s findable

ê Keywords, keywords, keywords

•  Categorize your content

•  Engage in relevant topics

ê Optimize content for your customers and SEO will follow

Getting the Message Right

No one wants to hear about your product!

I have some bad news for you:

They want to be:

Educated Entertained

Message Hierarchy

Primary Message Supports all business objectives and speaks to all audiences

Secondary Supports main

message; speaks to varied audiences

Tertiary The details –

evidence for the 1o and 2o messages

Calls to Action What do you

want them to do?

Business Process Considerations

Internal buy-in

Workflow

Governance

Content Calendars Are Also Your Friend

Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kimberlyeternal/

Reacting to Customers

Be a Trusted Resource

What is going to thrill users?

Where are they in the lifecycle?

What message satisfies the business and customer?

Don’t Just Cultivate! Collaborate!

You don’t have to create all of the content yourself

Point customers to other relevant content of interest (Mashable, Reddit, etc.)

Find content that your audience will think is valuable

Flexibility Based on Data

ê Measurement tools allow the quick collection of data

ê You will quickly know:

•  How the audience has reacted to your content

•  If the audience is following the calls to action

ê Have to be nimble and react to the flow of social media

•  Solid workflows and governance aid nimbleness

Management

Measurement

Tools

Thank You!

Dan Berlin

dberlin@madpow.net

@banderlin

@madpow

ê Start with user research

ê Understand your goals and the landscape

ê Establish workflow and governance

ê Cultivate your content

ê Interact and engage

ê Be a trusted resource