Content - Feed your Hungry Social Media Platforms

Ok, so you're all over social.  You have a clear understanding of your objectives and what you are setting out to achieve with social - and each channel is therefore, optimised accordingly.

You've got a Twitter channel, or two or even more - Facebook is set up and your Timeline is a heritage piece and also a showcase of your brand and business' day to day life. Your LinkedIn Company Page is product and service optimised and you've spoken with all your team about the importance of their LinkedIn personal profiles being 100% and optimised - and linking through to your LinkedIn Company Page effectively.  Google+ is set up and optimised and you're leveraging that platform for social search.

You may even be leveraging other platforms such as Pinterest and Foursquare (to name just two of the many) to further leverage your online visibility.

Effectively, the tool kit is all in place, each channel knows  its purpose - and so the base is well and truly grounded.

Each social channel has been designed to enable people to share very quickly and simply. What that translates to is that messages can spread quickly, people can advocate your brand, business, service, product and share to their friends. Therefore, your message has the opportunity to extend its reach beyond your usual database and the noise level has the opportunity to be significantly amplified.

The channels are clever bits of kit that's for sure - however, what's important is what you put through the channels.

We love the saying from Stowe Boyd:

"It's our dancing that makes the house rock, not the planks and pipes. It is us that make Twitter alive, not the code."  

And the same sentiment could be said about each of the social platforms.

The social channels, as you will find, are content hungry. You have to be sharing 'something' - and that 'something' needs to be compelling enough so that others share it and engage with it.

Your content needs a lot of thinking and planning. Like any conversation, some of it is scripted, some of it we've said before, some of it we've rehearsed, much of it is responsive and spontaneous.  It's always wise to 'think' before you open your mouth. And the same applies to your conversational content.

Our advice, throughout every element of social is to think about your objectives, plan strategically and be prepared.

This Content Road Map should help you on your way.

@Michelle Carvill is owner and Marketing Director at Carvill Creative – the online visibility experts. A digital marketing and design agency based in Maidenhead, Berkshire.  The agency covers all aspects of marketing strategy and online visibility - covering social media marketing and social media training, user focused website planning and conversion focused website design.

Want to talk to the team at Carvill Creative about your social media activity or training needs? We’re happy to chat, so simply ‘get in touch’.

Finally, why not download our useful Social Media Marketing Planner and Marketing Plan. They’re totally free to download and use.