Keep it flowing. Create value. Be ‘on-message’.
We once had a client tell us, “We need you to quarterback this.” That’s all we needed to hear.
Our client’s objective was to have a relevant presence on Social Media channels. They wanted to convey their work, demonstrate their capabilities and project leadership within their industry. Not bad. The challenge was, how to do that consistently in the context of deadlines, fires to put out, and the day-to-day scramble?
Who’s the team?
It becomes very clear very fast when we come on board with a client where our sources of content are. Sometimes they just need a little push, a little coaching, a little scheduling. But you cannot beat original content for sincere, informational content for communications of value.
Extracting original content direct from client sources creates genuine, on message, audience-focused drafts. From our clients, we want work-relevant, work-specific content to be 50% of the output. That means content relevant to the work of the client’s client, their environment, their industry sector. To know a client’s information sources, as well as their potential storytellers, is the key to creating and sustaining the flow of content. From there, we can develop, hone and polish bits and pieces, draft content into great finished content.
Heck, Construct Marketing has been able to even cultivate content from our client’s clients. Now that content has value.
Does it have direct value for the audience?”
When you see content specific to work you’re doing, you tune it in don’t you? That’s the beauty of social media. This is where the original content mentioned above comes in.
Does your content reflect your brand? Is it on message?
Does it say what your industry sector is listening for?
When reading other’s posts, and you wonder, “What does this have to do with x?” – how does it make you feel about the brand? Here we have the crux of content and social media. Social Media makes you the publisher. You define your brand and the face you show the audience. Do this with original and curated materials.
You’re not in the content publishing business. It is a challenge to produce original content and maintain a strong, steady presence. A large part of social media is the presence – engaging, listening, sharing. A mix of posts that originate from your brand, and general construction content or the occasional off-industry post may have peripheral value for your audience. Fill the space between original material with curated material. Think of yourself as a museum curator. Your company’s social media pages are the museum. you know who you want walking through your galleries – post info that will attract and engage. Share the best of what you see, strategically, with the value of the content to your audience, and what the content says to your brand, in mind.
From there… Anywhere…
Social media can be an effective communications tool, but it needs a steady feed of content. It keeps your brand in front of the industry, maintains your presence as players, even leaders, and with time and strategy, engages the industry. It can be even more powerful when used in conjunction with other channels.
Apart from running a strong, engaging social media program, there’s an ancillary benefit. As your content engine puts out material, you may realize there’s more than just social media to deploy the story of your company. Content is the hard part. Once you have this, project posts turn into your website case histories and conference presentations. Company personnel updates turn into much sought after construction industry news. Company briefs turn easily into press releases. Any announcements from your brand can be pitched to any industry media publisher to consider for a feature. All of it converts into traditional newsletters and E-mail newsletters, both of which invite more people into your brand’s fold…
Did we strike on something here?
Read More on Content HERE: Writing Content to Sustain, Not Publish. Not yet anyhow…