Content for Social Media

It's a sad fact of life that many of us work in industries that simply don't promote a lot of water cooler discussions -- fabricators, asbestos removal services, transportation traffickers… If you have a job where you dread the question 'What do you do?' you need to either find a new way to talk about your job or accept that social media might not be the most effective way to promote your company.

But, even asbestos removal technicians go to conferences, and when you find your social niche you suddenly find people who understand the difference between {mumbling technobabble} and {I know exactly what you mean!}.

So whether you have a blockbuster film that people are dying to hear about, or a new way to scrape hazardous materials off subflooring, it's a matter of basic marketing:

    1. Know your audience     2. Tailor your message to that audience

I think we're all getting a little tired hearing about the Old Spice campaign, but it's a good example of knowing the audience and then creating something really compelling specifically for that audience. We may not care about our underarms, but we like the surreal way he's suddenly on a horse on the beach… or is he a centaur?

People don't mind passing along great entertainment even when it's obviously a commercial but, and I can't stress this enough

IT HAS TO BE GOOD Everyone is sick of corporate content pretending to be good, when we all know it's crap. I can't sugar coat this one -- if you don't have either a compelling product, or interesting content, you not only won't get the return you're looking for, you run the risk of being the dark side of social media -- the viral taunting.

As an example, see my blog Sometimes you don't want your campaign to go viral where someone turned Microsoft's 'Throw a Windows 7 launch party' into a series of really filthy references with clever bleeping.

Of course, at the end of the day, if your content isn't compelling and your product doesn't inspire people to pass along your message, you can always bribe people to engage with your campaign. Giving away coupons, holding sweepstakes or other contests where participation and passing along the message is required may not be compelling, but it drives traffic, eyeballs and awareness.

Nothing wrong with a little bribery… as long as it's authentic, sincere, and compelling bribery.