Social Media for Strategic Communication: Chapter 9

tools for graphic content

1. Adobe Spark Page 2. Canva 3. Piktochart 4. Infogram 5. Alive 6. Camera+ 7. Enlight

tools for audio content

1. Anchor 2. Audacity 3. SoundCloud 4. GarageBand 5. Evernote (generating ideas) 6. Scripts (WriterDuet)

tools for visual content

1. SlideShare 2. Prezi 3. Haiku Deck 4. Canva 5. Adobe Spark Post 6. Giphy

tools for content curation

1. Twitter Lists - creating a list for various areas of expertise is one way to keep track of all of the people you want to follow for resources to share with your audiences 2. follows on Facebook and LinkedIn - you are able to follow prominent brands and people on these two social media sites, so you can bookmark and save the articles and links for future uses. 3. Scoop. - It and Feedly - both of these tools follow certain publications and provide you with a feed of article that come from each site 4, Nuzzel and Flipboard. - these tools have mobile apps and take the feeds you follow on social media and provide an interactive newsletter for you to read, consume, and then share on your networks (both are free to use) 5. Curata - this paid service helps companies look at relevant content for their complete marketing capabilities on social media - this may be a tool to invest in if you have the budget

tools for video content

1. YouTube 2. Adobe Premiere 3. Vimeo 4. Animoto 5. BeLive 6. BlueJeans 7. Adobe Spark Video 8. Plotagraph

key considerations to content strategy

1. a set brand voice and style guidelines must be in place before you start creating content. - all content and assets should share the voice of the brand, person, and account - following a writing style guide is necessary along with set protocols for promoting the content (keywords, search engine optimization tips and techniques, etc.). 2. decide where to place the content - will you host the content on your media platforms (blog posts, landing pages, webinars, etc.) and then share it out on social media, or will you post the content directly on social media (Facebook videos, Twitter GIFs, Instagram Stories, etc.) with a link back to the website? 3. storytelling needs to be intertwined with the content being shared - the different stories that could be created (e.g. emotional journey, current landscape, humor, educational purposes, or addressing a current opportunity or problem) are ideas that could be personalized and tailored to the content, and executed in a way that resonates with the intended audience

content calendar

1. an important template for keeping the content you share online organized and consistent 2. this shareable resource is used by social media teams to plan, organize, and coordinate all of the content going out for a brand, organization, or individual on social media

alignment of content

1. an ultimate goal for the social media professional is to create great content 2. creating content and putting it out there for the world to see is not the only strategy and action a social media professional should pursue 3. one must take multiple components into consideration when aligning content with the strategies and messages of a campaign or promotion for a brand: - the social media manager needs to conduct a content audit to determine which assets (e.g. creative and written content) worked and the takeaways from these items in the past - the social media manager and team need to discuss the key areas involved with content marketing, particularly the specialized areas and duties that help align the messages and content with the audience for a brand or organization

tools for written content

1. blogging tools (Wordpress, Medium, Blogger) 2. anchor 3. evernote 4. Google Drive 5. grammarly 6. Hemingway App 7. MailChimp 8. Constant Contact

earned media

1. content that is sometimes connected with PR, but not controlled by brands, which in many ways makes it more trustworthy and less biased compared to other types of content 2. publicity or promotion of content without paying for the content characterizes this type of media 3. examples include: media relations, influencer relations, and ambassador endorsements

best practices for creating content

1. create content worth sharing - focus on quality, not quantity, in your content 2. look at the data and see what the numbers tell you about the content you have shared - data don't lie 3. invest in the time to interact with audiences to find out what they are looking for on social media - no not assume you know what audiences want on social media - conduct research to make sure 4. make the extra effort and provide more than audiences expect - always go beyond what is expected 5. edit, edit, and edit some more - content is under a microscope for brands and individuals, so taking the time to edit, revise, and review and edit some more is important 6. find time to write when you think you don't have any - build time into your daily routine to explore inspirations for content creation

create content for a purpose

1. creating content for the sake of creating content is not helpful to anyone in social media 2. more brands and audience members are looking at new ways to make a connection, start a dialogue, and reinforce certain perceptions of the brand with he use of content creation on social media 3. this approach used to promote content to the masses is often referred to content marketing 4. content marketing helps professionals determine what to create, disseminate, and share with others to accomplish certain objectives

steps to developing a content calendar

1. determine who your audiences are - what groups do you want to reach, and where do they go for their information? - determining what channels your audiences are on will help inform the assets to create and distribute for the calendar 2. develop content with key dates, channels and expectations in mind - the content calendar should keep you on track with important dates, channel updates, and timing/expectations for how many posts, updates, and pieces of content to create for each social media platform - particular dates (holidays, product launches, campaigns, annual events, etc.) need to be taken into account when outlining your schedule - the frequency of posting for one platform may not work for another 3. schedule the content to go out on certain platforms - the content calendar should also indicate when to stop a scheduled post - for example, when a natural disaster or crisis situation happens, no one wants to see a promoted post or update from a company

long-form content

1. expands on a topics in greater detail, which helps showcase the expertise, insights, and education opportunities from the brand or person writing the content 2 long-form content can range from blog posts (500-1,000 words) to e-books, webinars, research reports, and online guides, to name a few even longer forms of content

owned media

1. focuses on content and the platform you control as a brand, organization, or person 2. this content is hosted on your own controlled media platforms such as websites, blogs, branded communities, or email newsletters 3. some examples include: employee stories, testimonials, blog posts and resources, white papers, podcasts and video tutorials, and E-books

reasons to create content on social media

1. having strong brand awareness 2. gaining respect and reputation 3. tapping in SEO capabilities 4. providing assets to a social media campaign

tapping in SEO capabilities

1. in order to drive influencers and boost your reputation online, blogs, white papers, and additional long- and short-form content could help drive traffic back to your owned media assets (media that you control) as a return on investment for time and resources spent on social media 2. this is why whenever you post content, you must do research on the key terms so if someone comes across your content based on a search, they will see value in it and follow you on the designated platform

six ways to come up with content ideas

1. look outside of the industry 2. see what the research is saying 3. categorize ideas in terms of goals 4. set up regular brainstorming 5. find the spark 6. note the reasons people like/don't like the content

best practices for content curation

1. make it personal - tell your audience members why you are sharing it - this helps build a story for why you (or a brand) think it is relevant for audiences to see this content 2. valuable content only - be selective and have a strategic purpose for each piece of content you share, and do this in a transparent manner - and, when you share other people's content, make sure you give them credit 3. a factor in your daily routine - taking a few minutes each day to look for items that may be good for your audiences' well-being is all it takes

shared media

1. often associated with social media, but it is more of an interactive medium where conversations and dialogue emerge as the result of the content being shared (usually linked) 2. some examples are: Facebook group shares, Twitter retweets and comments, LinkedIn shares and linking the content in an update, and influencers/advocates/ambassadors sharing content

providing assets to a social media campaign

1. pieces of content are often referred to as assets (items owned and created by an organization agency, or person) to be used strategically for certain key messages and objectives in a campaign 2. without these assets, the messages may fall a bit flat and lost the attention of audience members on social media

paid media

1. social media advertising, or a "pay-to-play" model, in which the company (or advertiser/agency) pays for the content to appear in the timeline for a certain amount of money 2. examples include : sponsored ads on Instagram Stories, sponsored posts on Facebook, promoted tweets on Twitter, sponsored lenses on Snapchat, and paid influencers

short-form content

1. the content you usually see presented on social media 2. these short snippets of information can be consumed very quickly and effectively 3. based on the audience and the platform, this type of content is effective for expressing key messages in a short amount of time

gaining respect and reputation

1. the more people see your content as consistent yet personalized for each of the designated platforms, the more they will trust the information presented and be even more motivated to become long-term readers and followers 2. if the content is relevant and provides helpful tips, resources, and action steps for audiences, this could be the first step in transforming a loyal audience member into an advocate for your work, which could lead to future connections and professional partnerships

content curation

1. the process of sorting through large amounts of content on the web and presenting the best posts in a meaningful and organized way 2. this can include sifting, sorting, arranging, and placing found content into specific themes, and then publishing that information 3. with content curation, you are searching for relevant articles, resources, and content from other sources you feel your audience will find relevant and useful to consume

types of content to create

1. thought leadership - webinars - courses - how-to guides, resources, and lists - Q&As - research - blog posts - presentations 2. lead generation - customer service - media kits - testimonials - reviews - email marketing - social selling updates 3. visual storytelling and education - infographics - videos - podcasts - animations - storyboards - templates - vlogs - short-form videos 4. brand awareness - branded content - conversations - interactive media and social care - twitter chats - featured guests/interviews - podcast 5. outreach efforts - social media exchanges - sponsorships - quotes - newsletters - influencer relations - blogger relations - ambassador relations

having strong brand awareness

1. we are in the attention economy, and brand, agencies, and individuals are all trying to establish themselves in a way that separates them from others 2. one way to accomplish this is to think about each piece of content as an extension of your digital footprint and real estate 3. it is essential that you present a strong brand image with the content you do have and that, based on what you share, you attract new audience members to connect with and bring back to your own hosted content

content strategy

1. what are your overall goals as a brand or company, and how do you want to execute them? 2. vision, and staying true to your mission and brand voice, is key in making sure each piece of content, message, and asset is aligned and strategically placed on the designated platform

content promotion

1. you can have the best content possible, but it no one sees it and shares it with their own networks, then it is a wasted effort 2. content promotion and execution in. reaching out to the audience's feeds and accounts is as important as creativity in your key messages and assets

tools for identifying key audience members to target

Klear, Meltwater, Hootsuite, Talkwalker, Zoomph, Iconosquare, Followerwonk, BuzzSumo, and others can help you determine which audience members to reach out to based on a certain area of focus

content marketing

a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience-and ultimately, to drive profitable customer action

content is context is

content is king context is queen

content

essentially is anything that communicates a specific message to our audience in a designated channel

benefits of content calendar

for social media professionals, the benefits of using a content calendar include the fact that it keeps everything organized in one single document, and also helps you visualize when, where, and at what time each piece of content will be distributed across the social media space additionally, Hootsuite states that content calendars promote collaboration with other members of your team and save time

evergreen content

information that is created that continues to be relevant regardless of when it was first published

PESO model

merges four media types (paid, earned, shared and owned) to create an integrated media model for social media professionals to utilize in their campaigns

what do social media professionals need to think about with creating content?

must think about both the content that will hit the surface-level goals for a brand (recognition, awareness, etc.) and the content that helps with higher levels of management strategies and goals (achieving thought leadership status, changing attitudes and behaviors, enhancing reputation, etc.)