Recently, Brian and I were panelists on a webinar about social media content and how to best use your platforms to reach your desired audience. During that webinar, someone asked us if memes were appropriate content. For this particular group, the answer (in my opinion) was a resounding no, but we also walked them through how to determine what is good or appropriate and what is not.
It’s never a great idea to aimlessly post without thinking through its purpose and potential impact. What might be funny to you could be offensive to your audience, or what is interesting to you could be completely boring to your audience. When creating content for our clients, there are a few questions that we like to ask. You can ask these same questions to help you produce great content!
Question 1: Does this Content Accomplish a Larger Marketing Goal?
Before you even begin posting on social media and other platforms it’s imperative that you determine your goals! Some potential goals might be to promote new products, inform people about sales, introduce staff members, tell the story of your business, or get your audience talking with engagement posts. When creating content for your business you need to ask yourself, is this accomplishing one of these larger goals? If it isn’t then why are you posting it?
It’s easy to throw out content that seems fun or exciting, but if it isn’t helping you meet your goals then it’s not good. This is one of the biggest questions that we ask when creating content for our clients and it leads well into the next big question.
Question 2: Does this Accurately Represent Your Brand?
Another very important aspect that needs to be considered before you make your first graphic is your brand guidelines. Brand guidelines are very important when creating content and not just for aesthetic reasons. Your brand includes so much more than just your logo, fonts, and colors. Your brand includes things like your voice and tone as well.
If the voice of your brand is very professional and knowledgeable then posting a meme or corny joke might not be the most appropriate post. If your brand character is supposed to be open and welcoming to all people, then posting something that is very polarizing or internal probably isn’t your best bet.
As long as your content is accomplishing your marketing goals and is accurately representing your brand, then on the most basic level, it’s good to go! If you’re wanting to narrow down your content a little more, here are a few more questions you can ask.
Question 3: Does Your Audience Want This Content?
This question can feel like a game of finding the needle in the haystack and sometimes, especially at the beginning, it is. We can take our best guesses based on who our audience is and what they have interacted with in the past to decide if a piece of content will be well received. However, sometimes you just don’t know until you try it.
That doesn’t mean that we can’t make educated decisions though. If you know that your audience is largely looking for home decor DIYs then posting something about how to do your taxes is probably not going to be a great content idea for you. However, if you know your audience likes home decor DIYs then you might want to try posting about inexpensive replicas for expensive decor items and see if that hits as well! In this case, the new content idea is similar enough to one of the interests that you know your audience has that it would be worth giving it a try.
Question 4: Has this Idea Been Overdone?
Another good question to ask when creating content is, has this idea been overdone? Chances are if you’ve been on social media for a little while you’ve noticed that trends come and go. This is particularly true of the newer short video format on TikTok and Instagram. Trends are great and if there is one that aligns with your goals then it could be beneficial to join in, make sure you haven’t missed the boat.
If a trend has come and gone and you’re still doing it then it might not have the desired impact. Instead of looking as though you’re aware of the trends, it shows that you’re a little late to the party. Make sure that your content hasn’t been overdone and if it has, find a new angle to make it fresh and exciting.
Question 5: Will This Content Elicit a Response from Your Audience?
Last but certainly not least, when deciding what to post on your website or social media accounts you need to ask yourself if this content will get a response from your audience. While likes, comments, and shares aren’t the end all be all of social media success they are pretty important in gauging how your content is doing. If your content isn’t getting any response from your audience, especially if it was specifically intended to) then you likely need to go back to the drawing board and consider why it isn’t hitting well.
People are naturally drawn to things that elicit an emotional response from them. If we can connect with it on a personal level then we’re more likely to pay attention to it, interact with it, and even share it. So when creating content, be sure that you keep this in mind and do your very best to create posts that allow your audience to connect.
Who knew there was so much to think through when creating content? The digital media specialists at Dogwood Media Solutions did, and we’d love to help you on your content creation journey! If we can help you with blog writing, social media, digital ads, and more, give us a call, and let’s get the conversation started.
