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Don't Let Great Content Die on the Social Vine

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By Brian Pettigrew

The days when marketers could strike the viral lode with their latest Facebook post, YouTube video or "tweet in the dark" are yesterday's success stories. Today, viral happens when marketing dollars are invested in social platforms as media outlets.

Have a million Facebook fans? That's great, but the reality is they most likely are not even seeing your posts. As content platforms continue to change the algorithms of what rises to the top (let alone even the middle), the films, clips, games, sweepstakes, etc. that marketers create are disappearing entirely from the feeds of their fans.

Managing your social calendar as a 12-month ongoing campaign is not sustainable in today's social space for most brands. That's because as content gets posted, it gets lost in the stream of posts and does get seen unless you pay to promote it. But, following the model of entertainment brands can ensure that content gets its time in the social sun.

Entertainment brands have honed their social skills to a science. They leverage their stars, leak clips and story arcs. They also make content that engages and gives fans something to play along with via VR, AR, 360 video and Snapchat. And finally, they boost their content to ensure immediate awareness and views. Here are some things every brand – entertainment, product or service can do to make their social channels deliver.

Timing is Everything

Movie studios promote the same thing year round — movies. They have different types of films and support them with unique campaigns with the goal of driving short term growth, awareness, engagement and buzz.

If your goal is to build your community, reallocate some of your budgets from daily, monthly, yearly content plans to short burst social campaigns that drive interest. Support it with media and make the most out of your dollars. Time your campaigns just as you would a broadcast initiative be it back to school, holidays or other occasions. Will your FB community really leave you if you don't post for a week?

By focusing your outreach during key times of the year, you will be able to create a sense of urgency to your offering. Just like a movie does in advance of an opening. Shorter and more compressed initiatives will get the consumers attention.

Invest in the Right Content

It's not enough today to have great content. What's more important is having the right content. Movie trailers get millions of views, in part because studios pay to promote them. But they also supplement that content with behind-the-scenes videos, or clips that bring characters to life.

Brands can create multiple films from one longer piece of content and build the same kind of consumer interaction by putting some marketing dollars behind the social media buy. Go inside the story and build out compelling areas of interest as separate videos — be it where ingredients are sourced, how a product is made — side trips that take the consumer into the brand.

It's Not All About Community Building

Social is a blend of messaging and community building. You can grow your audience by finding the right combination of short- and long-term messages. Interesting content rarely drives organic reach or growth, so maximize your dollars by reallocating your content and media mix within each social channel.

Movie studios have paved the way for social success and have a model that succeeds. Brands can do the same by considering fewer posts, more engaging content and investing in social channels with a budget line dedicated to supporting content.

Source

"Don't Let Great Content Die on the Social Vine." MediaPost, 6/30/16.

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