Content- The Real Winner in the Social Media race

Social Media, as we all know rides on quality content. Be it blogs or videos or articles or even facebook/twitter statuses, all ride on content. The number of people 'liking' or 'retweeting' or 'sharing' your content is directly proportional to its quality. Humor is a great vehicle and can have a great fan following. But, eventually it comes down to the amount of 'substance' one adds to his/her content. Its the substance that can make or break the fan following. (In this context, I'll use context and substance inter-changeably)

I'd define Social Media as a platform for Interaction, not just personally, but also professionally, using cultured practices. The word ‘Social’ used here, actually refers to the 'Social Life' of a person in the Virtual space. Just like in the Real-world, a person in virtual space meets new people, make friends, has conversations,  shares information, knowledge and data and much more. And just like in real life, your actions on Social media reflect your character. So, its important to be upto-the-mark when on Social Media. Whatever you post on Social media should have a meaning or purpose to it. It should have content that your peer networks can associate with, in some manner or the other.

Sadly, the content aspect is not taken too seriously by the users and we see all kinds of crap flying in and around our virtual life. Web developers spend loads of time, effort and money on the 'look' of their entity but end up paying very little or no attention to content. The end result is a visual splendor but a potential catastrophe due to the lack of substance. Most of them believe in the ‘All style, No substance’ mantra, which will more often than not take a pounding in present day times. Even in Search Engine Optimization, content rules.

Before using Social Media on a regular basis, one must adhere to the following ‘Laws of Social Media’

-    Create original, quality content that is meaningful, purposeful, and intriguing

-    Optimize the content with keywords that make sense and do not overstuff it

-    Network by posting the content in the right places and remember that where your customers are is where you need to be

-    Track where the content goes, how it got there and how it gets directed back to your site

-    Engage with others that surround the content and become active but not overly promotional

-    Nurture the engagement and use it to draw your audience in and tailor that content around their wants and need

-    Track everything that is trackable as Social Media ROI is the future of online content creation and management

Always remember, "Content is King!", not just in virtual space, but in real life too. 

P.S: Resources that may be of some help to you:

To know the most Retweeted post of the blogosphere, use Tweetmeme

To know the most shared content on facebook check out ItsTrending.


References: Dragon Search