Elevate Your Content: Social Media Channels and the Bad Content Dilemma

As we get ready to wrap up our discussion of different social media channels, we wanted to move away from the technicalities of various platforms and give some attention to the most important thing of all: your content.
Content, and bad content specifically, has been the buzz of the town this week, and with good reason. As marketing companies spread the word about the importance of online presence, businesses are catching on. But unfortunately, not everyone is a content creation pro, and this has resulted in a mountain of average, recycled content that does not provide value to the average Internet user (and therefore, ultimately has no marketing value either).
So, we want to stress the face that using multiple social media channels is something you do to get the message out, but no amount of platforms will make up for subpar content. If you take anything away from us this month, let it be that quality always trumps quantity. After all, social media content is truly effective when it is not only seen but also shared, and users only share content they consider valuable.
Here are three ways to ensure your content can pass the bad-content litmus test:

1. Present new information, or old information in a new way –this is probably the hardest one for content creators, because it requires real knowledge about the area you’re writing on. There’s no way to fake depth. If you find yourself Googling your topic and skimming content from the first few sites that come up, congrats, you’re in the content recycling business!
2. Write well –this should be easier, since people use language to communicate every day of their lives. We’re not saying you have to be the next Hemingway (“The Sun Also Markets”?), just that you should write in a grammatically correct and easy to understand way. Nothing will undermine your quality ideas (see #1) in the eyes of the reader faster than poor language skills, so dust off that old copy of the Strunk and White.
3. Keep your content platform appropriate –all social media platform have certain unspoken rules. You should abide by these if you want to fit in, and if you want your content to have the best chance of being shared. If you’re reposting a blog post on Twitter, post the most intriguing sentence to hook your followers. Keep Facebook content skewed toward the personal and LinkedIn content toward the professional (yes, you can play two different angles to link to the same post).

Remember, as you develop your different social media channels, don’t get distracted by technical details or the perceived need to post as frequently. Focus on the quality of your posts if you want your content to not only survive, but thrive in the social media environment.
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