Content Shock, a term coined by Mark Schaefer, a social media marketing strategy consultant from the United States of America. He said, “The emerging marketing epoch defined when exponentially increasing volumes of content intersect our limited human capacity to consume it”. In simple terms, it is the uncontrolled rise in the supply of content with demand being finite.
Content is considered to be the most effective way to generate leads (62% less costly than adverts) and enhance SEO ranking. Marketers understand its importance on ROI, so are trying hard to boost their content marketing strategy. However, the rate at which content is multiplying brings in a lot of challenges for them. In fact, it is estimated that 27 million pieces of content are added every day.
So the question is do we have so many readers out there? The answer is No!
We have to remember that our readers are humans and can absorb only limited information. So all of us are now battling in the race to be first, to be more comprehensive and to have maximum readers to survive this content war.
Quick fact: By the time you end reading this piece you would have approximately 19,000 new articles on the web which may have the content you thought you would write next.
Moving forward let us look at the ways which you must include in your Social Media Optimization techniues to enhance your chance to convert and combat this content shock.
1. Make your content engaging
The content you create should have visual content as it gets better engagement. It helps to disseminate the information faster. Also, try and use the most appealing statistics (if you have) in the image with eye-grabbing headlines.
2. Encourage social shares
It is very important to promote your content on social platforms so keep it a must to install a social toolbar to increase its chance of becoming viral. This can help you generate 700% more traffic.
3. Put the individual of your content in front
Every blogger has a unique personality, which readers love to enjoy and relate to. So put more of the bloggers personality and give the blog a face.
4. Do A/B testing
Test social media titles on Twitter (posting one phrase at 9 am and another 11 am) and use the one which receives maximum engagement on Facebook, Google+ , Linkedin and other relevant platforms.
5. Engage with influencers
One of the effective ways today is to engage with thought leaders of your sector and create a relationship with them. This will help in opening doors to increase your brand profile and engage with a huge audience.
6. Reuse content to combat a decreasing ROI
The time is to work smart, not hard! So consider your well-researched article as a source for next four to five articles on the same subject. Also, use it as ammunition for developing presentation and infographics.
7. Use some wonderful applications to remain connected
It is very important to educate your audience about their area of interest. So use Evernote, an organizational app which helps in sharing with influencers, peers, easy and archives all your thoughts. Also, subscribe to Feedly, ensure you have the Flipboard app on your phone so you know the moment an interesting piece is out on a subject, you can write on it next.
Conclusion
Since content shock is a fast moving train running towards us we need to keep ourselves ready to combat and draft our ways forward. We have successfully listed strategies for an effective social media optimization but this is not the limit. With time, new strategies are being tested and executed. We invite you to share some of your strategies and we would share it all the relevant audience.
