The 3 Fs of Social Content for Results

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The 3 Fs of Social Content for Results

I’m here to talk to you about the three F’s in preparing content for social media that actually gets you results.

1 FORMAT

Format is respecting and acknowledging the different dimensions and the formats of content accepted by each of the social networks. We all know the power of repurposing, however when it comes to repurposing you must recognise that format is all important. So for example this video I will repurpose for social networks as well.

It’ll start its life on YouTube, it’ll have captions, it will have a title, a description, it’ll have hashtags and it will be optimised for the platform.

I’m then going to bring it over to Instagram and upload it to IGTV, add it to my series around social media and government and public sector, I’m going to add captions also and I’m going to add a title and a description and of course add my hashtags.

Then I can actually edit it down and give you a little snippet for stories, probably at around 15 seconds.

Bringing it over to Facebook watch, the original video again, adding captions will allow me to let it live there.

Then of course tweeting a little segment of about 30 seconds.

Format is all important.
And of course format also relates to visuals and to your visual branding online.

*****

Format – The multimedia content used in posts.

Twitter

Optimised images/graphics
Use of infographics
Video posts (under 60 seconds)
Uses Twitter media studio for website links
Non-staged photographs
Has Twitter open graph feature on their website for link sharing
Broadcasts live video (press conference/briefings or speaker piece to camera)

Fleets and Audio Tweets were not available during the period analysed but are recommended as features to be utilised for more personalised content.

Facebook

Informative posts with valuable detail
Documentary style photographs
Livestreams
Premiered broadcasts
Native video published in Facebook Watch (under 2 minutes)
Event posts
Infographics

Instagram

Carousels that require you to Swipe for the full message
Documentary style photographs
Action and event photographs
Video (under 60 seconds)
IGTV series
Stories with a message takeaway
Stories with behind the scenes content

Guides were not available during the period analysed but are recommended as a feature to be utilised for valuable archived content.

YouTube

Landscape video
Captions burnt on
Animated explainer and how-to videos
Subject matter expert pieces to camera
Experiential videos – shot in a particular location / venue for illustrative purposes
The citizen voice is showcased

2 FREQUENCY

The second F in content for social is frequency.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”‘Everybody would love to go viral on social, however the social networks prefer a consistency in your wave of progress.’ @PublicSectorPro #SocialContent #SocialMedia ” quote=”Everybody would love to go viral on social, however the social networks prefer a consistency in your wave of progress. “]

So consistency means that you’re showing up on time every time, that you have created specific content features that perhaps happen on a Monday afternoon or a Sunday morning.

Build your audience expectations from what they are going to get from you, just like newspapers, television and radio stations have been doing for hundreds and hundreds of years.

Bring that production scheduling into your social media content calendar and make sure that you are consistent and of course mindful of frequency on social.

*****

Frequency The number of posts per week plus the consistency of posting.

Twitter

Tweets at least twice per day
Tweets at different times of the day

Facebook

Reviews insights for optimum posting schedule (this is evident as there is consistency in number of posts per day/per week)
Posts at least three times per week

Instagram

Posts on Grid at least three times per week
Posts on Stories at least five times per week
Publishes IGTV videos at least once per week

YouTube

A weekly video
A playlist that is regularly added to

3 FORM

The final F is form.

Form relates to tone of voice, it relates to your approach to social media, it’s all about conversation;

How you moderate
How you engage with the public

It also relates to the type of topics and the priorities that you’re pushing out on social.

*****

Form The structure of posts, tone and audience relevance.

Twitter

Understands audience needs
Taps into real-time dynamic of Twitter
Steps into trending conversations when relevant
We see their people (senior leadership/staff tagged, on camera, photos, quote Tweeted)
Short Tweets with less than 100 characters
Use of animated explainer videos
Use of 1-2 hashtags (trending / branded)
Prompts a response – question, poll or seek an opinion
Tags another stakeholder or individual
Triggers conversation from followers due to the relevance and timeliness of the post
Breaks news or shares exclusive or updated information in the public interest
Actively engages and responds to Tweets
Has a defined tone of voice that is consistency
Hosts a Twitter chat
Live Tweets from virtual events
Storytelling through user experience e.g. patient, tenant, customer

Facebook

Proactive approach to public interest messaging
A community management policy
Creates posts by audience segment
Engages with the public
Has Messenger activated for responses
Understands types of posts that generate engagement

Instagram

Utilising all of Instagram’s content features (Stories, Grid, IGTV, Livestream, Carousels)
Considers the audience interest first
Has a creative flair
Shows personality

YouTube