Don't Post Just For Your Audience

This post was anonymously written as part of Blog Secret Santa. There's a list of all Secret Santa posts, including one written by Clinton Forry, on Santa's list of 2013 gift posts.

That sounds backwards, right?

As a content strategist as a university I hear all the time about how I should market to our students, make content for our students, be ALL about the students. What I've found however, is that it all sounds fake if I'm not tweeting for me. A tweet can be for students, but it's also for me. As a content strategist, I'm marketing things in my department that I'm passionate about to our consumer. If I'm not passionate, or I think something is a poor idea, the tweets will reflect that. This phenomenon isn't just relevant in academia- it's relevant everywhere.

Have you ever read a news article with an underlying sense of sarcasm? Have you viewed a news clip with a half-hearted reporter? These are signs that the content creator isn't 100% behind the content they're producing.

Social Strategies come in many formats, but no matter which you choose, it has to fit "you." It is my personal philosophy that I won't publicly speak to consumers about a topic/service if I don't believe in it. The lack of belief in a topic can be countered in two ways- first, the message is changed, or second, you ask for clarification about the message. I've found that if I put a "spin" on the message it helps me become more passionate about it. While we may have created a whole new program, I'm better able to market the portion that I'm most passionate about, while still exposing consumers to the rest of the program. Asking for clarification has come in handy for me as well- oftentimes it's simple miscommunication that has tainted my view of a particular program.

If you're anything like me, you've been told to follow your passions, and speak what you believe in. I hold that to be true within my personal and professional life. There's nothing a consumer appreciates more than genuine communication with a company/business/etc. The news is full of stories of companies responding to consumers over social media. These stories can be positive or horribly negative, but the driving force is what the content strategist believes, and how they outwardly portray both themselves and the entity they represent.

I hope you've enjoyed your Secret Santa Post! I like to keep it short and sweet.