Why Your Social Content Strategy Is Wrong (and How to Fix It) - Say Media

quotFor the world to be interesting you have to be manipulating it all the timequot Brian EnoWe39ve all heard someone say quotLet39s make it socialquot or quotHow do we make it viralquot and quotWhat can we do to make it trend on Twitterquot These statements while well intentioned expose the speaker as someone who has no idea what they39re talking about Worse these questions usually come up well after the new product campaign or goal has already been setInstead they39re questions you should ask very early in the brainstorming processLet39s cut to the chase People share things online for the same reason they share them at a bar or in the carpool because they want to talk about something that matters emotionally to them They share to discuss what they think others will be interested in they share facts and information that they think others would want to know Even better we know why people share these items inperson and it39s the same reason they share onlinePeople share items with other people online because it makes them feelDelighted Furious Proud Bummed Playful Validated Smart HelpfulAnd that39s itAll of these are responses to or desires for chemical reactions in the brain There39s a tiny little hit of serotonin that the brain releases when you get someone39s attention and interest But I don39t want to imply people are acting blindly The human brain and body are more sophisticated than any machine humanity has created Chemical events control our hunger sleeping decisions memories relationships just as much as they influence our decisions about what we want to talk about with other peopleSo the next time you wish you could ask quotHow can we make it big on Twitterquot or the more realistic quotHow can we get anyone to care about what we have to say on Twitterquot start your creative process all the way down at the level of quotWhat could we do that would make people feel so emotional or selfvalidated that they want to share itquotOnce you have that eg An exercise company determines it can help runners feel really proud of their commitment to exercise then you can think about what to make or do that would create facts or pictures or stories or news that would make runners feel so proud they want to share it with all their friends When you39ve got your reasoning and actions THEN you can determine what your campaign should beOne last final note Donamp8217t be tempted to hack these rules to exploit a personamp8217s emotions to con them into sharing Itamp8217s easy to do if you want to jerk someoneamp8217s triggers just like putting MSG in chips will get people them to eat more People have a very quick bs filter online and their peers are quick to point out their mistakes So you can fool almost anyone into sharing anything once amp8211 but try it again and get ready for a backlash from their whole communityTed Rheingold is the founder of Dogster and Catster served as VP of Social for Say Media and is fascinated by systems of people Follow him on Twitter tedr Say Media is a digital publishing company that creates amazing media brands Through its technology platform and media services Say enables its portfolio of independent content creators to build passionate communities around key consumer interest areas such as Style Living Food and Tech For more information visit wwwsaymediacomRead all Say Media39s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Say DailyCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

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