Is branded social content staid and how to get it right?

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Is branded social content staid and how to get it right?

Ever notice how some companies’ social media feeds seem like a monotonous stream of content? It’s as if they’re just going through the motions—posting stuff without much thought or flair. It’s like they’re ticking off a box, rather than genuinely engaging with their audience. Let’s dive into why this happens and what separates good social media content from bad.

The Mechanical Approach

For many companies, social media content can feel mechanical and uninspired. Why? Because often, they’re just repurposing content from other channels or sources without much consideration for what works best on social media. This can lead to posts that don’t really connect with people. It’s like they’re speaking into a void rather than having a conversation with their audience.

Sometimes, the social media team is just doing what they’re told, posting whatever content gets handed to them without thinking about how it fits into the broader social media landscape. This approach can lead to content that feels more like an obligation than an opportunity to engage.

Here’s some good news: when it comes to branded social media, the difference between good and bad content isn’t all that subjective. Why? Because branded content usually has specific goals, and that makes it easier to define what works and what doesn’t.

So, what are these goals? In a nutshell, it’s all about gaining followers and boosting engagement. Some folks also talk about “reach,” but that usually comes as a result of having a solid follower base and high engagement (unless you’re shelling out for ads). Let’s dive into the engagement side of things first.

Engagement: The Holy Grail of Social Content

Engagement is where it’s at. Good branded content gets liked, clicked, and shared. Simple as that. And here’s the kicker: engagement isn’t just for show. The more people interact with your content, the more likely it is to be seen by a larger audience.

So, what makes a branded post stand out? It’s got to have three things: elegance, relevance, and value.

Elegance is all about how visually appealing and cohesive your post is.
Relevance means your content speaks directly to your target audience.
Value is about whether your audience finds the content useful or worthwhile.

Here’s a quick example to clear up the difference between relevance and value: Telling surfers that “water is wet” is relevant but not particularly valuable. On the other hand, sharing a tip about a new brand of board wax that repels sharks? That’s both relevant and valuable. A bad post often misses one or more of these elements—and it might have other issues too.

Followers: Building Your Base

When it comes to growing your follower count, content quality plays a bigger role if you’re just starting out. If your brand is already well-known, content quality matters less in terms of follower growth because you’re pulling in followers from other sources like customers or job seekers.

But even if you’re a big name, content quality still counts, especially if you’re targeting a specific demographic. Sure, you can use paid ads to attract followers, but quality content is key to ensuring those followers are genuinely interested.

Why Does Branded Social Content Often Miss the Mark?

Despite the fact that branded social content isn’t exactly new, a lot of people still struggle to create content that works. Here’s why:

Content Quality vs. Follower Growth: If you’re a big brand, content quality doesn’t always correlate with follower growth. You might have a huge following even with mediocre content because of other factors like brand fame or a charismatic CEO. This often means subpar content gets more credit than it deserves.

Bots and Fraud: Social media is riddled with bots and fraudulent activity. This means a lot of mediocre content can appear successful due to inflated metrics, making it hard to gauge what really works.

Growth Hacking Missteps: Many social media strategies come from growth hackers who’ve had success with their own personal brands. They assume that what worked for them will work for every brand. But brands are different from individuals, and what’s effective for one might not be for another.

Inexperienced Teams: A lot of social media work is handled by relatively inexperienced people who might not have a strong grasp of copywriting, marketing, or consumer behavior. Plus, they often switch jobs frequently, leading to a lack of consistent, quality knowledge.

Too Many Cooks: When too many people are involved in approving social media content—especially for paid or high-profile campaigns—the result can be overly corporate and buzzword-heavy, which often turns off real engagement.

Content Fatigue: Some brands and content creators have given up on high-quality social content due to negativity around organic social media. They might believe vanity metrics are worthless or that organic reach is dead, leading to a drop in effort and quality.

So, How Do We Improve?

Let’s be honest—most of the issues we face with social media don’t have quick fixes. But don’t worry, there are some general strategies you can use to get things moving in the right direction.

Get Clear on Your Purpose:

A lot of companies jump onto social media just because everyone else is doing it. They set targets, but they often don’t understand why those targets matter or if they’re even achieving anything worthwhile.

The key to optimizing your social media efforts is to understand why you’re there in the first place. Your purpose usually falls into one of two categories: “active” or “passive.”

Active Companies: If you’re actively using social media to grow your brand, engage with your audience, or boost your business, you’ll want to create content specifically for these channels. You probably have a bunch of kpis to meet and are always looking for ways to improve.

Passive Companies: On the other hand, if social media is just a box you check off—posting content that’s mainly repurposed from other marketing efforts—you might only have a few kpis, like follower growth and engagement rates. You’re not investing heavily in social media; it’s more of a side project.

For active companies, don’t obsess over metrics like follower growth and engagement rates. These can be manipulated or faked. Instead, focus on the engagement rates from your key target audiences. This is a more genuine measure of how well your content is resonating with the people you care about. And when it comes to followers, track the percentage of key audience growth. If you’re attracting more relevant followers, your social media strategy is on the right track.

For passive companies, keep an eye on your metrics but don’t stress too much about hitting specific targets. Your social media manager might not have the resources or authority to make significant changes, so don’t put too much pressure on them. If you have to have a KPI, focus on maintaining the current engagement rate and consider offering a bonus for any improvement, but avoid making it a strict target. Over-targeting can backfire and limit the reach of your content.

Simplify Approval Processes:

Social media moves fast. Trends change, and mistakes get noticed in real time. So, if your social media content has to go through multiple layers of approval, it’s going to slow everything down.

Unless there’s some high-level strategy or politics involved, try to keep approval to a minimum. Many stakeholders might not understand what makes good social content and could end up ruining it with their input. The best way to keep things running smoothly is to set up a system where the social media team can operate independently. This way, the channels stay active and engaging, and your content isn’t held up by unnecessary approvals.

Know what you need before hiring:

When it comes to hiring for social media, you typically need one of four types of people:

Strategists: Data-driven folks who love analyzing numbers.

Growth Hackers: Multi-talented individuals who can juggle different roles.

Community Managers: Social media enthusiasts who excel at engaging with people.

Postmakers: Creative types who focus on producing content.

If you’re a passive company, you don’t need a strategist or community manager if you’re only posting occasionally. A growth hacker might be overkill and pricey, so a postmaker should be enough. They can handle the basics without needing to dive deep into fancy statistics.

For active companies, things get a bit more complex. Be cautious about hiring a growth hacker—especially if they’re not working with a designer who has other duties. You also shouldn’t rely solely on a strategist or community manager if you need content creation. Balance is key. Make sure your postmaker isn’t overwhelmed with tasks they don’t enjoy and avoid having them take orders from external agencies.

Is Quality Social Media Content Worth the Investment?

This is a valid concern. Creating high-quality social media content can be expensive. Given the way people spend time on platforms like Facebook and tiktok, it’s crucial to have a strong presence there. If your content isn’t up to par, you risk missing out on important conversations and losing ground to competitors.

If your goal is just to have content out there for internal distribution or record-keeping, then you might not need top-notch quality. But if you want your content to actually get clicked and engaged with, it needs to be good. Think of it like TV commercials—people are only going to pay attention if the content is as engaging as or better than what’s around it. If it’s not, it’ll just be annoying.

Summing it up: understand your purpose, streamline your processes, hire wisely, and make sure your content is engaging if you want it to make an impact.

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