Copyright © 2015 by Astrid Haug All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. First Edition, 2015. Reviews in Danish Media Astrid Haug lovingly explores social media in her thought-provoking book. The book provides the formula for creating a content strategy in social cyberspace. Berlingske Business 5 stars Astrid Haug has written a powerful book on using social media with lots of examples on what others have done. The structure is clear and logical. Børsen 5 stars Once you have read Astrid Haug’s new book, you will understand what constitutes good content. The book is remarkably well written and easy to read. It has a large variety of good cases from different companies. Jyllandsposten 5 stars The book was originally published in Danish by Gyldendal Publishing House in October 2014. This is an updated and adapted edition. About the author Astrid Haug is a consultant in social media and digital strategy. For the last ten years, she has studied how social media transforms politics, media and how we do business. She is an experienced keynote speaker and is among the leading social media experts in Denmark. Astrid has ten years experience within communication and social media. She started out as a fundraising volunteer in John Kerry’s presidential campaign in 2004 and has since worked at the Danish Parliament, at Copenhagen City Hall, for the government and as Community Manager at the world’s oldest newspaper, Berlingske. She has a Masters in Media Studies. Today she advises companies, media organizations, NGOs and public institutions in strategic use of social media. Furthermore, she is the Chairman of the Danish Association of Communication Professionals and has a TV program on Danish TV2 News about political use of social media. Astrid was born in 1978 and lives in Copenhagen with her husband and three children. Learn more: Twitter: astridhaug Linkedin: https://dk.linkedin.com/in/astridhaug Website: astridhaug.com Contact: [email protected] +45 30258035 Contents Introduction About this Book 1 Strategy and Purpose What is a Content Strategy? Discover the Purpose Three Strategy Models 2 Be Relevant to the Users Get to Know Your Users This is How Social Media Work Listen in on the Conversations Where are you Relevant? Find Your Niche 3 Create Good Content Criteria for Good Content The Three Undercurrents: Storytelling, Emotional Communication and Visual Communication My, Your, and New Content Set the Agenda Give Your Content a Long and Happy Life When User Engagement Becomes a Shitstorm 4 Planning and Measurement Content Plan and Annual Cycle of Work Choice of Social Media This is How Companies Should Blog – Or Not When Not to Use Social Media From Engagement to Results – How to Measure Your Efforts 5 Include the Organization and the Employees Better Collaboration in the Organization The Personal Brand – Management and Employees Your Personal Brand Summary Thanks To Litterature Introduction In High Noon, the famous western from 1952, Gary Cooper plays the role of Will Kane. He marries Amy Fowler, the pacifist Quaker played by Grace Kelly, and gives up his duties as sheriff to become a shopkeeper. When rumors begin to circulate that the villain Frank Miller has arrived on the noon train, the couple flees the town by carriage. Some distance outside town, Will Kane stops the horses in order to return and fight the criminals. “I don’t understand any of this,” says Amy. Will Kane replies, “I haven’t got time to tell you.” I feel the same way about social media. If you still doubt that it can be used for more than just small talk, then I will not try to convince you to get started. Because, as the good sheriff said, if you don’t get it now, there’s no time to explain it. Instead, you get a book that presents reality in an organization after social media has become part of everyday life. During the last ten years we have not only developed our digital proficiency, we have also fundamentally changed our way of thinking about customers, communities and colleagues. We know more about customers than we used to, because we can monitor their digital behavior. At the same time, users have higher expectations of companies, organizations and public institutions to tailor communication to their specific needs. We are past catchy buzzwords and quick fixes, because every example shows that the best results are obtained through persistent long-term effort and hard work. So from this perspective, there is nothing new here. There are no quick tricks that will take care of everything. You have to buckle down. And it helps if you make the work fun. You can use this book when the consultants have left the building with their PowerPoint presentations and when work really needs to get done. My ambition with this book is to give you the tools to integrate social media into the organization’s communication with its customers, stakeholders, employees and community members. To get there you need a content strategy for social media. A content strategy is the answer to the challenge that many small and medium-sized companies face. The usual way a company approaches social media is to choose a few platforms – e.g. Facebook and Twitter – and get started. But little thought is given to the type of content that will fuel this effort. How will you be relevant to your target group? And how should your content benefit your business? Typically, there is no budget set aside to produce great content. So you post what you can find here and there – and you wonder why using social media has no effect. You could also ask yourself what people are supposed to share, link to or comment on if there is no relevant content. What are you supposed to advertise with or perform SEO on if not good content? A typical scenario for the way companies use social media is, therefore, as follows: The company has been on Facebook for six months. There are 815 likes, of which 200 are friends, employees, and family. Updates and engagement have ground to a halt. This book focuses on how to create content that will fuel the company’s presence on social media and on how companies can keep the conversation going on these networks. In my view, good content is the secret to succeeding on social media. If you find the formula for making good content that engages people, you will also know how to create value for the company. This requires that you dare to look at the content you currently produce through new eyes and from a user perspective. This book will help you find the answers to these questions: How do we communicate, what do we communicate, and whom do we want to communicate with on social media? Many of the people I interviewed for this book have landed their jobs as social media managers in non-traditional ways. And they also have different job titles – from Marketing Manager and Social Media Manager to Project Manager and Director. This is an indication that this is still a developing field, characterized by people who create their own jobs and who are, thus, pioneers. Their job titles are of lesser importance – it is their accomplishments that make them interesting. Most of the cases in this book involve Danish companies, many of which operate internationally. My goal for writing this book is to turn social media into something that we work with strategically, rather than reactively. The point of the book is that good, user-centered content can be used to build a strong network around your projects or brands, thus consolidating your efforts. In this book I present a large number of models which will, hopefully, help you develop your strategy. I use different companies and organizations that have willingly shared their experiences. I have omitted large companies like Coca-Cola, Red Bull and LEGO, because their use of social media is described extensively elsewhere and because it might be harder for smaller organizations to relate to them. I began by finding someone who had an inspiring or surprising approach and who is achieving something through great content. The idea is that you can use one or more of these cases in your work with social media. “If they can do it, so can we.” About this Book This book is organized into five general chapters: 1) Strategy and Purpose, 2) Create Relevance for Users, 3) Create Good Content, 4) Planning and Measurement, and 5) Involve the Organization and Your Employees. At the same time, the five chapters serve as a model for structuring your work with social media. You can download a selection of the book’s models and check lists at astridhaug.com, which you can print out or use for educational purposes. If you refer to this book on social media, please use #DIYstrategy. When you have read this book, I hope that you will prioritize the following in your work with social media: 1) determine a clear purpose, 2) understand your users’ needs, 3) spend time creating good content, 4) plan and measure the effect, and 5) involve the organization and employees. In this way, you will spend your time most efficiently, achieve a measurable effect, and strengthen your market position.