Going straight to the source: how to generate content from social media
Is your brand tapping into conversations on the online grapevine? We examine how organisations can use social media to source original stories that can make a real difference to your content calendar – and engage target audiences.
It is not exactly a groundbreaking sociological insight to suggest that social media has become central to the way we communicate. According to data from Smart Insights, there are now 4.7 billion social media users, which represents a 5% year-on-year increase from 2021. That’s an ever-growing fountain of information, data and personal experiences to draw on – right at your fingertips.
So, how are you using it to boost your content calendar?
At Speak, we have witnessed first-hand the valuable role social media can play in creating stories. Parkinson’s Life, the online magazine we produce on behalf of our client Parkinson’s Europe, is designed to offer “a voice for the global Parkinson’s community”. We need to make sure every piece of content published reflects the interests of people with the condition around the globe, so being engaged with conversations on platforms like Twitter and TikTok is essential to Parkinson’s Life’s purpose – whether showcasing real responses to events by embedding tweets in articles or discovering the story behind a viral video.
If you have a strong process to help you transform ideas into content aligned with your brand’s mission, key messages, tone of voice, style guides, and the interests of your audiences, scanning socials regularly can be a crucial step for any brand that is struggling to create content that genuinely impacts and engages its target audience.
This is something we support clients with every day, checking channels and helping turn initial discussions into fully fledged features, reports and campaigns.
Inviting new ideas
There are a whole host of ways your target audience can provide your brand with ideas. Sometimes all it takes is an invitation.
Look at Tesco’s first foray into TikTok, with the brand launching a competition on the platform for the new “voice of the checkout”. One simple video has resulted in nearly thirty million hits, with thousands of comments and video auditions from eager users on the platform.
The supermarket united its audience around a common goal. It generated a flood of material for follow-up use, all from one low-budget video, showing that simply asking for engagement on social platforms can lead to an avalanche of story potential.
But sourcing stories from social platforms does not mean you have to embed tweets or create silly (if highly entertaining) TikTok videos. This approach is unlikely to suit every brand’s editorial output.
Sometimes great ideas come from simply keeping your ear to the ground and staying tuned to what your audience is talking about. Look at Weetabix, which made social media commentary the centrepiece of its marketing campaign last year. Debates over what foods consumers ate the cereal with led to successful brand partnerships and a 15% increase in sales.
In the world of newsroom content, that might translate to making sure your editorial calendar is tackling the topics that your readers want to hear about. A response to a tweet could be the start of a thought leadership feature. A colleague’s insightful post on LinkedIn may evolve into an interview about the value their experiences have brought to the company. Regularly scanning comments and key industry hashtags allows you to spot these opportunities and find and tell the stories that matter.
Remember that even the shortest of tweets can offer inspiration. After all, every thousand-word feature starts somewhere.