Executive Summary

While this white paper covers a broad range of topics, the five most important results are the following:

1. We have new ways of communicating. We use technical systems that are designed to maximise user interaction. The union of human and machine provides opportunities for moments to “become social media”.

2. Personality and honesty are critical success factors for a long term content strategy. That implies that people no longer want to follow brands, but instead prefer to follow people - individuals who share their knowledge and values on blogging platforms.

3. An equally important factor for the publication of content is the quality. To ensure a long-term commitment from readers, articles and postings always have to provide added value./p>

4. Content strategy goals can vary depending on the individual and the company. The main goal is to increase visibility and popularity, but there is also a strong focus on acquiring new employees and customers. To achieve these goals in the long term, companies need to build trust and transparency, and choose the right content types.

Reasons for Content

Why people share content on the Internet

Before we address the actual content, let’s think about why people share content in the first place. People have everyday experiences and everyday needs that they want to research further. In earlier times people looking for knowledge had to turn to experts who could explain how the world works. These days, if we don’t get a quick answer, we turn to search engines such as Google and Bing. We select the market participants listed in the search engine according to their online presentation. If we like an online presence, we interact (click, open pages etc.). The more often we interact, the faster we create the “Internet-standardised individual“. This means we have new devices which we follow. We follow them without questions, because we can’t make any changes to their systems - their software, for example. We accept the functions of the devices and adapt to them, and standardise ourselves in this respect. This gives rise to the question how we should act in a networked society.

The union of human and machine

The following situation has arisen: Man and machine have united, and we need the technology in our lives in order to share. We want to capture and retain the moments we experience on our journey, and we create content from the context of these moments. If we take a photo or make a video, we don’t just want to store it on our smartphone or computer, because that does not provide any added value. This is why we share images, videos, links and thoughts. These moments literally become social media. In order for this to work, we need the technologies of providers such as Facebook, Instagram and Google Plus. They give us more and more opportunities to produce and publish content. This creates what is known as media democratisation - where in the end there is no Internet company left that prohibits its employees from publishing content. This means that everyone is allowed to communicate and share content with the world at any time.

Users prefer to follow people rather than brands

In the past, users increasingly followed companies on social platforms. Currently, however, I believe that a rethink is taking place: Internet users no longer want to follow just a product or a company - they want personality. As a result, social network users prefer to follow a “real” human rather than a brand or company that they perceive as impersonal. This leads to the creation of social trademarks - i.e. personal branding - people that act as “opinion leaders”, sharing their knowledge and values on the Internet.

Technology contributes to content publication

As we experience moments today in a mobile way and distribute them among numerous portals, systems such as Klout measure the influence of users in social networks. This automatically changes user behaviour as the Internet also changes over time, and the individual adapts to these changes. Already today, we are talking with machines without thinking twice about it, for example when we use webcams and screen sharing during a webinar, or voice features such as Siri. By using these technologies and the Internet, we increase our experience every day. The rule of thumb is: the simpler the system’s interface, the easier it is to use, and the more people use it. Ease of use makes people less inhibited and more spontaneous when publishing comments, images and videos. Within this context people present themselves as a whole. It is worth thinking about whether this behaviour is consciously controlled or subconscious, by just publishing and consuming content on the Internet.

There’s less tolerance towards mistakes

The wealth of information has raised our expectations, and we want to enjoy the Internet to its fullest extent. We no longer tolerate inconveniences, such as a server failure. This is because services such as Facebook and Google impose a lack of tolerance towards mistakes - they always work, without failures or outages. So we automatically expect other services to work flawlessly at all times as well.

The power of content

Quality instead of quantity

There is no benefit to Internet content providers if thousands of people access their pages, just to leave 30 seconds later because the content is substandard. It’s critical to find out which online content works in your networks. What are the topics? Which messages should be conveyed? Are they exciting and interesting enough? Do you only want to share a link? Or a link with a message? Every time content is published, the reason for its publication should be clear. The value proposition behind a post must be maintained in the same way as one’s own ethics - nobody wants to experience a negative attack from another user and everyone should behave fairly on the Internet. Therefore, everyone should give some thought to what their own appearance on the Internet looks like, how they address their target audience, and what story they are telling.

Content types

In order to produce online content, let’s look at the different types of content. Text is one way to provide content, but content can also be images, videos, infographics, presentations, podcasts and webinars.

Goals of a long-term content strategy

A content strategy can have different goals, with increased revenue ranking among the top priorities. A content strategy can also help improve rankings in search engines. A well-developed strategy can create greater popularity, because the more you post and the more active you are commenting and sharing your thoughts, the more you are considered an expert in your field. This in turn increases the word-of-mouth impact - the more you talk about the topic, the more others will talk about it as well. Producing content is time and cost-intensive. But a long-term content strategy pays off, because your content will be listed in all major search engines for years, not just over a short period of time. When defining a suitable strategy, consider the following questions: Which networks do I want my content to appear in? Which portals are suitable for sharing my content? Who are the influencers? How is the brand or person represented?

The people behind a brand are just as important as the company itself, as they are the ones who interact with the customers.

Expert knowledge in search engine optimisation is a prerequisite. You need to understand the mechanisms to be able to optimise content and improve your website’s Google ranking, thus increasing the access rate and gaining new customers. Advocates for a brand are extremely important, because their positive feedback is just as valuable as a new customer.

Trust and transparency are key in Social Media. Identification with one’s own company is of course the main prerequisite, as a strategy will only function if the person behind it identifies with the company. If people don’t stand behind their content strategy, they will lose their credibility. As a result, there won’t be a lot of positive comments on the Internet.

Content strategies can also lead to new applicants from within the industry, for example if companies offer some insights into their work environment and corporate philosophy. A private account on a social media platform or a blog by a CEO can provide exciting glimpses into what is happening in the company, and raise people’s interest in becoming future employees. In addition, insights into the company’s philosophy and goals can provide motivation for the employees and keep them informed.

Content production also contributes towards creation of a digital space where thoughts can be recorded.

As a content type, webinars have the advantage that they can be held anytime, from anywhere. Participants have multiple options to interact with each other, for example by asking questions or using the chat function. This type of presentation allows for large audiences. Webinars can be used worldwide and for various purposes, such as trainings, marketing campaigns, and to distribute relevant information and expert knowledge. In addition, webinars help companies save time and money.

To share great stories on the social web, visual storytelling comes into play. It is used for marketing campaigns and sharing advertising material online. The stories do not always exactly fit the company’s communications strategy - they differ from commonplace marketing campaigns by their “out of the box” thinking. However, they suit the digital spirit of the social web. Emotional stories touch the heart and therefore people like to share them. Storytelling only works if you can capture the current mood of the market. This requires skilled community management and experience in engaging with users on Twitter, Google Plus, Facebook etc, because each platform has different target audiences and requires different types of communication and content. Well-structured stories create a positive association with the company and remain deeply embedded in the customer’s memory, giving storytelling lasting power as even years later the stories form the basis for user engagement with the company.

Critical elements in content strategies

When it comes to content, it is important to stay current. Users should be able to find your content really fast, and it should be written in a clear, factual way. The message you want to convey must always be based on facts. Honesty plays a critical role in online content production. If someone attacks some of your content, you must be prepared – be sure that the content was published to the best of your knowledge and belief. People can tell whether a post was made out of genuine interest or just for the sake of producing content - there is a big difference. Also, your content should be made available for download. Put considerable thought into how systems can be integrated and how you can work in an interdisciplinary way.

In content production, being courageous is just as important as new thinking. If some people want to share more about themselves than others, accept it. After all, we only truly become free when we accept others just as they are.