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When Creating Content Is Time Well Spent Or Well Wasted?
June 26, 2018
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Similar to how radio studies and works to grow time spent listening (TSL), social media platforms used to have a bit of the same mindset, "time spent using."
However, after various reports began linking excessive social media use and declining mental health, they are now focused on how well (not how long) time is spent socially.
It's called "time well spent."
In short, algorithms now evaluate and promote content inspiring "meaningful interactions" (mostly shares and comments).
The more meaningful the content, the more you're seen.
So with social now encouraging "time well spent" for better mental health, what about our talent and content producers? Are we making sure creating the content is time well spent, too?
How healthy is it really to demand dozens of posts and tweets a day?
Focus less on quantity and more on a social media experience known to be fun with balanced unpredictability.
This approach offers more creativity and requires less content.
Here's how:
Audience First
Always come at content from the audience point of view; know their habits.
What Are Their Habits
Half of U.S. adults admit checking their phones 30 times a day, and during those "check-ins" only giving content on average 1.7 seconds before they decide to consume.
So we have a lot of opportunity to be seen, but very small audience bandwidth.
Must Have An End In Mind
Consider adapting two main outcomes recently coined by Facebook.
Content should either:
Breakthrough - meaning the content will be remembered/re-called.
Respond - the content will trigger reaction and/or action.
If content is not doing one or the other, time spent creating is wasted.
Consistency
Create a publishing schedule and stick to it. Social content is about stock (planned) and flow (unplanned).
Deliver Information Quickly
Content taking too long to reveal key messaging and containing longer scenes doesn't always perform as well in News Feed.
Relevance Matters
Content must always be easy to understand and fitting to the brand.
Create Content Buckets
People share when content brings value to others (friends & family); it helps define who they are and/or basic promoting of what they like.
If content doesn't fall into one of those buckets, you might be wasting time.
Study What Triggers Reaction
Form insights from data showing what drives sharing and conversation.
It's really simple - do more around what works and less of what does not.
Place greater focus on what's valuable; not just in the content but with our time, too.
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