Recently, there have been a number of articles written about human psychology and social media; a decreased focus across our personal lives as we are subject to tweets, texts and one-off conversations that are high in volume and low on substance. As we learn to understand how to wield the power of social media, we are all too often being consumed by analysis paralysis. And in an effort to make some sense of all of the data floating around, we are starting to make decisions on what we want to cut out.
As organizations think about what channels they will engage across, there is a consensus that substance and content will trump all else. As a recent study of active social media users by eMarketer and Invoke Solutions points out, “blog posts were more likely to be trusted ‘completely’ than posts on Facebook, and trust dropped off sharply when it came to Twitter, even among friends”. Which means that trust along more substantive channels and content will continue to rise as the volume of information increases.
As organizations determine how they will build their social media presence, there should be an emphasis on creating and distributing content that has real value to the audience. In real life terms, if you were going to say something in passing, make sure it directs that person to a place of value. Otherwise, that individual (whether friend, acquaintance or someone you met on the street) will forget it within the next second.
If as an organization, you can establish yourself as a trusted source for good content, then you’re on the right path. And like all forms of trust, once you lose it, it can take a long time to get it back. So take your time. You don’t need to send out a tweet and Facebook update everyday. Don’t worry about not being a social media super-user. Trust me, your friends and fans have a lot of other things they are reading and responding to. Create good content on your blogs and web properties, and distribute only the content that you think can provide value. And that builds trust.
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