Over half of consumers' media time is already spent in digital channels and especially in social media. In the age of social media, anyone can be a media outlet and competing for customer attention alongside media giants are influencers and friends as well as brands. In order for a brand to stand out from the message flood, they must become content creators who produce content that attracts their target audience, rather than just one-way messengers. But how can a brand create its own community and interactive media?
The first step in creating a brand's own community media is to start from the heart of the brand. What is the brand's mission, vision and values? What does the brand want to achieve and say? Who are its potential target audiences? Where can they be reached? When a brand has a clear focus and understands where the brand is heading and who it wants to talk to, it's easier to start thinking about the value that the brand's own media brings to customers in channels that are relevant to them.
Channel or content promise. The beloved child has many names. In the age of social media, audiences have the power to skip ads. In order for a brand to get its message through, it's good to start with what the brand offers to its target audiences in one or more channels. Often a brand wants to communicate about its own products or services, but is that ultimately a reason anyone would be interested in following and returning to the brand's content? Probably not. A channel promise, together with the channel's visual identity (for example, an Instagram feed) and interesting content, gives a potential follower a preview of what they'll get if they click the follow button. For example, the car dealership Saka boldly promises to be TikTok's most entertaining car channel or the sportswear brand Under Armour promises to make you better.
Especially in the age of TikTok, it's easy to chase trends just as before people hoped for a viral hit on YouTube or Facebook. Trends and various phenomena allow for a moment of popularity, but long-term results come from offering viewers clear and continuous original content regardless of the channel. These can be called content formats or, in content marketing language, content types.
For example, the previously mentioned Under Armour offers inspiring stories about athletes and training tips in their YouTube videos. The same format is repeated in multiple episodes and the same theme continues, for example, on Instagram.
Social media is literally social, meaning interactive. In order for a brand to build a successful multi-channel media in the age of social media, it is absolutely essential to engage the audience in interaction also in content production. The audience can, for example, participate in influencing the brand's own content, be asked questions that are considered in the content or episodes (podcasts, video series), or speak to individuals rather than audiences. In the age of social media, bold and personal content also succeeds. A brand shouldn't just shout from behind a logo but should boldly bring their own experts into the spotlight.
@talousvalmentaja Answers user @user117896045 Owner-occupied or rental apartment? 🧐🏡 #rentalappartment #owner-occupiedapartment #moneymyths #savingsbank ♬ original sound - by Säästöpankki
If a brand produces valuable and target audience-relevant content, it should absolutely not be left only for organic audiences to watch. While good content can also raise a brand's own media follower counts to tens of thousands (See House of Juicy case), content should also be distributed through advertising. On TikTok, this can mean TikTok Spark advertising, where the content itself is distributed through advertising. On YouTube, an entire episode can be boosted with ads. This way, content reaches new audiences and draws them to the channel's content and perhaps gets them to click that famous follow button.
Good content should also be recycled boldly. Often laboriously produced webinars may only happen at one event, but the recording should definitely be shared after the event, the best clips should be edited into separate content and the event should be documented, for example, in the form of blog posts. This way, as much as possible can be gotten out of one piece of content and it can be repurposed both organically and as purchased content in different distribution channels.
