From social media to content marketing: "We have to stop thinking from the channel!"

I am often asked by students, journalists, other bloggers, companies, and audience members at lectures what I think is the biggest mistake companies make with social media. And I usually have only one answer: that companies think in terms of channels! This way of thinking has become ingrained over the years: the first question everyone asks is "How do I reach my target audience?" And immediately, they think of "channels." But that's a mistake in thinking! And a consequential one at that. Because it creates many problems!

This diagram will help you understand what I mean. There, the channel is deliberately the periphery and not the center. The channels are the "media", i.e. the transmitters of the content, and are therefore also "outside". At the center, however, is the "story", which defines the relevance for the reference groups - but also the benefit for your own company. The "story" is the heart and head of all activities - and I don't just mean the "story" in the sense of "storytelling" - but also and above all the "story" in a journalistic sense. My recommendation is: think from the center outwards - and not from the outside to the center. I would like to explain why this has many strategic, conceptual and practical advantages.

We recommend the following to our customers and implement all our projects accordingly. Here you can find more information on topic marketing and content strategy:

First we define the "story". That is the central idea. Just like "Happiness" at Coca-Cola. Or "Driving pleasure at BMW". Or "Vorsprung durch Technik" at Audi. But it can also be "We help where we can", as at Telekom-hilft or the Deutsche Bahn social media team. This guiding principle can be in line with the brand (ideally it should be), but it doesn't have to be. This is because we develop it from the perspective of our reference groups - according to the "personas" and the "customer journey".

The biggest mistake in social media is thinking in terms of channels.
Mirko Lange

But at the same time, we define our messages here, "the moral of the story," so to speak. The trick is to combine the interests of the reference groups and those of our company in the story. But never proceed without a good story. Because it is your guiding star—and without a guiding star, you will lose your way. That's a sure thing. (Pssst: By the way, the "story" is rarely: "My house! My yacht! My car! 10 reasons why I'm so great!").

We develop "topics" from this guiding principle. And "guiding" principle is meant literally here. We let ourselves be guided by the idea, by the story. How do we want to tell the "story"? What could the individual chapters be? What can and must we talk about in order to breathe life into the idea? What do we not need, what might even disrupt the story? Do we talk about ourselves? Or the market? Do we offer entertainment? Or "service" after all? And how do we combine everything well? This shows how important the "story" is. Because these questions cannot be answered abstractly. The only question that matters is: Does the topic serve topic story?

Protagonists are what bring a story to life. There is no need to use the buzzword "storytelling". We need to know who or what we are talking about. A love story needs (at least) two lovers. But does it also need a sales person? Someone who only ever wants to sell something to the loving couple? Rather no. But maybe the sales person is a good friend of the family and brings the lovers together? Then it makes sense again. Then he will be useful and also likeable. The only thing that matters is that you assign the roles correctly!

The formats make it concrete. Because this is where the actual staging begins. Because they can repeatedly re-stage the topics protagonists. The story remains the same. The messages don't change either. But you vary how you say them. Sometimes you sing it, sometimes you play it, sometimes you speak briefly, sometimes at length, sometimes cheerfully and sometimes solemnly. The great thing is that social media offers so many new formats. Play around with them.

Content must be based on the story, not the channel.
Mirko Lange

And the channels come at the very end. At. the. very. end. At the end. It doesn't play a "central" role. It's just the distribution. And the great thing is: it doesn't cost you any more to distribute good content via 20 channels than if you only do it via one. This means you no longer have to think about which channel is the best way to "reach your target groups". Because the answer is: via many more than you think! And maybe 70% of your target group is on Facebook and only 10% on Google+ - but you can't care which channel the order comes through, can you?

And here there are two important insights. First: there are four different types of contact: "pull," "match," "push," and "meet." With "pull," it becomes clear how many search engines there are: not just Google. People search like crazy! And that's why it makes sense to prepare content in as many formats as possible (tailored to the channel) and post it on the various services. "Match" means precisely meeting the interests of a multiplier, "push" as usual primarily the topic media" (but also "mailings" and last but not least the topic ." This should not be underestimated. A meeting "in real life," whether at a trade fair or a conference, is still the best place to get content "across" to people. What do you think? Is this a helpful addition? I look forward to your ratings, comments, and shares!

This approach offers very clear benefits. I will just mention the four most important ones:

When you think of a channel, Facebook is the first thing that comes to mind. Sure, it's the network with the widest reach. At least in B2C. But developing content just for Facebook is stupid, not smart. It limits you. You can't deal with more complex issues on Facebook. You can't structure texts or make them easy to read. The lifespan of a Facebook post is short: once it's out of the timelines, it's gone. Forever. You can't find it anymore. And it doesn't show up in Google either.

Should I only offer my guests soup just because Facebook doesn't have knives?
Mirko Lange

Or think of Xing if you are more active in the B2B sector. The same applies here. If I'm a chef, then I want to cook my guests what they like. And not what the room in which I serve my guests allows: should I really only offer my guests "soup" just because Facebook only has spoons but no knives for safety reasons?

When you think about Facebook, you naturally ask yourself: What can I post on Facebook? And then you develop content for Facebook. There are plenty of rules and tips on what works and what doesn't. And if you use a second network, there are different rules there too. So you create extra content for the other network. And then more content for yet another channel. And your colleagues do the same. The PR department then creates content for the press release—which is also a separate channel. And marketing creates content for advertising. And so on. Everyone keeps recreating content over and over again. It's much more efficient to create the content once and then just adapt it for the different channels!

If you proceed as described above, you will inevitably end up reducing the number of channels. Because every additional channel costs you time and causes you effort. I hear customers tell me this all the time. But that's against your interests! Because "more channels" doesn't just mean "more reach", it also means greater variety. Above all, in many cases it makes sense to select very specific channels because in certain cases they have a high affinity for individual target groups.

If you think in terms of content and story, you have a very clear benefit. Let me just mention the four most important ones:

First, you have a "strategy." From the very beginning, you have an idea, a goal, something that helps you distinguish the important from the unimportant. For example, you topics choose your topics based on who is shouting the loudest. Or what you like at the moment. Or what you think your boss will like. Instead, you choose based on what will help you achieve your goal. And if something doesn't fit, leave it out!

What should I post? What conveys my message or what gets lots of likes?
Mirko Lange

Another advantage is that you will never say: I don't know what to write. The ever-changing combination of topics, protagonists, formats, and channels gives you an inexhaustible potential for "content." Don't worry that it will get boring. The story of the poor girl who falls in love with a prince has been told a million times before. And people never tire of hearing it!

With this approach, you can also throw the nice (but completely absurd) idea of "channel reduction" in the trash. I hear this over and over again. It's wrong. The opposite is true! You don't need to communicate through fewer channels, you need to communicate through more channels. At least when the formats allow it. The problem with channel thinking is that you want to develop separate content for each individual channel. And you have to—of course, if you think in terms of channels. But if you think in terms of content, then you develop the content first—and once you have it, what's to stop you from distributing it across every possible channel? You should be keen to do so.

If you have designed your content correctly, you will also notice that it is not only good for Facebook! How could it be otherwise! If you have developed relevant topics your target groups, it would be downright absurd, even a waste, to only offer it on Facebook. There, it has a lifespan of a few days, sometimes even just hours, and often only a small percentage of your fans see it. No! Take the content and distribute it across every other channel possible. It doesn't matter if it's offline!

Mirko Lange

Why shouldn't you use a good blog article in a customer magazine? Or prepare it as a specialist article for the press? Or as a case for a presentation at a conference! And then suddenly the effort for content production is worth it!

So: Get involved. Forget about the channels and think about the story! And oh yes: By the way, this is not a question of B2B or B2C. On the contrary: there is 100 times more to talk about in your B2B sector than in the B2C sector – and here, with good content, you can position yourself even better as a leader in your field than a consumer goods manufacturer could. And just think about it: a toilet paper manufacturer is bound topics sooner, right? Have fun!