The (Unofficial) Ten Social Media Commandments for Content Marketers

We all have some set of rules that we abide by. For example, I would consider mine to be treating others kindly, being slow to speak and being quick to listen, among others. But before I get too philosophical, let’s take a look at ten lessons every content marketer should be zeroing in on, inspired by this recent post from Buffer (props!). I now present to you the (unofficial) ten social media commandments that every content marketer should be heeding:

1.)    Thou Shall Not Forget Thy Demographic

The fastest growing demographic on Twitter is the 55-64 year age bracket. For Facebook and Google+, the 45-54 year age bracket is exploding, having jumped a respective 46 and 56 percent. These are numbers that every content marketer should  needs to know when posting and promoting content.

2.)    Remember the Importance of Mobile

189 million of Facebooks’ users are ‘mobile only.’ Furthermore, mobile use generates about 30 percent of Facebook’s ad revenue – an increase of 7 percent from 2012. If you’re currently twiddling your thumbs underestimating the importance and impact of mobility for content marketing, then you’re sorely mistaken…and probably falling behind in the game.

3.)    Thou Shall Not Steal…Content

Social media has risen to become the No. 1 activity on the Web. So much so that it has swiftly overtaken the previous top Internet activity (one that is rather inappropriate). That’s a lot of YouTube videos, tweets, Facebook posts, Instagram shots and Pinterest boards circulating your screen. While we sometimes wish we could have brainstormed a competitor’s great idea first, it’s important that we rather produce fresh material that is continuously reinvented.

4.)    Honor Thy Smartphone Owners

Honoring one’s smartphone customers will do a content marketer good. Research shows that 25 percent of smartphone owners aged 18-44 “can’t recall the last time their smartphone wasn’t next to them.” Your smartphone customers never want to leave their device alone; honor their need with content that is produced around the clock.

5.)    Thou Shall Not Forget to Blog

Sure, 62 percent of marketers “blog” or “plan to blog” this year, but in actuality, this number boils down to a mere 9 percent of U.S marketing companies who have employed a full-time blogger to do so. This gives you a huge competitive advantage, and one that you should be very warmly embracing (that is, if you’re not already doing so).

6.)    Always Expand Thy Visual Horizons

YouTube reaches more U.S. adults between the ages of 18 and 34 than any cable network. That means all of your customers obsessed with HBO, AMC or CBS are more likely to see your content if you create a YouTube account. While we’re at it, you should be leveraging Instagram and Vine as well (take a cue from MTV regarding how the brand leveraged the sites just today to make a big announcement).

7.)    Thou Shall Not Remain Socially Idle

Every second, two new members join LinkedIn, and every minute, 100,000 new tweets are published and 277,000 people log in to Facebook. Needless to say, as a content marketer, you cannot risk the effects of remaining idle on social media.

8.)    Thou Shall Choose Thy Social Media Platform Wisely

LinkedIn has a lower percentage of active users than Pinterest, Google+, Twitter and Facebook. Additionally, Instagram has more active users than Vine. Carefully consider which social media platform you want to dominate – and then dive in headfirst.

9.)    Thou Shall Not Ignore Customers on Social Media

Seventy percent of companies ignore customer complaints on Twitter. Even more, 55 percent of brands are collectively ignoring their customers on Twitter and Facebook and 39 percent of companies don’t track their social media responses at all, according to a 2012 study commissioned by Satmetrix. Don’t share your content on social media if you’re not willing to keep the conversation going.

10.) Thou Shall Pass these Commandments Along

Because isn’t this the foundational basis of content marketing? Whether you’re a novice or a content marketing veteran, pass along content that you find helpful so that others can see what you’re doing. Tweet it out, give it a “like” and get it in front of your peers’ eyeballs. In other words, spread the content marketing love around!