Have you ever stumbled across some crappy social media? How did you know it was bad? What about the opposite? Do you remember a piece of media that impressed you? In this week’s post, I want to look at what differentiates quality social media content from fairly bad stuff.
One thing I can’t help but notice is the teetering balance between personal preference and genuine quality. Everybody is going to like some content more than others, and what I see as entertaining and worthwhile, someone else may view as total crud. An example of this is the “list” or “countdown” type of content. I cannot stand these things. They live in the sidebars of the articles I enjoy, and use eye-catching images and headlines to draw people in. Suddenly, I find myself in a slideshow of the alleged 10 best cat costumes. Personally, these posts are huge time-wasters, and I avoid them. For some, though, this may be great content that provides a key element of entertainment. After all, the Internet is quite useful as a medium through which to be entertained.
Some content is just downright bad, though. What I notice is that content can generally be considered bad when I start viewing it, but have no desire to finish. Mostly, aesthetics and organization are the qualities that seem to determine if I want to keep reading. I must be interested in the topic, since I clicked the link, so if I stop reading, it is usually a result of confusing layout and lack of organization.
The key to good social media content is not clear-cut, and seems to vary between individuals. I personally like videos and well-organized blog posts. Something about anecdote attracts me. Others may enjoy countdowns and Tweets, it really depends on the individual. Regardless, provided your content is well organized and looks good, someone is bound to come along and consider it good content.
alexanderstevehornyak 