Content MarketingSocial Media & Influencer Marketing

3 Things Run-DMC Taught Me About Social Media

Run-DMC Image courtesy Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/johannahobbs/

Call me a product of a liberal arts education, but I firmly believe one’s worldview should be informed by as many sources and experiences as possible. Reading the latest book by an expert in your field is great. Consuming as many blog posts and news articles as you can about your industry is helpful. Attending conferences and sitting in on presentations to advance your career is advisable.

But it’s also important to look outside the usual orbit to help form your perspectives. There’s a great big world out there, and if you’re not taking advantage of it to the fullest you are missing out.

With that in mind, allow me to defer to the Kings of Rock, the progenitors of hip-hop, Run-DMC, and what they taught me about social media.

You Talk Too Much

Everywhere that you go, no matter where you at / I said you talk about this, and you talk about that … You talk when you’re awake, I heard you talk when you sleep / Has anyone ever told you, that talk is cheap?

The classic knock against Twitter has always been “I don’t care to read about what people had for lunch.” While it’s clear that there is more utility to Twitter and other social media channels than just detailing one’s culinary habits, it is possible to over-share.

There is plenty of research and the accompanying infographics providing evidence for the optimum number of social media shares per day. I’ll assume intelligence on your part and not expound further on that which is readily available.

Rather I recommend simple common sense in the matter. Nobody likes to be deluged-slash-spammed, even if they’re opted to subscribe to your posts. Quantity in no way trumps quality, especially if it means annoying your followers to the point of exodus.

It’s Tricky

It’s tricky to rock a rhyme, to rock a rhyme that’s right on time, it’s tricky.

One of the primary goals of social media engagement is amplification: convincing your fans and followers to be advocates of your brand and message by resharing your content. These followers are also following many other brands, celebrities, and their personal friends. How do you cut through all that other noise and inspire action?

One way is to optimize your posting times to help make your content stand out. There is no shortage of data that suggest certain days and times are better for posting content so it is more likely to be seen. It’s a good idea to take advantage of this data and do all you can to get your content out in front.

Hollis Crew (Crush Groove 2)

Got rhymes so def, rhymes, rhymes galore / Rhymes that you never even heard before / Now if you say you heard my rhymes, we’re gonna have to fight / Cause I just made the super-def rhymes last night.

As each update makes them smarter, search engines scour content more and more the way human beings do. This means they, like your readers, prefer original content. Content that is new and constantly fresh with your own (or your brand’s) unique perspective is crucial to gaining and maintaining a following.

It’s all to easy to cheat your way to fresh content by repurposing or republishing press releases or syndicating content. You have to make sure you’re publishing content that is interesting, relevant and valuable, and above all original. Otherwise you have no unique value proposition, and you’re not providing any new information or insights. That’s a quick way to a social media ghost town.

Matt Chandler

I am the Sales Operations Specialist for Givelify, a location- and preference-based faith/charitable donation app. My title is actually a bit arbitrary; I'm commonly known as The Fixer and/or The Swiss Army Knife. I call myself The Janitor.

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