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Create Shared Statements By Speaking In A Way That Makes People Feel Something
August 4, 2015
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Twitter began experimenting with a News tab in their app earlier this week. When you tap the "News" button, it takes you to news everyone is talking about at that moment:
When you tap a headline, it takes you to a list of "top tweets" discussing it. And while many of the national news organizations were at the top of this curated list, I am also seeing radio stations show up as "top tweets," too:
This is a feature that offers real opportunity for all brands. It's a way for Twitter to surface the best content to its users.
And as I play around with the News tab (and think about another feature Twitter is about to release, "Project Lightning," which is likely to be called "Moments"- that will curate tweets from live events) one thing couldn't be clearer:
Understanding the characteristics of content that trigger reaction is critical in order for your brand to stand out.
More and more we are operating in a space where algorithms are curating the content it believes we want to see. Code is picking and choosing for us.
So how can local radio even stand out and compete with larger, national media outlets during live moments or when news breaks?
Consider what Buzzfeed CEO, Jonah Peretti, said earlier this year at SXSW in regards to typing out posts and tweets and sharing content:
"The emotion of the content matters more than the information in the content."
Let that sink in.
Rather than dying in the sea of sameness by saying what everyone else is saying -- what emotions can be drawn from the moment or the news story? What can you tell me that I don't already know?
The social space is fair game. Everyone can now compete with large traditional news sources when it comes to content. The person to stand out is the one that understands it's all in the approach.
Content isn't just about information, it's about communication.
The only valuable content in the social space is the content people touch -- meaning, the content they respond to in some way. The best writers today create "shared statements," speaking in a way that makes people feel something.
They focus on serving real people and having a real impact on their lives.
They watch the emotion behind the audience reactions and grow from that.
They understand what triggers reaction and allows that knowledge to feed the creative process to make even greater headlines.
It's about sharing emotion.
Sharing is basic human behavior and is natural to us. So distributing content socially in order to get it passed around is important for our brands, however, having an impact on someone in the way we write is even more meaningful.
And it will help us stand out.
Reach out to me anytime on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter.
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