GigaOM Pro

Research & Analysis

Best practices in optimizing content for social engagement

• by Mike Dover
• on Feb 20, 2013

This report underwitten by: ShareThis.

Optimizing content, whether that content is an entertainment product or brand messaging, is crucial as customers migrate from being passive recipients to becoming active contributors and message amplifiers. This opportunity presents a fresh set of challenges, not only for those in traditional broadcast industries but also for content managers and thoughtful leaders of all enterprises. Examining these challenges and opportunities, this report will look at:

• Changing customer expectations about content
• The rise of the online influencer, including characteristics and motivations
• The important tools that enable social engagement
• The impacts of the move to mobile devices
• How social engagement improves research and development efforts
• How social engagement changes journalism
• The most important social-engagement performance metrics
• Case studies and best practices that indicate how leading enterprises are making social engagement happen
• The future of social engagement

Key findings related to optimizing content for social engagement discussed in this report include:

• Customers and potential customers discovering new content
• Enterprises finding new audiences
• An increased depth in the relationship between enterprise and customer, manifesting into longer and more frequent visits and greater monetization from advertisers
• Greater understanding of customer sentiment, including specific sources of dissatisfaction
• Metrics measuring “applause not the attendance” (in other words, engagement is richer than merely counting the number of Likes)
• Enterprises facilitating users so that they can share content, including buttons that are visible on all web pages and work on all browsers and devices