The Power of Content for Connections in Online Communication

Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.

William A. Foster

Let’s begin by understanding two important terms, Intention & Follow-through, for the purpose of this article.

Intention:
a thing intended;
an aim or plan.

Follow-through:
the continuing of an action or task to its conclusion.

Digital marketing has been around for about three decades now since the first appearance of this concept with the launch of “Archie”, the first-ever search engine. Nowadays, we don’t find people or brands asking what it is, or how to use it technically-wise, but the challenge lies in what (to create), where (to share), when (in time), and how (in purpose) of content strategy.

All the main social media sites have strengthened and while in the beginning the intention was on “personal” connections, the last few years of marketing and advertisement overflow on these platforms have left users asking to return to that more personal approach, but this time around… with the brands.

The growth of entrepreneurship around the globe has triggered an even larger rise in this behavior, making it easier to reach out to our professional connections, family, and friends to promote that which we are committed to. Digital marketing, and social media more specifically, have made possible the creation of integrated advertising campaigns at all levels, merging the personal and the professional worlds.

We’re all in this together. People and Brands.

In this stage and age in which almost every user has developed knowledge about how social media works and what it is about, the improvement in content quality haunts us all. The relevance of doing-it-right. Content has been gaining even more importance with the over-producing and over-sharing of graphic and written media and the limitless demands placed on all these social platforms by the users globally. Demands that are placed lastly on the content producers.

Random content without intent for the sake of awareness is now seen as spam, memes have lost their humor, and videos of cats… oh well, they’re still fun to watch! But the point is that either visual or text-wise, people and brands that really commit and consider social media as a valuable tool for awareness, and connection, are working harder on their intention to deliver content that communities look forward to seeing, watching and reading.

However, the overflow of options can lead to confusion and this why the follow-through of those intentions set by digital marketing and social media strategists is even more important today.

From both a user and a marketer perspective, content purposefully delivered can help us all to make better choices. To make sure that our needs are met in our consumerist society, online and offline, at all levels.