Create unique and meaningful (to your audience) content.
Every day it becomes easier to design an online strategy. Chris Brogan’s homebase/outpost/passport framework works well for for an organization of any size. Social Business By Design provides an advanced and clear framework for medium to large organizations.
Yet every day the amount of unique, meaningful, and web-optimized content produced by many ministries relatively stagnant. Looking through the posts of those I follow today it’s mostly general announcements and RT’s. This kind of content is necessary to buy attention and maintain a presence.
Turning this attention into action that accomplishes your organization’s mission, vision, and values requires more.
Perhaps the most underestimated form of unique content is replies–@ replies and Direct Messages on Twitter, likes/comments/shares on Facebook, Repins, Likes, and Comments on Pinterest. Although these do not scale as well as outbound posting the potential effect they have on your audience is much higher. Interestingly enough replies are perceived as more personal than updates (besides the Auto-DM, which needs to be eliminated anyway).
Before you design or redefine your online strategy consider an audit of your existing content, and determine the percentage of unique content relative to all of what you are sharing. Soon nearly every non-profit will adopt an online strategy and share content on a regular basis–but few will have committed to being unique and personal, and dedicating people, money, and time to producing quality content.