The Content Monster

Prior to reading Guy Kawasaki's book "The Art of Social Media", I hadn't read a book in a very long time. I had always tried to read books, but I was never able to finish them. However, since this was one of our first assignments for the class, I knew I needed to read it!

I really enjoyed this book since it dug deeper into social media giving me a better understanding of what social media really is. Kawasaki had a lot of good tips on various topics related to social media. The biggest challenge faced on a daily basis is finding enough content to share. Kawasaki shared in Chapter 2 of "How to Feed the Content Monster" some tips on how to find enough content for a day-to-day basis.

#1: Make a Plan. When it comes to planning, some people need one to succeed, and others don't even think about implementing a plan. However, when it comes to planning, there are 3 main things to think about as you brainstorm. #1: how to make money. What do you need to do to ensure the most profit possible? #2: what kind of people you need to attract to make money. What is your target audience, who are the people you want to reach with your content? #3: What do these people want to read. Picture yourself as an outsider looking for something to read, what is something that would spark your interest immediately, causing you to click on it as soon as you see it? This is what you want to create. This caught my eye because I believe no matter what it is, it is good to have a plan before you begin something, and this is how I have tackle everything I have done in my life. 

#2: Pass the Reshare Test and Reshare Your Pals' Posts. These two tips are combined into one since they go together hand in hand. A reshare is something much more than a like or a comment. This is because the person that reshared your content believes in what you shared, and they are willing to risk their name for your content. If people are resharing your content, you should be willing to check out their content with the intent to potentially reshare their content. If a person posts good quality content, you will be more likely to reshare whereas if the quality is poor you are going to watch what you reshare and you may even think about unfollowing a person. This is something I look at regarding my own social media platforms. If someone I follow is consistently posting negative content, there is no reason to continue following them since social media is already filled with enough negativity.

#3: Share What's Already Popular. Finding content, you have seen on one platform but not another might be something worth sharing. This is because not everyone has multiple social media platforms and they may only see it on one platform. Getting on a story as soon as it has been released can also be beneficial to increasing your content since it is fresh and has not been shared as much as a story released days ago. This does not mean you cannot share something you are a little late on, go ahead feed the content monster! This interested me because I think it shows how much content can be shared if you find what is trending. For example, so far in 2021, Dogecoin has been a big hit and Elon Musk has been a big name behind it all.

#4: Use Lists, Circles, Communities, and Groups. When in search of good content, browsing through groups or communities is a super-efficient way to find what you are looking for. By searching keywords or topics, you can find lots of different lists to help you find content you want to share. This can be done on almost any social media platform. In my personal experience, I have joined several organizations on Facebook involving DJI drones and Videography. This has helped me to learn more about these topics and has allowed me to expand my videography business along with my co-owner. These groups or communities are filled with knowledge and content that can be shared every day and it related to me a lot because it is something I have been doing for a long time.

These were only a few tips out of chapter 2 and each one has its own specific value, but these were the four tips I took from the chapter that were intriguing to me. I think you need each one to continue to feed the content monster!