"Good Enough for Social Media" Isn't Good Enough

When it comes to social media, why settle for "good enough?"

-By Jon-Stephen Stansel

I’ve heard it said a thousand times. “It’s not perfect, but it’s good enough for social.”

This is often said when reviewing sub-par content that has no other place to go. Or maybe it’s said after taking an out of focus photo on the fly at an event before Tweeting it out to thousands of uninterested followers. The sad fact is a lot of people think that there is a low bar for content posted to social media. However, this is far from the truth as social media has matured and the quality of content from brands and media outlets has increased rapidly and dramatically. Blurry cell phone photos and shaky videos no longer cut it.

Social media is the voice of your brand, so why would you settle for anything less than excellent?

It’s not “good enough for social” if…

• It’s not good enough to represent your brand or organization

• It doesn’t tell a story

• The photo is blurry, dark, or grainy (Unless you have proof of Bigfoot, UFOs, or the Loch Ness Monster)

• You wouldn’t want it seen by a massive audience

• You wouldn’t share on any of your other platforms (website, print materials, etc)

• You wouldn’t want it to be shared with the media

• You wouldn’t want it to be shared by the media

• It wasn’t proofread

• It doesn’t engage your followers

• You wouldn't want it to be someone’s first impression of your brand

• You wouldn't want it to be someone’s only impression of your brand

• It didn’t require some time and effort to create

• You don’t want it on the first page of your Google search results

• It can’t compete with the other millions of pieces of content all trying to get the attention of your followers

It's time to stop settling for "good enough" when it comes to social media. What items would you add to the list?