In the race to make effective use of social media, many of us are willing to compete, but too few of us begin by asking whether we truly have something substantial to communicate.

That is the message that Arianna Huffington expresses this morning in an extremely insightful column about the mass media’s “fetishism” with social media. She points out the media trend of covering the most popular topics posted on Twitter or Facebook, and questions why more important issues of our time do not receive equal coverage.

“Our media culture is locked in the Perpetual Now, constantly chasing ephemeral scoops that last only seconds and that most often don’t matter in the first place, even for the brief moment that they’re ‘exclusive,'” Ms. Huffington wrote.

The same principle is true for businesses and organizations implementing social media as a communications strategy.  It is more important to utilize social media as vehicles to inform and engage than to merely react to the trend of the moment.

All forms of media have one distinct quality in common.  Content is king.  The means of communication alone is secondary to the ability to convey something meaningful, leave a lasting impression and elicit an intended reaction.

By all means, execute the social media component of your communications campaign, but consider your content carefully, and publish ideas that are truly meaningful to you and your audience.

– David Stiefel