As social media continues to permeate the marketplace, and more businesses choose to socially connect with their interest communities, the amount of “clutter” in a person’s social media stream has reached intrusive levels. Brands and organizations can run dangerously close to being the social media version of spam and being tuned out altogether. As we’re seeing with Google+’s Circles, Facebook’s improved friend organization, and even as far back as Twitter’s lists: who is talking has become equally important to what is being said.

Content has been and still is king, but recently the throne is being shared. Producing great content is no longer enough. Making associations via “likes,” “followers,” and “connections” is not enough. Brands and organizations must earn their place in consumers’ or interest communities‘ social stream. There must be trust, there must be authenticity, and there must be a relationship. In short, both you and your content must be given a worthy context.

Context can be simply defined as a frame of reference. This frame of reference has several critical elements: Source, Relationship, and Timing.

Source

Who are you? Is your business the manufacturer, a retail store, or maybe an independent blogger? Who you are immediately places your content in a interpretive framework. Content, or your message, can mean different things from different sources.

For example, children’s strollers. You publish a review discussing a new stroller and the key benefits this model has over the competition. The stroller turns well, the wheels are nice, plenty of storage space, light or small enough for a Mom to get into a trunk, and it’s easy to clean. The article is a wonderfully written and relevant review. Coming from a manufacturer versus a retailer versus a Mom in Madison, Wisconsin suddenly means a great deal to the reader.

Relationship

Many of us have various levels of social media connections. There are people we know personally, people we’ve worked with shoulder-to-shoulder, and people we know via online mediums. Even those online relationships have various levels of trust, respect, and comfort. From a relationship stance, how would you sort through your social media connections?

Google+, Facebook, and other social media platforms are overcoming the monochrome “we are connected or we ain’t” online relationships. From Circles to Groups, online relationships are being sorted and, like it or not, it is based on trust. Trust that you will provide content that is important to the user. What will your business do to earn that trust and keep that coveted spot in your audience’s social media stream?

Timing

Thinking back to that wonderfully written stroller review—what if it appeared a few weeks before the manufacturer decided to “end of life” that product line? Regardless of the glowing endorsement from a trusted source, the timing is simply dreadful. Timeliness is critical to how users view the context of content. As the old adage goes, “timing is everything” and for online content it may actually apply double. No one will argue that with the advent of social media, our connection window is getting smaller and smaller.

What is a “connection window?” Our connection windows are simply the time we are connected to social media and/or the web. This is the time when users are open to the idea of taking in content, reading that blog post, or even watching a quick video. Knowing your interest community is pretty critical in hitting the right connection window. When are they most online? Do they read in the mornings and comment at night? Will your links get more clicks around lunch, but your abandoned cart rate doesn’t drop until afternoon? Timing your message has never been more critical.

Defining content’s context with consideration to Source, Relationship, and Timing adds a new dimension to developing content. Developing good, effective content on a schedule is challenging enough, but now businesses must compete on the context front. What will your business do to be a relevant source, form trusted relationships, and do it all in a timely manner? On the web, customers have become fickle creatures that are developing a quick “unlike” response or may relegate your brand to a far-flung or rarely checked corner.

The evolution of engagement has continued from conversation, to content, and now to context. Who your brand is and how your brand relates to the interest community will ultimately determine how effective you’ll be in the context discriminating social web.