Why social media is all about content

Earlier this afternoon the White House Twitter account posted this picture of President Obama meeting families of victims of gun violence:

It is a simple, powerful image which illustrates why the campaign he is leading to bring in greater controls on guns in America matters. That is not me commenting on the actual policy details as I don't know what these are; it is me commenting on the faces of the two women Obama is hugging. 

I came across it as I skimmed through my Twitter feed and, because there was a picture posted it caught my eye. If the White House had merely posted a link to the speech the President had made the message would have passed me by - increasingly we are all dipping into Twitter and Facebook through our mobile phones - but instead I instantly understood the message the White House wanted to communicate. 

Too few politicians in the UK have yet grasped what social media is for. Spend a short time on Twitter and you can see how politicians of all colours feel a need to comment without thinking or broadcast without engaging. In many ways they are doing themselves more harm than good.

If they really want to use social media as a way to connect they need to think 'CONTENT' in the way Obama's communication team clearly has.