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Stop BS-ing Ourselves Could Be The Smartest Resolution For 2018
January 2, 2018
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As social media engagement rates continue to fall for some brands, it's time we get honest about what's going on.
There is this constant blame over lack of engagement being placed on algorithms (the code dictating what we see in News Feed).
Yet as you'll see below - the onus is on us.
Nothing Worse Than Lying To Ourselves
Perhaps this isn't fully understood - every single post and tweet we send receives the same opportunity to be seen.
What algorithms do is formulate what deserves to be seen by how many people share, "like," comment on, etc..."touch" our content.
If no one is "touching" our content - it's not the algorithms fault - it's ours for posting or tweeting something that is of little value to the audience.
This is where we cheat ourselves. We tell ourselves there's value in everything we post/tweet. When in reality - we sometimes miss the mark.
Come At Content From The Audience Point Of View
We're competing with billions of pieces of content trying to flow through News Feeds each day.
We're also moving at lightning speed on our mobile devices.
The average user gives us 1.7 seconds of their undivided attention on mobile before they decide to interact with us; 2.5 seconds on desktop.
These two factors alone should make it clear why it's critical to offer unique appeal in every piece of social communication.
There is no value when we post "Katy Perry coming up at 2:15" because the audience can ask Alexa to play it or fire up any pure play themselves and play it at their convenience.
Same for posts that read "Listen to my new podcast." A guaranteed "keep scrolling-faster-pleaser."
So what are we offering that no one else can or will?
Study What Triggers Reaction (And Equally Pay Attention To What Gets Ignore)
We want to start by spending time each week with social analytics to know the audience.
For example - Facebook Insights is a great tool.
Look at the contrast (below) from the post promoting a T-Mobile appearance (that reads like a radio liner card) to the post that speaks like an actual person:
Note zero interactions with one post - an hour later, over 600 interactions.
It's understandable wanting to use social to bolster word of mouth - but we'll fall short every time we don't put care and value in our approach.
It's all in the approach.
Let us stop blaming algorithms and start putting the onus on us.
If we're being honest with ourselves in the New Year, Algorithms can actually be a great teacher in what the audience wants, and make us more effective communicators.
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