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Knowing When And Where To Pivot For Optimization
January 8, 2019
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A new year should always bring optimism for how we want to be a better version of ourselves, and be an even more meaningful brand.
In the social space, it takes executing a strategic plan to drive brand purpose and create real impact. And part of that plan should be watching where user activity is going.
So with consumption increasing towards Stories and videos (liquid content) and private sharing (communities and groups), here are three areas of focus for 2019:
Fluid Content
While Stories was introduced by Snapchat in 2012, Instagram took the idea and launched it on its own platform in 2016, giving the content feature more awareness. Facebook followed soon thereafter.
Stories are (typically) disappearing content 24 hours after shared (unless saved).
The essence behind Stories is not about posting traditional (and perhaps polished) photos - Stories should be raw, real, unfiltered, upbeat moments.
It's to show us what you're doing right now (making social more real time) like the way Dana and Jayson use it each weekday morning before their show on KBZT/San Diego:
With Feeds cluttered with mostly mediocre posts, Stories (and videos) enable us to resonate stronger.
Audience Signals
Pay serious attention to what triggers reaction, and what gets ignored.
Inauthentic, indulgent and irrelevant content takes a subtle toll on a brand.
And here's why that matters:
The more people scroll past our content without interacting - the more we are removed from Feeds.
Create content buckets.
Is it useful? Does it teach, inspire or entertain?
Is it empowering? Does it help people feel included, confident or relatable?Data and insights are freely offered on all social platforms. Pay attention, or lose the audience you've built.
Leverage
More and more studies (like this one from Markerly) are revealing micro-influencers, those with smaller social media followings of 1000, have much higher engagement than the typical macro-influencer, those with 10,000 + followers.
Identify micro-influencers who interact with your brand (and who receive great interaction from their following), and get them involved with your brand.
Leverage the trust they have with their social following to help you build on interest and conversion.
Step out and try new tactics this year.
Brands that pay attention to where user activity is heading and go beyond expectations will find more opportunities for growth, leading to a more loyal (and profitable) audience base.
Reach out to me anytime on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter.
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