You’re a marketing pro. You’re on top of seasonal trends and upcoming challenges as well as your competition. And of course you understand your products better than anyone else. With all that swimming around in your head, I realize you may not be following the latest social media trends. Thankfully, we have a team here that does!
Here’s what you need to know to make the most of this ever-changing promotional platform.
- It’s all about Stories. Facebook recently introduced Facebook Stories for its mobile users. It’s nearly identical to Instagram Stories which debuted last August. Both use the format made famous by Snapchat: personal videos or photos (and of course, filters) which disappear after 24 hours. Similar to Instagram, Facebook stories appear on the top of your news feed. Keep in mind that Facebook has a much broader audience, so many of its users may be unfamiliar with this communication style. That doesn’t mean you should ignore this trend. It’s a smart way to share a limited-time offer on your personal account (Stories aren’t available for business pages yet) without overpopulating your page with promotional posts.
- Social posts have a small window of opportunity. The lifespan of a social post is probably shorter than you think. The majority of Facebook engagement occurs within the first few hours after your post. And a Tweet gets cold in less than 20 minutes. Chances are, you’re not posting enough. We suggest most businesses increase their number of weekly posts to reach a greater percentage of their audiences. According to LinkedIn, you need 20 posts per month to reach 60 percent of your audience.
- Personal sharing is down. Your Facebook page looks different than it did a few years ago. This data shows that fewer people are posting personal updates. Instead, Facebook users are sharing links and stories they find on other websites. While this makes it harder to stay connected with your high school friends, it makes it easier to market your business. Make sure you are creating plenty of content that can be shared by your followers. Pro tip: The lifespan of these blogs, graphics or videos is much longer than a simple post – think months rather than minutes – so invest in quality content that has a viral bent.
- Mobile is driving the bus. It’s clear that most consumers are using their mobile phones to access social media. We see it in our clients’ analytics and in every data nugget revealed, such as Facebook announcing it now has more than one billion mobile users. Some data indicate that nearly 80 percent of all social media time is spent on social media devices. So what does that mean for marketers? You better make sure that the action you want your followers to take is mobile-friendly. Nix any long forms and make sure your website is device-agnostic.
Keeping up with social media can be a challenge. You may not have the time to give it the attention it deserves. You also may not be willing to hand it over to someone else. I have a suggestion. Meet with me and my social media team. We’ll work together to develop a no-nonsense strategy and implementation plan. We’ll take care of those tasks that cause you headaches – such as creating quality content or managing digital ad campaigns – while you can keep doing what brings you joy.
Consider us your social media helping hand. Let’s talk. Call us at 952-697-5269 or complete this form. But hurry: The first 10 people who respond will receive a free social media review.
