Years ago, social media was fertile ground for marketers who had embraced the various platforms as the holy grail of communications. For the first time, companies were able to have a direct line to their audiences and engage them on a level that had never been closer. It was an exciting time.
Fast forward to today – social media still remains a crucial part of the marketing mix, but things have changed. Promotional material now appears almost constantly on feeds, jostling its way in between pictures of smiling friends and family to tell you about the amazing flight deals that are out there. For many people, this disruption is a normal part of their browsing, but frankly, it’s also an implosion. However, it doesn’t have to by this way. Here’s how:
Social By Design
The truth is, audiences are used to it all now and are less likely to pay much attention. The bottom line is that if brands are going to invite themselves into people’s feeds, then they should at least ensure the content is something they will actually like. So how do you do that?
That’s why we have re-imagined our Social By Design framework to make sure that if our clients are going to be appearing on social feeds, they will enhance experiences, instead of being just another piece of white noise.
Stop the scroll
With so much content, our scrolling thumbs are hungrier than ever. With our attention spans being what they are, marketing material has only a couple of seconds to grab our attentions before we move on. Questions to ask yourself are: Have you chosen the right feed? Does it make people stop and look? Is it amusing, attractive, eccentric, educational or surprising?
Give more and take less
By posting on people’s feeds, you are actually making them incur some kind of cost – whether it’s their time, the fact they have to scroll past, or even their data allowance. As such, the content needs to be valuable and offer people something that can have a good impact on their lives. If you’re not offering them actual money, why not at least offer them something that makes them smile, think and share?
Make things easy for them
Let’s face it; people are lazy. Why should they comment or share your content? Why should they be expected to fill out forms to partake in an offer? So when it comes to your content, make sure that people have a good enough reason to interact with your band, other than just being asked to. Give them incentives, give them happiness or offer something that can help them out. Also, make it easy for them – if the interaction involves any effort, people probably won’t bother.
And finally…
Don’t lose sight of your goals. In a digital world that’s moving fast, social media is a mature channel, but far from obsolete. Just make sure that if you are going to be appearing on people’s walls, you know exactly what you’re doing, and why.
Christopher Onderstall, Social & Innovation Lead
