Social media has become the way to reach modern audiences. If your brand isn’t on social media, you don’t exist.
But just having a presence is no longer enough. Here are five ways your brand can set the pace in the future.
#1 Know your audience
The instant nature of social media has its downsides. One of them is that your audience can instantly click or tap past your content. The first step towards making sure that your content is laser-guided at grabbing your audience’s attention, and keeping their finger away from the ‘skip’ button, is ensuring that you understand who they are and what they want.
Study the analytics on your pages and find out the age range, nationalities, gender, language, and interests of the people already viewing your content. Are they who you expected? Who you targeted? Are they potential customers?
The answers might surprise you and will almost certainly give you valuable insights into how to more accurately align your viewer base with your target demographic.
#2 Influencer marketing
The influencer industry is set to be worth a whopping $15bn by 2022. Of course, paid promotions by the world’s biggest stars have been around forever. But today a simple unboxing video from a well-respected YouTuber or a ten-second promotion from an influencer in your micro-niche can balloon sales almost overnight.
Each platform has its influencers, but Instagram leads the way as the platform of choice for 79% of brands. Facebook follows with 46%, YouTube has 36% and Twitter trails behind with 24%. Which platform is best for you depends partly on your target demographic, but ideally, even a small brand will aim for at least some influencer exposure across multiple platforms?
#3 Video
Ah yes, good old-fashioned video. Suggesting that video should be a staple of your social media strategy seems like old news these days, but it was only a couple of years ago that businesses came round to the idea en-masse. However, while the traditional promotional reel is a powerful tool without a doubt, there are ways to use video to create a much deeper connection with your brand.
‘Behind the scenes’ footage can give viewers a much more up close and personal look into who you are and what you do, strengthening their bond to your brand. Alternatively, instructional and demo videos can shrink the gap in the viewer’s imagination between your product on the screen and it being a part of their life.
Camera giant GoPro has curated a highly powerful interface between its brand and its customers by using both company footage and customer footage side by side. They have proven that encouraging your audience not only to watch but to participate through social media can be an incredibly powerful tool in generating brand engagement.
#4 Analyze your social media performance
The analytics sections of your accounts hold some powerful tools, and they empower you to give your audience more of what they want.
Find out which posts get the most engagement, dwell-time, or conversions and try to find a common thread between them. Maybe all your best performing content is under five seconds? Or, maybe certain times of day see a higher click rate? Do traditional style commercials get the traction you expected? There are countless factors that could draw a common theme between your best work. Find the factors that matter and capitalize on them.
#5 Have the right tools for the job
High-quality content is essential. Long gone are the days when grainy 360p video and stock fonts would cut it. If you want your content to catch people’s eye it has to be well-produced and distinctive.
Video and photo editing software can get expensive and complex at the high end, but there are a number of customer-friendly options out there with more than enough features to let you put out excellent content for social media. If you are up for a bit of DIY editing, then find the one that works for you and dedicate an afternoon to learning how to make it sing.
Alternatively, set aside a budget and hire freelancers to edit for you. Freelance talent can be found relatively cheaply and can shine your content up to professional standards in double time. With all the options available there is no need for your social media content to ever be anything less than stunning ever again!
