We’ve all been spending lots of time on our phones and computers, possibly more than we’d care to admit, over the past few months during the COVID-19 pandemic. Are we reaching peak fatigue for social media and digital communication? We don’t think so, we’re still seeing a shift in how we consume content, we’re now living in a digital-first age.
We’re using social media more than ever; to stay informed, receive regular updates, a place for customer enquiries to be facilitated all in a connected space that brings groups of like minded people together.
The quality of social media content your business is projecting has never had to work harder for ‘cut through’ and share of space amongst your competitors. Facebook recorded 406 million monthly active users (MAUs) in Europe for the first quarter of 2020 – it’s going to take more than a few extra posts on your profile to make an impact.
Now is the time to refine what you want to talk about, how you’re going to say it and what channels are working for you. Newsflash – you don’t have to be present on all social media channels to achieve success, focus on the ones that are the best fit for your brand.
We’ve compiled a few tips to help you with planning your organic and paid social media activity, considering an’ always-on approach’ to social communications.
- Understand the desired outcomes of your posts and their value to the end user, and what you want to say, why should someone take notice? Are you looking to provide content that’s inspiring, informative or humorous?
- Some of the informative based posts we’re creating for clients at the moment are showing greater reach and engagement than lifestyle based content because there is a huge need for customers to have the latest information as the impact of lockdown continues. This style of content can be posted organically and boosted with advertising spend to reach wider audiences. Consider creating teaser ads with applicable content eg ‘opening soon’ or ‘now available’.
- If you’ve never experimented with social media advertising, trial some boosted posts on Facebook’s platform, take a recent organic post that has clear messaging and place advertising spend behind it – quick way to broadcast your message to new audiences. Or if you’re content is B2B focussed, consider running ads on LinkedIn or Twitter – target audiences and geographic areas can be defined at the ad build stage.
- Following on from teaser ads, look to see if you can integrate promotions, offers or competitions in your plans. We’re seeing these tactics drive great engagement and customers are still looking for lighthearted content and to feel rewarded for brand loyalty.
- End your launch campaigns with a sense of urgency, so it allows an eventual flow into some form of ‘normality’, this is something that you might be able to forecast and plan for it as part of your pre-recovery plans or it may be more reactive to the current situation – just be aware of the change of tact needed and how the tone of your content will change
- Don’t forget some of the basic fundamentals of social media. It really relies on two-way conversations so keep your audience up-to-date and engage with them. Ensure you’re replying to all comments, it shows great trust signals and start conversations by asking questions in your post content.
- Be realistic, in most cases big growth spikes don’t happen overnight but by building relationships with audiences and target customers you’ll start to be ‘front of mind’ when it comes to their purchase decision making.
Want to know more? ICG’s social media team helps clients maximise their social media communications, supporting specific campaigns and providing regular content.
If you’re seeking a social media partner for any upcoming projects please speak to Peter Cobley to see how we can help, email or call 01772 679383.
