So, the first question is, should you and your business invest in social media?
The simple answer is, yes.
The benefits of social media marketing are there for all to see, which is why it should play a key role in your digital marketing strategy. But with the changes we’ve seen to the comms landscape over the last year or so, renewed investment in social media has become even more essential for all businesses in a post-lockdown world, fighting for attention with fewer consumer touch-points than before.
There are more ways than ever to connect online with your audience directly. So before you commit to the next OOH campaign or TV ad, pause for thought. Maybe that marketing budget would be better spent on real engagements…
But no scattergun approach here please. It’s important that any investment or foray into social media is done in the right way, with thought and care. There are different ways to really harness the power of social and sometimes, less is definitely more.
Paid Social Media: The Weapon of Reach
You don’t have to use a Facebook page to drive engagement or reach anymore. You just need an ad account and a credit/debit card. Paid Media represents a huge opportunity for brands to target & engage with the people they need most, with incredibly sophisticated targeting options and hugely cost-efficient results for budgets that are as long as a piece of string. The only pre-requisite is having the content to promote and an idea of the people you’d like to reach.
With the changes in social media algorithms, which suppress organic reach more and more, it’s important to give as much support as you can to your content, to make sure it reaches its potential, enabling you to find new audiences, engage with them and potentially grow your follower base.
Nurture your audience by driving social engagement
One of the biggest learnings from the fallout of COVID-19 was how much of a role brands can play in our everyday lives, if the content & context is right. This has, in many ways, highlighted the importance of future-proofing your social strategy post-COVID.
But growing and nurturing an audience is a more nuanced process, with trust needed on both sides. The transparency and honesty required for that trust to be built, is the challenge for most brands who are playing in this space. It requires brand managers to look in the mirror and accept the faults of the brand in order to move towards ‘better’. Consumers aren’t expecting brands to be perfect, but they are expecting the humans who run them to be honest with their audience.
This new relationship approach with the consumer gives brands an incredible opportunity to not just talk AT their audience, but talk WITH them. To learn, to become more than just a trademark or a product, and to build relationships with their consumers that will last for years to come.
This nurture approach with honesty and playful humour and a strong focus on social media community management doesn’t work for everyone. But when it does, people just can’t get enough. Just look (again) at Innocent…
With Social Media, Content Truly is King
With people stuck at home, and likely to spend more time at home moving forwards as we go into a ‘new normal’, social media usage on mobile has sky-rocketed and with it, the consumption of social content. Content is king. It always has been… As the saying goes, ‘You can’t polish…’, you know the rest. And if your content is predictable, follows the rules and says nothing new, it’s safe to say your engagement will be limited.
Remember, this channel is now being viewed more than ever, by people who have less time than ever, with a shorter attention span than they’ve ever had before. Standing out from the crowd is a must; not an option.
There are different ways to do this. You could invest in production and create beautiful, high quality content. Or maybe the investment is in the creative, to try and find that clever, simple execution that delivers strategically. Or maybe you just do something that’s never been done before. However you do it, it will require thought, care and, inevitably, some level of investment.
Find Out More About the Power of Social Media for Your Business
There are of course more ways to grow your following, develop your brand identity & conquer social, but you can’t go wrong if you start with one of the above.
Contact us if you have any questions, or would like to discuss your social media campaign or talk about social media consultancy.
You can also reach out to the Digital Team directly by emailing: digitalteam@wildcard.co.uk and see some of the work we’ve done for clients to get a feel for how we make things happen.