Are you looking to make the most of social marketing trends? Before implementing and executing any big ideas, you may need some expert tips and advice. If so, then you may want to consider these recommendations and insights before diving into the deep end.
The importance of marketing basics
You don’t build a house on rocky foundations, so why would you do that with your marketing strategy? While there are many elements to successful social media marketing, it’s the basics that are often forgotten about or just flat out ignored.
For example, many businesses are fully aware of the benefits of video when it comes to generating new leads, and yet they still refuse to embrace or incorporate it into their every day marketing efforts. Some B2B companies, in particular, won’t talk about the pricing and cost of their products on their websites.
The basics will do more than keep a company afloat. They’ll have a massive impact on results. Don’t be one of those businesses where marketing departments and sales won’t work together or have a website that doesn’t provide a pricing calculator or assessments.
Spend time to focus on the now.
Instagram Reels and how to use them
Innovation, creativity, and entertainment should be key components of any marketing strategy to stand out in today’s digital marketing landscape. According to Adam Mosseri (Head of Instagram), users are demanding more entertaining videos, and this is why Instagram is making a paradigm shift. Online traffic is being fuelled by video content, much more than still images. As a result, its popularity has increased immensely over the years. In order to remain relevant and competitive, businesses must embrace this shift in trend and incorporate Instagram Reels and short videos into any marketing strategy to boost their image.
But before you set up your ring light and learn the hottest new dance moves, you must be sure that you are aligning any content to your company’s marketing goals, rather than just jumping head first into current random trends. Ask yourself, how does this relate to our organisation, and how will it create value for our customers? Organic video content scores highly. The reason being is that it speaks more to your audience and doesn’t look like a typical ad that we’ve all become desensitised to.
Quickly grab your customer’s attention and use a creative video or reel on your webinar funnel to encourage click-through rates on your registration advertisement. Drive traffic to your application page by promoting a video or service. If you have a product to sell, unlock the power of reels by investing time into releasing at least 2-4 per month.
Create visibility through Facebook ads
Facebook has upped its game. Its lead generation, messenger, and on-platform ads are more effective than ever before, which is excellent news after the whole pixel disaster of 2021. Let’s hope this trend continues!
Everyone, I’m sure, looks forward to also welcoming the next generation of tracking, a stable Conversions API as well as an improved pixel.
As we all know, 2022 will bring a new age of shorter attention spans. The only way to stay ahead of the competition is to think short, snappy, and to the point. Videos make information easy to digest, especially if they’re attractive. Reels and short-form clips are not going anywhere anytime soon. They’re here to stay, and it’s easy to combine good old-fashioned storytelling into them too.
Long-form content, is it back?
2021 marked the year of short-form media. We all focused on 15-second messages after the explosion of TikTok and the widespread adoption of Instagram Reels. However, there’s been a subtle shift across social media platforms. TikTok now has a duration of 3 minutes, and Reels now last 60 seconds. Are these small changes signaling a return to longer-form content?
Thanks to Clubhouse, another trend sweeping the interwebs is long-form audio.Twitter also introduced audio-based Spaces, and so did Facebook, fully supporting podcasting and Live Audio Rooms. YouTube has also adopted podcasting.
The one thing social media giants really care about is time on a platform. So in 2022, longer-form audio/video could be the way to go, to place you front and centre stage.
Niche Facebook marketing channels
Facebook is and may always remain the most popular global platform. However, people want niche experiences in smaller, more targeted communities.
This is where Facebook definitely takes the cake. Facebook excels at providing these intimate, connected experiences in smaller community settings that provide opportunities to deepen the connection between customers and businesses.
Facebook Groups – Facebook’s list of groups is endless – seriously. No matter what niche your business operates within, you best believe there is a crowd of Facebook users ready to come together and chat about it in a group. Through this, you can continue to invest in your group, which should ideally link to your Facebook Page and generate business.
Live audio rooms – Stay in touch and keep your finger on the pulse with live audio rooms. It continues to be available to Facebook users. They’re easy to use, and you don’t even need to be camera-ready. Remember what we said about long-form content and audio? It’s back, baby, in a big way.
Facebook live – What’s the next best thing than being there in person? Live video. It allows you to communicate with your followers in real-time.
Gain leads with LinkedIn video marketing
Should I use LinkedIn Creator? Creator gives your brand a voice and allows you to build a professional reputation and share content and knowledge. It’s much more than a tool when it comes to skyrocketing businesses to the next level.
When Creator Mode is switched on, what happens? Well:
- You get access to all new creator tools as soon as they are released; you even receive early access to new features via Creator Hub
- Increased visibility, and you can even publish a LinkedIn newsletter to target that long-form content
- You can freely use LinkedIn Live without having to apply for it
- You can post hashtags, and they’ll magically appear at the top of your profile
- Your posts will be highlighted, and they will show likes, comments, etc.
- The ‘Follow’ button is much easier to find, as your account is converted into a follow account
Based on this and the fact that LinkedIn will also launch a short-form video feature, this is a valuable platform to start posting video marketing content to. So if it’s ROI you’re after, what are you waiting for?
Ecommerce grows on TikTok, but is it here to stay?
TikTok has taken the world by storm and risen in popularity for entertainment. Its domination in short-form video is like no other.
So why should marketers consider using this platform? First, ask yourself this question, do you like money? If the answer is yes, read on.
There is a myriad of benefits of using this platform, including:
- Live Streaming – This continues to rise and shows no sign of ever slowing down. It’s extremely popular with regular users. As a business, you can use live streaming to make more direct sales through clickable links.
- More In-app Shopping – With their partnership with Shopify, business accounts will be able to tag products. This feature isn’t far away and will be available soon. The Chinese version has already been launched in Douyin. This permits businesses to increase their sales by creating an online shop.
- Reliability – People need to know who you are and what you’re all about before investing their hard-earned money. Short videos let you truly highlight your authenticity and build that sense of community through personal experiences.
How relevant is the current trend? This is the major challenge brands continue to face in today’s society. Users quickly consume trends, and relevancy could fade away. Businesses need to adapt to this ever-changing platform.
TikTok will continue expanding and attracting more brands with the necessary additional resources and tools companies require. And as more brands engage with the app, TikTok will support them by partnering with user-generated content that is dynamic and relevant to the platform. This type of collaboration is only expected to increase.
Customer-to-Customer relationship is vital
At the centre of every thriving business is understanding and identifying what your customers want and any challenges that come along with it. Connected customers are repeat customers.
When the pandemic hit, there were so many unpredictable changes from shortages in housing, electronics, timber, and other materials. No one could ascertain that consumers would turn directly to social media and the internet. Teenagers took over purchasing. Many were impulse buys. Live commerce, live streaming video, and eCommerce have also seen a surge in China. It’s also growing fast in the U.S.
There are constant shifts in trends, and we can’t even begin or understand the global crisis’s full impact on marketing. But let’s take this opportunity to really engage with customers to find out what works and learn what we can to move forward.
