In the words of Managing Director and Co-Founder of 3 Phase Marketing, Sonia Majkic, “the internet reflects perhaps the biggest shift in the history of marketing”.
Let’s take a look at a real example. Using a $75,000 budget, Winelibrary.com marketed a redemption code that was exclusive to each channel on which it was published. The results showed that an outdoor billboard in a high traffic area produced just 170 leads, whereas ads on Twitter boasted an astonishing 17,000.
Now, that’s not to say that traditional media is dead. It just means you need to put your product where your audience is looking. And where they’re looking, is online.
The social media must haves
In order to survive and thrive in the Social Media marketing world, the following points are crucial.
1. Be passionate
You are the expert when it comes to your business. In the same way that you know every facet of your brand, familiarise yourself with the tools you’re using to promote it. If you’re not confident in tackling Social Media, take advice from Gary Vaynerchuk and hire someone who is, but know enough about it to know that they’re doing their job well.
2. Tell your story
Break your business down into content pillars. Start with three or four that will help your audience understand your brand’s personality, as well as it’s offering. Once you’ve decided what your content pillars are, decide on which days you’ll post them.
Let’s say your business is a new restaurant. You have a strong family heritage, use your grandmother’s recipes and want to advertise a Saturday night special. Your content pillars could be broken down into the following:
Monday: Family heritage
Share photos of the family and the business’s history. Make an emotional connection with your audience that will help them view you as a personality rather than just another restaurant.
Wednesday: Recipe of the week
Share your knowledge with your audience. Shoot a video of you making one of your grandmother’s recipes that features on your menu. You don’t need a tripod and a professional camera to do this, just a smartphone and a nice backdrop.
Thursday/Friday: Saturday night special
Post about your weekend special close enough to the weekend that it’s still relevant, but not too early so that they’ll forget about it. Understand when your audience is starting to make their weekend plans, and grab their attention then.
3. Stop the scroll
Social Media is not convoluted, but it is busy, noisy and crowded. The 3PM Social Team recently had the pleasure of attending a Facebook Community Boost workshop powered by Business Chicks. The guest speaker was none other than Social Media Consultant, Co-Founder of Billoclataire Adventure Club, #1 Amazon best seller and host of That Social Media Show, Heather Porter.
Heather spoke of what it takes to stand out in social media. Did you know that scrolling on your phone has become more of a force of habit than a conscious decision? Our brains tell our thumbs to keep scrolling because we’re bored. But what breaks that boredom? Interesting content.
Whether interesting content means bright colours, flashing gifs or boomerangs to you, we’re now in the business of breaking human habits and stopping the scroll. Find out what works with your audience and stick to it.
4. Talk to your audience
Put as much effort into managing your community as you do into creating your content. Every customer deserves to be recognised and replied to. There is no stronger form of advertising than word of mouth, so your customer service needs to extend to your online community as well.
Creative considerations
There are some really simple points to consider when creating your content that will help it go further.
1. Keep it clean
A confused mind will immediately say ‘no’. Craft a single message for each piece of content and stick to it.
2. Video is currently king
According to Facebook, video is the most successful form of content on the market right now. 15 second videos receive the most completed views, especially those that show the business’s message within the first three seconds.
That’s not to say that longer form videos can’t be successful either, we just need to use them with a different purpose. For example, if you have a minute long video and an audience that watches 20-30 seconds of it, create a new audience out of them and target them with a shorter video (that’s getting a little advanced, but keep it in mind for an upcoming blog). People consume differently, and you need to be able to adapt.
3. Frame it right
90% of content is consumed on a phone, so frame your content in either a vertical or square setting.
4. Quiet please!
As a general rule, always build your content for sound off. When a user scrolls Facebook, sound doesn’t play unless they physically click into your video within the feed, so make use of text or closed captions where possible.
5. Simplicity is best
As I said earlier, you don’t need a fancy camera or thousands of dollars worth of equipment to make stellar content. There are plenty of free online tools to help you create beautiful content. Check out Quik, Splice and Videorama for easy to navigate video editing. Facebook Blueprint also offers short courses on content creation for any business.
Most importantly of all, don’t forget to have fun. The greatest part of Social Media is if you mess up a post, you can just delete it! I hope these tips and tricks have helped start you on your Social Media journey.
