Social media is always changing. It’s cliche to say it, but it really is. It’s one of the most challenging things about business and marketing. However, no matter how complex it gets, you have to remind yourself that it’s not rocket science. Social media is basically a giant show of human behaviour in real-time. Rather than studying markets via charts and graphs, you can watch trends form with hashtags, memes, gifs and viral moments. Here are 9 ways to remain at the forefront of it all.
Your subject
Elon Musk is a master at branding. He talks about his industry, not just his brand. This has become an effective marketing technique because, people are bathed in information every second of every day. They know about industries and sectors, but know they want to know what is going on in these places. What kind of culture, philosophy, predictions and future are you offering the world? Talk about what you do and what the industry is doing. This way, you automatically make it easier to distinguish yourself from other brands.
Epic shots
Hire a slick photographer once in a while to take slick photos of your products and your staff at work. This content has to be posted on Instagram and other social media sites that are mainly visual.
Unlike other message boards, Reddit is very regulated by mods that keep the NSFW section separate from the rest of the website. Doing an Ask Me Anything day whereby you invite anyone and everyone to ask you a question about absolutely anything, could be the social media watershed moment you need to boost your brand. The professional and the personal mix together in one smooth flow and you can also stream it live on YouTube. Have an employee type up your answers while you are speaking to maximize efficiency.
Celebrate others
Nobody has time for egotistical CEOs anymore. Once upon a time customers could tolerate a CEO in a suit lecturing them about how great they are. Those days are long gone now. Customers love it when CEOs and business leaders of all kinds, celebrate each other’s work and accomplishments. More leaders are saying they wished they were more like other leaders, and honestly admit when they were beaten. Humility goes a long way!
Get with it
You have to find a way to stay relevant on social media and the latest craze is TikTok. Funny, quirky, interesting and above all else, short videos are bringing in millions of views. Every business needs to have a TikTok account if it wants to implant itself in the lives of the young generation.
Learn to meme
It cannot be strassed highly enough, you have to learn how to meme. It’s a phenomenon like no others. It’s very difficult to understand but not that hard to get right once you know. It’s basically, satire, slapstick, sarcasm and irony, all mixed into one. It’s taking snapshots of popular culture and using it as an expression for something.
Respond!
As much as you can, respond to users online that comment on your posts. If they have a question, answer it! If they say something about your business that is just plain false, kindly correct them on it. If you messed up, admit it with a dose of humility. Customers want brands to interact with them, instead of it being one-way traffic all the time.
Social media is not a media. The key is to listen, engage, and build relationships.
David Alston, author
Make polls
It’s fun, it’s simple and you get free feedback. Polls on social media are great to boost your viral sensibility across the world. Polls give people choices and the opportunity to express what they like to you without much bother. Do more polls. At least once a month!
Comment on posts
You could make someone’s day by commenting on their post. Maybe they have @ you with a photo of them using your product or service. They may only have a few followers, but when you reply to their comment it could go viral. It’s been done many times before. An unknown account just expressing an opinion is acknowledged by a big brand and the average Joe customer feels recognition. It’s simple and easy yet it counts for so much, so start commenting on posts.
If you would like to know more about the latest social media trends and sound strategies to implement them into your business, contact us sooner rather than later! Use our quick chat system on our website or call us at 0330 229 1440.