Social Media & Modern Marketing
My view of social media marketing
The development of social media continues to grow and morph. The ability of businesses to capture and capitalise on social media will be a challenge for years to come.
In the past few years, there has been so much change, it’s really difficult for most companies to consider a five-year social media plan or strategy.
Such a plan would miss technologies that don’t even exist today. Remember, Facebook only launched in February of 2004 Is it hard to think of life before Facebook?
Engagement will always be the key objective of social marketing
Community engagement continues to be a goal for businesses in 2023, but it has changed over the years. In the past, businesses could simply create a social media platform and expect people to participate and engage with them. However, in today’s crowded social media landscape, businesses need to be more strategic about how they engage with their communities.
One of the most important things to consider when planning a community engagement strategy is what success looks like. For some businesses, success may mean increasing brand awareness or generating leads. For others, it may mean building a loyal customer base or creating a sense of community around their brand.
Once you know what success looks like, you can start to develop a strategy to achieve it. This should involve creating content that is relevant to your target audience, running contests or giveaways, or simply being active on social media and responding to comments and questions.
It is also important to understand your audience and how they want to engage with your business. Not everyone wants to engage with businesses in the same way. Some people prefer to interact through social media, while others prefer to email or call. It is important to offer a variety of ways for people to engage with your business so that everyone feels welcome.
Finally, be inclusive in your community engagement efforts. Social media crosses most demographics, so it is important to reach out to people from all walks of life. This means using inclusive language and imagery, and avoiding stereotypes.
By following these tips, you can create a community engagement strategy that will help you achieve your business goals in 2023.
Here are some additional tips for community engagement in 2023:
- Use social listening to understand what your audience is talking about. This will help you create content that is relevant and engaging.
- Host live events or webinars. This is a great way to connect with your audience and build relationships.
Use social media to give back to your community. This could involve donating to charity, volunteering your time, or simply offering support to others. - Be authentic and genuine. People can spot a fake from a mile away, so it is important to be yourself when engaging with your community.
By following these tips, you can create a community engagement strategy that will help you build relationships with your customers, prospects, and other stakeholders. This will lead to increased brand awareness, loyalty, and sales.
Building a community
The is of a Community Manager to manage your social properties was all the buzz around 2010. The community manager was a unique type of person and probably already existed in many organisations, just under a different title. Moving forward to the 2020’s, this role has largely been adopted by the marketing team in most organisations.
The term “social influencer” is tossed around a great deal. These people often come about as the result of a reality TV role, while others are self-proclaimed subject matter experts and others offer no real value to society and play to popular culture and rally people around divisive topics.
The best companies and community organisations have developed Social Media Policies. A document that provides a framework and guide for social engagement.
Now we have “influencer marketing”
“McKinsey anticipated the rise of influencer marketing in 2014 with the completion of a survey involving 20,000 European consumers. The analysis at the time noted that most of influencer marketing’s impact came from so-called power influencers. But the survey also identified an emerging—and largely untapped—market of less active influencers with smaller followings. In recent years, we’ve seen this phenomenon play out with the rise of micro- and nano influencers.”*
*SOURCE: McKinsey & Co. “What is influencer marketing?” Article | April 2023