Of you own a small business and don’t yet have a presence on social media, now is the time to start. According to Statista, in 2019, it is predicted that there will be 2.77 billion social media users around the world , up from 2.46 billion only two years earlier. And social media provides an easy way to build brand awareness at a cost much lower than more traditional modes of advertising. Social media strategies and practices are evolving every day, presenting fresh and exciting ways to engage consumers and drive conversion.
What are the top trends in social media marketing this summer?
1. It’s all about the video. Really, this should come as no surprise as video use has been on the rise via social media marketing for the last several years. At the end of 2018, it was estimated that 5 billion videos are watched on YouTube each and every da y, and 100 million hours of video are watched on Facebook in any given day. Further and quite critical for driving that word of mouth, there are 1200% more shares generated by social videos than there are with text and static imagery combined.
2. Stay authentic . With access to information so abundant in our everyday lives, people can spot a lie a mile away. Because of that, today’s consumers want to hear from someone that is real and transparent. Even more so, people love to take a sneak peal behind the scenes. To be truly authentic with your customers, provide glimpses into your business operations. Show your people doing their best work, or doing amazing things out in the communities that they serve. If you are in the production or manufacturing business, take your customers to the production floor and show them how a product is made. And use your employees or real customers as your subjects, vs. hiring a paid representative who doesn’t have a vested interest in your business other than the paycheck to speak on your behalf.
3. Don’t forget amazing images. While we said that video is more important now than ever, that does not negate the need for great, professional quality imagery in your social media marketing. As we shared back in January 2019 , Instagram has become a popular choice for social interaction through pictures, videos, messages, and comments. While Instagram definitely differentiates itself through the use of beautiful imagery, these great images are equally important on all social media platforms that you leverage for your business marketing. So, while we already suggested the need to be authentic in your marketing, the summer provides a great opportunity to get outdoors with your people and take photos of them doing great things, and then sharing those images as part of your social strategy. Even capturing great candids of your employees out walking around the business site, or sitting at a picnic table chatting with others over their lunch, helps to capture the essence of your business and the people that are serving your customers.
4. Skip the clickbait. If you’re not familiar with what clickbait is, it is simply content whose main purpose is to get noticed and then encourage users to click on a link that takes them to a certain web page. At first glance, that might not seem like a bad idea because part of your goal in your marketing is to attract those customers, but remember, they want you to be authentic. Your customers want you to educate them; to make them smarter than they were before they read your article. If you are simply trying to get them to click on something, you are serving your own interests, but you have lost sight of the fact that you want engaged customers who will at some point, hopefully, sooner than later, make a transaction with your organization. Have question about an effective Social Media Marketing strategy? We LOVE to Help! Please feel welcome to contact us.