Why You Need to Take Social Media Marketing Seriously in 2019

Social Media is this generation’s television

Over the last few years large corporations have been going under because they failed to measure the ROI in social media. They put all their eggs in television commercials (TVC) and they all lost billions. Yes, billions.
It is the one of the key reasons why Disney had the opportunity to buy ESPN.

Overly Connected

Social media transitioned into a credible source of news, entertainment and media over the last 5 years. Facebook live, IGTV (Instagram), Snapchat Discovery, plus many more, all evolved from YouTube, respectively. These platforms are utilised by huge television networks that work around the clock to deliver engaging content targeted at audiences in the masses.

In 2020, we will see larger corporations use this approach at micro level but you should start now.
Running great content is free. If you’re in business and you’re not posting great video content at least twice a week you’re already losing the race.

IF YOU’RE NOT OBSESSED WITH SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING IN 2019 YOU WILL LOSE BIG in 2020.
Instagram and Facebook has developed rapidly over the last 5 years. Once a network to connect the lives of family, friends, the interesting & influential, has now become one of the most compelling ways to talk to your audience and market your product & services.

How do I start?

Think about your social media as thoughtfully as you would any marketing strategy. Social media is a great way to reiterate what your new & existing campaign messages are.

#TIP

Having a community building strategy is a great place to start.
A simple, yet effective, way to build your brand on social media is to observe your local competitors. Take a look at what their key messages are and challenge yourself to look at it from a different angle. Be creative. Look at how they engage with the audience and also how their audience responds to specific messages.

PERFORMANCE & POWER

There are tons of different opportunities to advertise in social media, and it’s relatively cheap for now. These days, ads are costing around $4-$80, depending on what network it is, and how much you put behind it to boost it, though it’s predicted by 2022 these ad prices will rise to 10 times the current amount for your social advertisement. This will seriously effect smaller-mid size businesses if you don’t start building your network now. McDonald’s, BMW, Mercedes Benz will not let you compete in their advertising space when it matters most, and you won’t have the resources like they do to even attempt a serious challenge.

Performance based marketing is important. That’s essentially measuring your clicks, followers, engagement, site visits etc. This is fairly straight forward and should be monitored regularly to adjust your content accordingly with what is resonating better with your audience. 60% of your time and resources for smaller businesses should focus on this strategy and getting it right.

The other 40% of you’re time should be invested in the creative aspect. This is the brand building portion of your business and serves the purpose to create, control and refresh campaign content as often as needed.

#TIP: Break your campaign content into 3 month quarters. 4 campaigns a year, that are different, and encompassing one another, will be a sure fire winner.

SHOW Me The Money! Don’t TELL Me About It.

According to online marketing expert Marcus Sheridan, 80% of what we consume online is video content. Even YouTube continues to grow as a platform, giving more and more YouTubers a chance to create original video content for their audiences.

Build video content around your campaigns. It is imperative if you want to capture the target market, so consider employing a few creatives in your team that can think outside the box. It’s competitive out there and generally you’ve only got 3 seconds to win someone over on social media. Think purposefully.

A great example of this is Uber. Uber’s current campaign has extended commercials, yes, although the ad’s that you’re most likely seeing are 10 second snippets of the longer commercial. This is specifically targeted at your localised demographic, whether thats your town, city or country. It’s personalised and eye-catching.

BE INFLUENTIAL.

Don’t be afraid to stand for something and stand behind a public figure. Influencers with a large following can be your best friend at times. Don’t ever discredit a good freebie for publicity.

Perhaps offering an influencer some of your merchandise will pay dividends in the future if you reach an agreement for them to repost your product and tag your channel.

#TIP

Carefully pick & choose the right influencer or celebrity for your brand. Do your research on what they stand for and see if it aligns with your own company values. The last you will want to do is work with someone who turns out to be a morally horrible person. This will damage your brand and make you look just as bad as the person you stood behind.

One thing to remember it’s only a win-win if you collaborate with the right people.

If you’re looking to build your brand across social media talk to us at GYA, and we’ll tailor your social content to fit the needs of your business.