Getting your social strategy has become increasingly difficult, with various shifts in popularity happening at a blistering pace. For example, only a few people could predict the dark future for Vine some years ago, when six-second videos were all the rage, but now we have to live without that option.
Needless to say, there are new, improved and more user-friendly options available, but choosing the right one and knowing how to utilize them remains the key to successful media campaigns. So, what is it that we might be able to conclude from the current trends and how is the way businesses use social media likely to shape by the end of this year?
Stop relying on free posts
First of all, we have to stress the importance of time. You can no longer afford to wait to build up your audience the old-fashioned way, since your competitors might take them over before the news about you reaches your target audience. Even if you make regular posts on social networks, they might not end up in every relevant feed, because our feeds are becoming increasingly cluttered with all types of content.
That’s why it’s high time you started investing in promoted posts and updates. Good news is that you can start small, i.e. you don’t have to invest a great deal of money until you are sure you’re doing the right thing. Other advantages include the fact that such posts are sharable and can be highly targeted. Finally, you can also track the effect your campaign is having.
Use your existing resources
One highly effective method of boosting the reach of your social media posts is to have your employees share them on their own social media accounts. The strength does lie in numbers sometimes and the more shares your posts get, the better chances of them reaching the right people.
Naturally, you can’t order your employees to share every single post, but they themselves should feel the wish to share it. They are likely to do so if they believe their audience would find it interesting and in case they are right, you could reach a much wider range of potential customers than you’ve ever imagined. What you need to do is make the process of sharing as simple as possible and utilize available tools for pushing out updates to employees for re-sharing via a mobile app.
Social media skills
A curious trend can be observed: there is a huge increase in the number of companies using social media for various purposes, yet not many employees in charge are provided with appropriate training and resources. Of course, this means that the evident potential and opportunities can be wasted unless some serious action is taken immediately.
Still, courses related to social media and being introduced to university programs and more and more people are learning about them than ever before, even those not directly involved in marketing activities. Companies which have trained and skillful employees when it comes to using the power of social media will have a huge advantage over those which keep untrained employees on their payroll.
Content will continue to rule
Whether we talk about blog entries, images or videos, the content of your message will be crucial to the success of your campaign. This is particularly true when it comes to videos, which have become extremely popular since they can be shared on all social media and they can convey much more than an image can, for example.
The trend is to post videos that talk about your offer or show your other promotional material, such as flyer printing. Just make sure you create professional videos by hiring experts since trying to save a little money on this project may have a serious effect on the result. Don’t forget that you want to create something that people will be attracted to and that they would want to share.
Conclusion
These are just some of the tips based on the current trends in using social media for business. Being aware of the latest shifts on the market is extremely important for every business that wishes to remain competitive even in the most volatile and challenging environment and only those who respond appropriately to the changes will survive.