Being there isn't everything: Seven social media tips for brands
Brands often make the mistake on social media of telling stories that lack authenticity, featuring a face that the audience can’t relate to. The result: a lot of effort in a battle for attention that cannot be won. Yoeri Callebaut from Kingfluencers explains what it takes for a brand not just to use social media, but to truly capitalize on it.
1. know the target group and where to find them.
There is no such thing as the "best" platform, influencer, or campaign format. Brands need to invest time in researching possible options and making a choice that will best help them achieve their goals. Accurately identifying the target audience is an important first step, followed by deciding the best platforms to reach them.
For younger dance enthusiasts, TikTok is a natural. 60% of users are Gen Zers and the two TikTok accounts with the most followers are young dancers.
2. remain relevant
What most users do on a platform is very important to consider. The chances of brands being successful increase enormously if they provide the kind of content that target groups actively seek out and consume on the platform, such as video games on Twitch. The platform has over 9 million active users and all of the top 5 are gamers (Werbewoche.ch reported).
Segmenting audiences within each platform can increase relevance even further. On Facebook, for example, brands can easily create a custom list of people who have previously messaged the company to re-engage potential customers.
3. design campaigns interactively
Social influencer marketing offers an agile, real-time communication channel with consumers. With influencer marketing - and social media in general - brands should interact with consumers and strive for effective two-way communication. Too often, however, brands play out content to their audience without bothering to listen - to find out what the audience really wants. Interactive campaigns, on the other hand, lead to more engagement, brand advocacy, and likeability, as well as more conversions and better customer retention.
Social media offers brands the unique opportunity to make campaigns interactive and collaborative. By encouraging participation and interaction and integrating user-generated content, brands can transform their campaigns from brand monologues into real conversations. The close connection influencers have with their communities is ideal for engaging audiences in conversations and making campaigns interactive. Influencers* can generate interactions in a variety of ways. These include challenges, contests, polls, and Q&A sessions.
4. use the latest technologies
With the new release of the Oculus Quest in May 2019, virtual reality (VR) has become increasingly popular. VR allows people to share and interact with others around the world, which seems especially important given the ongoing need for social distancing. Therefore, tests Facebook currently using the Oculus VR platform to create a virtual world where people can connect and play games.
Augmented reality (AR), on the other hand, is even more accessible because it requires no hardware other than a smartphone. AR filters can be used to promote fan interaction or new products. The "Jump into Africa"-campaign of the Kinder chocolate brand, for example, allowed consumers to discover animated 3D safari animals while in Tesco supermarkets in the UK.
5. always stay up to date
Brands should always be aware of the various changes and new features of social media platforms, as circumstances change quickly. Twitter for example, announced on February 25, 2021 Paid Super Follows which requires users to pay for tweets. YouTube Shorts," which is considered a competitor for TikTok, was also launched on March 18, 2021. to the American market.
"YouTube Shorts was first launched in September and has undergone various beta tests in India over the past few months, where adoption of the product has since tripled."
In addition, TikTok has recently "TikTok For Business" launched to highlight tips such as information on various elements for building a brand, including insights on creative inputs, strategies for ads, and key trends. TikTok Ads Manager acts as a simple self-service tool that allows brands to create and post their ads directly to the TikTok feed.
6. focus on people and use stories
Human interest stories help audiences identify with the brand and encourage interaction by, for example, showing people currently using the product rather than just posting photos or videos of the product itself.
Social media stories can create a strong emotional connection to the brand and further its purpose. A Study by SocialInsider also found that images in Stories have a 5.65 percent higher tap-forward rate than videos. Images of people using a product in relatable situations can help users connect. For example, these people could be hired actors, paid influencers, or satisfied customers - all are beneficial.
Consumers are 2.4 times more likely to say they find user-generated content (UGC) more authentic than brand-created content. In addition, many employees at all levels are likely already committed to their employer and its products or services. Brands should embrace and build on this enthusiasm because people who make their employer's product are highly credible sources.
People like to see other people. Studies conducted in the Journal of Advertising Research published show that advertisements with faces of people and ' 'face-like' - that is, illusory - images attract more attention in a very short time and are preferred over other advertisements.
7. embody authenticity and values
Consumers want to support brands that embody their own values. Inc. according to Gen-Zers, "want to see authenticity in marketing, including evidence and a culture that backs up claims of strong company values." Sixty-seven percent agreed that "staying true to yourself and your values and beliefs makes a person cool." They feel the same way about brands.
74 percent of respondents to a Twitter poll want brands to show acts of kindness, and 77 percent feel more positively about brands that are trying to help society during this crisis.
Even though it's tempting to focus on statistics like followers and likes: you have to remember that interactive exchange is a reciprocal relationship. Interacting with the community also helps build trust and credibility.
* Yoeri Callebaut is Chief Growth and Marketing Officer at influencer marketing agency Kingfluencers. He studied economics in Ghent, Belgium, has an MBA in Business Management and today specializes in branding and marketing with a focus on strategy, digital media and storytelling.
