New features mean new opportunities when it comes to social media marketing.
Facebook and its social media competitors continue to modernize their platforms in order to introduce new ways consumers and marketers can connect. In order to stay up-to-date with the latest tools and trends, it’s important to familiarize yourself with social media services that can complement your marketing strategies. Sometimes choosing which social media channel to focus on is just as important as a campaign’s message, and it’s your job to optimize your strategy as new features are introduced.
Is Facebook still the way to go? Are you in-the-know when it comes to your go-to social media platforms? It’s time to re-imagine your marketing strategies and give yourself a good social media audit.
The Beginning of the Social Media Advertising Age
While the notion of advertising to a captured audience isn’t a new concept, the introduction of social media brought with it a revolutionary new way to reach potential consumers. AdWeek credits Facebook’s launch of the Pages feature in 2007 as the beginning of social media advertising, and with it came the opportunity to insert your brand into the conversation with a “cost per fan” mentality. Now, social media avenues account for a significant portion of any given marketing campaign’s budget, and it’s hard to find a business that doesn’t have some sort of digital presence across multiple social platforms.
Is Facebook Still King?
While Facebook may have started the revolution, other services soon followed and helped pave multiple roads into previously untapped markets. Competitors like Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest, and YouTube were quick to carve out niches, and smart marketers have used these niches to help segment target audiences. Here are a handful of today’s popular platforms:
- YouTube
- Google+
- Tumblr
- Periscope
- Vine
- Snapchat
These services may be the popular kids in the social media playground right now, but they are by no means the only ones that marketers take advantage of. Already, up-and-coming social media apps look to rival competitors and attract new consumers. Remember, you’re in charge of the message, and the social media megaphone you send it through can make or break a campaign’s momentum.
Promising Features on Popular Social Media Platforms
There are plenty of social media marketing 101 guides, but it’s crucial to personalize your strategy and use tactics that best suit your goals. Are you using any of the following?
- Facebook Live: From makeup tutorials to entrepreneurial updates and philanthropic fundraising, users and brands alike are able to share live video to followers.
- Facebook Rooms: Facebook’s new Rooms feature is a chat platform for users with common interests. It’s just been introduced, but already marketers are eyeing the channel as another organic social media inroad.
- Pinterest “How-to” pins: Instead of sending users to another webpage, Pinterest’s How-to Pins provide more information on-site to keep consumers from navigating away.
- Instagram and Snapchat’s Story feature: Both services have made it possible for users to see their preferred content (stories from other users and brands) at the top of the feed.
- Google+ (Honorable Mention): It’s not new, but don’t discount Google+ as a Facebook clone. Moz found that “after Page Authority, a URL’s number of Google +1s is more highly correlated with search rankings than any other factor.” Are you making the most of your Google+ page and audience?
It never hurts to have a few helpful features at your disposal when it’s time to start the social media marketing wheels turning. Branch out, find new features, and weave them into your strategy in creative ways for maximum conversion potential.
Nothing is Ever Perfect
Just as social media platforms evolve and new features come and go, it’s never wise to think your social media marketing strategy is perfect. No two campaigns are ever the same, from content to message to goals, and just when you think you’ve got it all figured out, an update or viral surprise comes along to throw you off your game. Think of new features as exciting opportunities for innovative campaign benchmarks, so scrutinize your social media campaigns whenever you think they’re perfect. There’s always room to improve!
