Social Media can be many different things and it can be produced in many, different ways. Maybe, the best definition of social media is content which has been created by its audience.
Perhaps the most defining element of it all, though, is its social element. Yes, you may produce a lovely article, but it is more than just publishing. You would expect your readership to leave their own comments, stories and photos. This is the ‘social’ part of social media and it makes publishing about participation.
Facebook is one of the most successful social media platforms in the world. The key to successful use of this type of marketing channel is not just to create content, but to start conversations. And those conversations create communities. When these communities form, firm connections are made, and when this happens around businesses, there you have the sort of brand loyalty and commitment that sales executives have been dreaming of, since the very first days of direct marketing.
Content
Content is where the magic happens with Facebook. There is not a huge amount of useful and entertaining content on Facebook, so this is where the opportunity lies. Ninety per cent of your time should be spent creating the content and understanding what your audience like and ten per cent of your time, should be spent posting it.
Video
Video is really, important. Mark Zuckerberg himself said video was the future of social marketing and we have seen this in the rise and rise of TikTok. Quality videos are possible, even with a small team and low resources. Remember not to be salesy or product focused. Keep videos at two minutes or less and captions should be short.
Ninety-two per cent of Facebook users are, in fact, using the platform whilst on their mobile device. Meaning people are quickly scrolling their feed, have very short attention spans and will probably be distracted by what is going on around them. So, keep your video short, to the point and keep the ‘best’ for ‘first’. You have only a few seconds to capture the attention of someone in order to keep them around to watch your whole video.
Curated content
One of the main concerns of a business is the time and energy to keep creating content over and over again. One of the ways to supplement your regular strategy is by re-posting content from reputable partners in your industry. This not only supplements your strategy, but it keeps your audience interested. Too much self-focused content goes stale quickly, so curated content gives your readership a breather. Curated content also gives you the opportunity to build relationships with the people whose content you are sharing. In fact, curated content is very often some of the top performing content. It does not necessarily drive traffic or sales, but it is fantastic at brand building and brand awareness.
Sharing and re-sharing
Repurposing and re-sharing your top content is key. Between two and five per cent of your total audience will, in fact, see your content when you post it, so there is really no harm in sharing and re-sharing your content, especially your top content.
‘Facebook pages to watch’
‘Facebook pages to watch’ is a powerful tool. You need to be a Facebook manager and your account needs to have more than 75 likes to use it. These pages will give you inspiration for content and allow you to set goals and benchmarks. This will allow you to watch competitors and source curated content. It also serves you the content in order of popularity and most engaging – which is gold dust.
Conclusion
Relationships are as strong or as deep as you choose to make them. If you take the time to call and speak to your family and friends, your relationships will flourish. In the same way if you nurture your relationships with your customers and really meet their needs, you build long lasting relationships. Conversely, if you do not reach out to your friends and family, those relationships get stripped of their richness and substance, and in business, this is exactly the same.
If you would like some expert content planning and delivery, to enrich your Facebook social media platform, we would love to help. You can call the SCS Marketing & PR team on 01252 621293 or email info@scsmarketingandpr.co.uk for more information.
