Genius INSIGHTS | Digital marketing news
Social Media is now a big part of SEO, just as Blogging is part of your content strategy.
Here are my thoughts for rest of the year.
The Social Media News Feed
This is now where everyone is hanging out (and on Mobile). If one of your guests has 500 friends who each have 500 friends, then you have access to 250,000 leads who will take more notice if a post is recommended by someone they know and trust.
The news feed is where people go to for latest news in their community, their interests and their friends.
Social Media shows you what you want before you think to ask (i.e. use Google Search).
Tone of Voice
Professional and corporate accounts are not going to dominate news feeds – you need to ensure you develop representative personalities for your brands.
Users trust the people providing information in their feeds, especially if they can interact and feel they know the face behind the logo.
Google Search will not be the platform to deliver quality viewers in the future. Quality viewers will come to your website via social media news feeds and online word of mouth as people scan theirs feeds and friends.
When people find you via Google you still have to prove you are the best choice. A popular social media post with good interaction and shares can tell people immediately that you are worth it.
Content is King (Not Anymore)
Information is no longer valuable and we have to accept that unless you are a scientist on the verge of a major discovery that what we say on our website is being said in a similar way by others in our field. So your focus has to be on context and how we position ourselves.
Be Authentic and Build Trust
Social Media posts should not just be about your offers or brand, you should also;
- Talk about your passions – location – food – people etc.
- Talk about other things that your fans might like
- Promote other people / businesses in your area
- Post tips and advice
- Know who your posts are for
- Start with the benefits – (endless scrolling does not work)
- Let your fans share their photos and experiences
Facebook Ads
Now a key part of any marketing strategy. The targeting on Facebook is fantastic and Ads can be shown to separate audiences as you experiment with different posts. So if you want to target women living within 40km of Truro on their mobiles who like eating out, you can.
Facebook Ads work better than promoted posts.
Google Ads
If you want to be on the 1st page on Google on a mobile, then these are essential as the 1st page of results are now all Ads. People still tend to avoid ads on a desktop but on mobile they just want the fastest results.
Video Marketing
As I have mentioned many times, video is the best way to gain trust and get shares and interaction. What is also happening this year is that people are watching more video on their mobiles with the sound off. So adding sub-titles or text is now very important. Facebook make it easy to add a link.
Hashtags / Links in Facebook
All social media platforms have a search facility and Facebook search is certainly improving. I would recommend adding a maximum number of three hashtags and always a link back to a Blog post or the main website.
Should you use your own Hashtags? Unless it’s a household name or you are a TV program I would say not. Use Hashtags that people are actually searching for. The whole point of any hashtag is to get discovered.
If you need any help or advice for your business please get in touch.
Phil Aston
