{"id":142670,"date":"2020-12-30T12:51:07","date_gmt":"2020-12-30T12:51:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.searchenginewatch.com\/?p=142670"},"modified":"2020-12-30T12:51:07","modified_gmt":"2020-12-30T12:51:07","slug":"need-to-step-up-your-social-media-marketing-follow-this-recipe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2020\/12\/30\/need-to-step-up-your-social-media-marketing-follow-this-recipe\/","title":{"rendered":"Need to step up your social media marketing? Follow this recipe"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"well\">\n<h3>30-second summary:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Brands face increasing challenges to capture audiences&#8217; attention with paid posts as users learn to scroll past sponsored content.<\/li>\n<li>Advertising spending has dropped during the pandemic, meaning there&#8217;s less competitive noise and no better time to shine.<\/li>\n<li>Marketer Mike Monroe shares the three most important drivers of increased engagement with sponsored posts on social media.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Before the coronavirus pandemic, navigating social media marketing was like trying to make your way through a bustling metropolis. It was noisy, full of ads, and generally <a href=\"https:\/\/hootsuite.com\/pages\/digital-2020\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">oversaturated<\/a>. After a while, all the scrolling turned into a fuzzy blur.<\/p>\n<p>It has become increasingly challenging for brands to capture audiences&#8217; attention with paid posts. People are scrutinizing big tech and its seductive algorithms. Labels are getting larger. As a result, users on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter learned to scroll past anything labeled #sponsored. They want to see entertainment, not advertisements.<\/p>\n<p>But now, there\u2019s no better time to shine. Advertising spending has\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.weforum.org\/agenda\/2020\/06\/coronavirus-advertising-marketing-covid19-pandemic-business\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">significantly decreased<\/a>\u00a0due to COVID-19, which means that the volume has been turned down. Companies have a better chance of standing out now if they follow Seth Godin\u2019s theory and put a Purple Cow \u2014\u00a0or a remarkable, buzzworthy, unique element\u00a0\u2014 into their social media marketing.\u00a0It&#8217;s the perfect time to capture new attention by creating memorable content on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevectorimpact.com\/how-to-brand-yourself-on-instagram\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Instagram<\/a>, Facebook, and beyond.\u00a0By creating unique ads that are worth looking at during a marketing lull, brands can stand out and snag the attention of target audiences.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Find an opening for your brand<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>It\u2019s not easy to create sizzle on social, though. Many companies have tried and failed to gain traction with paid media. Sometimes the problem is the sponsored ads look like they\u2019ve been made by people who\u2019ve never tweeted or snapped in their lives. Other times, the error is lacking a clear objective or trying to attract the wrong audiences. For instance, Generation Z won\u2019t scroll Facebook, and Generation X isn\u2019t that interested in <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2020\/09\/17\/what-you-must-know-about-tiktok-for-business\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">TikTok<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>However, it can be done. Instagram says that\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/business.instagram.com\/getting-started\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">6 out of 10 users<\/a>\u00a0discover new products through its channel, and Twitter ads can net up to a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.clickz.com\/promoted-tweets-see-1-to-3-engagement-on-average\/44450\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">3% engagement rate<\/a>. Habits and behaviors are up for grabs right now as people define their new normals, so brands that zig while their competitors&#8217; zag will dominate popular platforms. The trick is figuring out how your company fits into the narrative.<\/p>\n<p>At Vector Marketing, we experienced a huge spike in brand awareness thanks to a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/vm.tiktok.com\/J851SeS\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">deceptively simple TikTok video<\/a>\u00a0featuring our product, a clay Baby Yoda head, and annoying background music. The video was our first big hit, and it helped us grow our account significantly in terms of followers and views. Why did the video amass so much engagement? It tapped into a few key internet trends: TikTok was hot, Baby Yoda was popular, and #oddlysatisfying videos were taking off. By merging those phenomena, we struck pay dirt.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>How to increase sponsored post engagement<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Write the right message for the right person at the right time. That\u2019s the recipe. If you\u2019re struggling with sponsored posts, check the recipe, and see whether your social media marketing efforts include all three ingredients:<\/p>\n<h3><strong>1. The right message<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>What\u2019s your plan? You need to know why you\u2019re saying something before you say it. Think about the purpose your paid ad will serve and position it accordingly. For instance, if your <a href=\"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/2020\/07\/07\/how-to-get-more-leads-on-instagram-10-highly-effective-tactics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">goal is lead generation<\/a>, make sure you have a hook, an educational element, and a call to action. If you\u2019re aiming for brand awareness, then make engaging content the premium. Remember not to assume that your images, copy, and other creatives are good but instead to A\/B test them and learn what really engages your audience. It&#8217;s crucial because\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/blog.hootsuite.com\/social-media-advertising-stats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">more than half<\/a>\u00a0of all online brand discovery happens in public social feeds.\u00a0Remember: The more people who see or click your ad, the larger the ROI will be.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>2. The right person<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Your social media audience serves as the judge, jury, and executioner. If you think your content is trendy and users aren\u2019t biting, then you need to redefine what you consider to be trendy. Your perception is not as important as the audience\u2019s perception. Let\u2019s say that you just created a post for Millennials talking about Baby Yoda. It\u2019s still relevant, but Millennials and Gen Xers have moved on (as they quickly do). You need to meet your target audience where they are, so look into the demographic data of the social platforms you&#8217;re courting and plan accordingly.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>3. The right time<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Identify the perfect moment to post\u00a0by matching your content to the zeitgeist.\u00a0If it\u2019s autumn and you own a laundromat, you might ask followers, \u201cYou should never wash your jersey during football season. True or false?\u201d While their answers will likely be interesting, they don\u2019t really matter. What does matter is that you capitalized on a trend and met consumers when they were ready to engage.<\/p>\n<p>Capturing the attention of social media users is tough, but it can be done. Just stay attuned to what\u2019s happening, remember the recipe\u2019s three ingredients, and be ready to see that engagement increase.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/mikemonroeceo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Mike Monroe<\/em><\/a><em> is Digital Strategy Manager at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thevectorimpact.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Vector Marketing<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Boosting your social media advertising means capturing the right audiences at the right times. 3 essential ingredients for better sponsored post engagement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1092,"featured_media":142673,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27893,9],"tags":[27813,27859,53,96,625,27879,27842,1154,1119],"content_type":[],"class_list":["post-142670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-digital-marketing","category-social","tag-covid-19","tag-covid-19-and-digital-marketing","tag-digital-marketing","tag-social-media","tag-social-media-advertising","tag-social-media-engagement","tag-social-media-marketing-smm","tag-sponsored-content","tag-strategy"],"acf":{"tad_independentcommercial":false,"tad_content_format":false},"post_info":{"name":"idris.nagri@blenheimchalcot.com idris.nagri@blenheimchalcot.com","title":"","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Need-to-step-up-your-social-media-marketing-Follow-this-recipe-scaled.jpg","category":"Digital Marketing","timeago":"5y"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142670","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1092"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142670"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142670\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142670"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142670"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142670"},{"taxonomy":"content_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/searchenginewatch.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/content_type?post=142670"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}