After Facebook’s algorithm change, many a social media manager will have to find new ways to leverage social media.
Whether you are an editorial platform, an influencer, or a business that uses digital marketing, social media is now a part of life. Using strategies that once worked may not just lose you followers or impressions. If your social media manager is unaware of this, it could cost you your business.
Read More: B2C Influencer Marketing Trends for 2018
To save your social media strategist, we’ve done our best to learn what works in social media marketing. Despite that, there are always new and unconventional tactics to try every day.
How can you employ atypical and unique social media strategies to increase your visibility?
Video Content is The New Content King
This is a no-brainer in 2018 (or at least, it should be).
Considering that Facebook is designed to keep you on Facebook, videos are a great tool. They convey information in a quick and engaging manner. They also allow for repeat engagement and are highly shareable.
I won’t rehash all the ways in which video marketing can be incorporated into social media strategies. We’ve got you covered with a quick guide for your video content marketing needs.
Read More: How to Boost SEO, SERP Ranking, and Google Listing With Videos
But what about streaming or temporary content?
Snapchat, Instagram Stories, and Ephemeral Content
“Ephemeral” means fleeting or temporary. As an added plus, it sounds totally boss. It’s also shaping up to be the digital marketing keyword of 2018.
Though many thought Instagram Stories would be the death of Snapchat, the original short-term content medium is still a tool for marketing. Similarly to Facebook Live or streaming content, temporary content engages an audience uniquely.
Given that this content only lasts for a certain period of time, the fear of loss spurs interest. But knowing which way to use streaming or temporary content matters, too. So, here is a brief rundown:
- Snapchat attracts a younger demographic with higher user engagement by their metrics
- Instagram stories have the potential to reach more people by embedding links to people and business accounts in your story
- Facebook Live usage is growing fast with high engagement numbers
You can employ various strategies to move a viewer from a platform to your website, too. But that’s another article.
Read More: How to Use Instagram Videos for Your Business
Go Hard on Influencer and Micro-Influencer Marketing
We recently covered some key B2C influencer marketing trends for 2018. It’s a great resource for any social media manager or social media strategist. Guess what: there is some definite cross-over in these social media strategies here.
You may be familiar with the surprising power of influencer marketing using YouTubers or bloggers. But what you might not know about is the even more surprising power of micro-influencers.
It employs similar strategies as influencer marketing such as brand placement, brand association, leveraging their followers, etc. However, micro-influencers often have smaller followings than the more expensive influencers.
Often times, micro-influencers can have a more engaged audience which means you may get a better overall ROI. Obviously, you’ll need to do some research before jumping in the deep end.
Just, don’t scoff at someone with less than 500,000 followers. They might be your secret weapon.
Chatbots: They Aren’t What You Might Think
This might a little counter-intuitive, but hear me out on this one.
Chatbots are a great way for busy companies to field customer service needs. Given their popularity through 2017, it is no surprise that they would continue to be used in 2018. Customization is now a factor–and a big one at that.
Sproutsocial even developed a Chatbot builder to automate conversation workflows. Other businesses may use chatbots for live chat or e-commerce purposes. Yet, you can also use Chatbots for content delivery and analytics.
The predictive analytics of a chatbot can increase data interpretation and increase insight usefulness. Chatbots can spur binge-consumption of related content for users. But they represent an increasing presence in social media and things like Facebook’s new algorithm.
Understanding how to tweak your approaches to “outsmart” or work with Chatbots may be a necessary step.
You can also employ strategies in digital marketing for voice search and AI. If you are an early adopter of social media strategies that work on Alexa, you could win big.
Think of how many devices AI-type assistances are built into these days: phones, laptops, TVs, etc. Alexa can now read a Twitter feed. Maybe it’s time that your social media strategist started designing strategies for AI.
A Social Media Manager Should Know to Prioritize Quality Over Quantity
This concept is not a new one, but the way we apply it in 2018 is new. Again, thanks to the Facebook algorithm changes, your social media strategist needs to adjust.
Despite making adjustments, not everyone has emerged from the Facebook changes intact. Digital publisher LittleThings decided to shut down recently to the sadness of its 12 million followers. In order to better adjust, we crafted a guide for people to avoid the fate of LittleThings.
We also adapted our own well-established editorial pipeline to better accommodate the new social media frontier. Our chief social media strategist came up with unique ideas and our editorial team changed, too.
While we still cover spur of the moment events and news, we also write more in-depth pieces. Consider a recent success of ours: an exploration of where the Fallout 5 might be located.
The piece is long, but digestible, and it contains relevant information to Fallout 5.
It is written in a more colloquial style and links to plenty of sources. The conversational tone makes it more like real human speech than some styles. It also meanders through ideas like a person might on their own Facebook status.
The research is all over the map, but reputable and integrated smoothly. It also includes relevant images and media such as the Dragonborn vs Sole Survivor gif at the beginning.
You can extrapolate these concepts into a variety of industries, too. That means no social media strategist has an excuse for not being able to adapt.
Develop Your Brand to Take Stances on Social Issues
Increasingly so, audiences are expecting brands to be more transparent. This also applies to social and political issues just as much as business practices.
Consider how, recently, FedEx faced a severe backlash for not canceling its marketing partnership with the NRA. This is just one example of how audiences can impact business with their beliefs.
Just like with video games, people have so many more options when it comes to spending money. People can invest money in companies they believe reflect their values. If a choice made or business partner upsets enough people, it could be catastrophic.
Though it’s less righteous, you can also hop on social bandwagons for visibility or profit. But that, too, is another article!
TL;DR
Have your social media strategist use the following unconventional tips this year:
- Chatbots
- Influencer marketing and micro-influencer marketing
- Quality vs quantity regarding Facebook’s algorithm
- Video content
- Snapchat, Instagram Stories, and Facebook Live
Last Tip: Identify Trends vs Fads
Many outlets report that both augmented and virtual reality will be big trends in 2018 digital marketing. While it is cool to see a stormtrooper guarding Target through your Pixel 2, it has a shelf-life. AR and VR also don’t do much for brands long term on social media.
If you are developing an app or you need to re-energize a business meeting, AR and VR are great. But for a shoe company on Instagram, AR and VR are as useful as an ad on Myspace.
Have your social media manager or social media strategist employ a few of these trends in new campaigns. You might be surprised at the results!
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