Boost Your Social Media Engagement in 2015

2014 was the 10-year anniversary of Facebook's existence. It's weird to think that something that connects over a billion people has only been around for a decade and even weirder to think how young social media marketing and advertising is. If Facebook has only been around for 10 years, then brands have only been using social to enhance their brand image for 8 years (and capably for even fewer years than that).

So let's use 2015 as an opportunity to once and for all, dispel the myth that capably running social media is an easy thing to do. By now, we should know that it's more than just setting up a page and posting a couple of times a week. If you have a plan for direct mail marketing or SEO for your website, you should have a social media plan as well. 

That being said, here some quick tips to help you increase engagement on your social posts in 2015.

1. Photos, but not just a photo...

Have you ever scrolled through your Twitter feed and come across a photo that doesn't take up the whole width of the frame. There's some white space on the side and you have to click on the tweet for the photo to expand and see the whole thing. It looks ugly and it's terrible to interact with.  

I'm not saying vertical photos are worse from a photography perspective, I'm saying it from a social perspective. Vertical photos get the best engagement on Pinterest, but aside from that, I can't think of a good reason to use them on other channels. Just take a scroll through your Twitter feed and look at their horizontal presentation of images. If you take a vertical photo and tweet it, you're probably cropping out vital real estate. When instead, you can turn your phone sideways and make sure that most of what you want to get in, will get in. 

Even using the 1x1 set up that Instagram so dearly values is better than just a straight up vertical shot. A long vertical image could even get cropped in a Facebook NewsFeed as opposed to a square or horizontal shot that fits neatly. 

You want your photos to get likes? Make sure people can see them.

2. Clicks, clicks, clicks 

Clicks lead to engagement. And no, I'm not just talking about link clicks, I'm talking about all clicks. 

Hopefully, you're taking a look at your Facebook and Twitter analytics from time to time. If not, start. Like, yesterday. Anyway, when you take a look at these analytics, they talk about "engagements" which you can use to find an "engagement rate" on your posts. Now, there's a common misconception that engagements end and begin with likes, comments, share, favorites, retweets, replies, etc. However, that's just the beginning.

Twitter and Facebook value every single engagement made with a post. That means clicking a photo to make it larger, clicking a link that's included with the post, clicking a handle included in your tweet, clicking a hashtag included in a tweet and so on. With Facebook in particular, this information is vital. Facebook recently changed up their algorithm to make it more difficult for a brand page to appear in a user's NewsFeed. With that in mind, you need to make sure that people can make multiple engagements so your post is seen by as many people as possible. Why? Because the more engagements your post gets, the more likely Facebook's algorithm is likely to put it in a user's feed.

However, I'm also not saying to overload your Facebook and Twitter posts with clickable content. Just be economical and smart about it. A photo and a link make every Facebook post more engaging and an @ mention and hashtag are useful for tweets, but don't overuse them if they have no place there.

3. Get on Instagram and be smart about it 

Did you hear the news? Instagram reached 300 million users last week and now has more users than Twitter. And yet, there are many brands that aren't on Instagram and even fewer who are using it effectively.

I don't care how un-photogenic you think your brand is, you need to find a place for it on Instagram. If you haven't thought of a way to feature aspects of your brand on Instagram, it's because you're not thinking hard enough. Recently, I've been seeing sponsored Instagram ads for State Farm. State Farm. An insurance company. And you know what? They have better ads than even Adidas did.

And let me continue to pick on Adidas for a moment. Here's their Instagram channel. Honestly, I think for a brand with 2.4 million followers, this is an embarrassing use of the social channel. It's all photography that really has no place on Instagram. It's too shiny, clearly not taken on a cell phone and doesn't tell me anything about their brand outside of SHOES.

To preface this next point: I'm not a huge fan of the food at Taco Bell. In spite of that, I still think they have an amazing Instagram. And whether you like Taco Bell or not, I think you could probably agree that their food is not high class. Yet their Instagram makes it look like so much fun and even, dare I say, appetizing? The photography doesn't look like something that was shot with a professional camera even if it was. It looks like a relatable Instagram account. And some quick math shows that they get double the engagement that their Adidas counterpart gets with a quarter of the followers.

This rambling about shoes and tacos is all to say is that any brand can be on Instagram. Taco Bell and State Farm both found a way to be relevant in the channel.  If they can do it, then other brands can, too.

The great thing about social media is that there's not only always more you could be doing, but there's also always new things you could be doing. These three things will be a great way to get started for 2015, and (hopefully) through them you'll find even more ways you could be improving your social presence. Follow along @kearleydotcom for more social news and updates.

2014: The Good, the Bad and the US Airways

The best thing about a year's end is having the hindsight to look back and judge everything that happened in a particular field. Since our field is advertising, we're going to look back at the good, the bad and a little ugly from this year in advertising.

The Good

John Lewis Christmas Advert 2014 - #MontyThePenguin

Yeah, it just came out like a few weeks ago, but there's no doubt in my mind that it's the best ad of 2014. John Lewis has a history with terrific Christmas ads, and this one lives up to the name they're setting for themselves in that area and then some. 

P&G Thank You, Mom 

Remember the Olympics? That was this year. P&G brought their message to the Olympics by way of thanking moms. Another excellent way of illustrating how your product doesn't have to be up front when the storytelling is this good. 

Apple - Holiday - TV Ad - Misunderstood

So this one technically came out in December 2013, but we're going to put it in here regardless because it is so good and terribly underrated. Apple can put out some pretty downright terrible ads, but they also put out ones like this which make you remember that this is the company that did "1984." And I wish we had seen more of this instead of people's voiceover while touching iPad minis, but such is life.

Misty Copeland - I WILL WHAT I WANT

Under Armour showed us a great mixture of cinematography and great copy. Those two things usually only go together in great films. But here, they've presented them in a 60 second spot that resonates deeply and kind of makes me want to buy Under Armour (mission accomplished, right?). 

The Bad

Nationwide - Petyon Manning Does Things While Jingling

It's not 2005 anymore. The charm has worn off on Peyton Manning commercials. Maybe it's because of Papa John's, or maybe it's because some people finally decided to remember his glory days at Tennessee (Google it). Either way, this ad is just laziness personified. It does nothing for Nationwide other than showcasing someone at their company knows Manning's agent. 

Axe Body Spray - Vicious Dictators and Stuff

Count me in the group of people who didn't think that Axe Body Spray ads could get any worse. People in the 60s would've called most Axe ads stupid and misogynistic. They, however, decided to top themselves by making an ad so overly grandiose that it's not even stupid-funny. It's just stupid. 

Budweiser - Cute Puppy Tells You To Drink Responsibly While Still Drinking Budweiser

Budweiser faking social responsibility to, in fact, get people to buy more of their terrible beer. And they do so by trying to use a cute puppy. The phoniness of this reeks from frame one and it only gets worse from there. 

Chevy - AMERICAAAAAAAAAAA

I swear to everything I hold dear: the first time I saw this commercial, I thought it was a sketch from Key & Peele or SNL. The lyrics are so over-the-top I'M A TRUCKIN' AMERICAN that I was sure it had to be parody. Bad news: it isn't. It's so serious, you guys. The best thing I can say about this one is that it makes me laugh. A lot. 

The Ugly

US Airways and New England Patriots Twitter fails. You do the rest of the work. I can't even look at them anymore. 

Get Engaged (to Younger People)

When we talk about engagement, we have to talk about the "m" word.

Yes..."millennials" 

There's a lot of fascination around this word. Seriously, do a quick Google News search using just that word and you'll be a combination of amused/horrified. Baby boomers are so lucky they grew up in a world without internet and didn't have to hear/see people talking about what kind of people they are all the time. 

However, there's no denying that millennials are a valuable demographic to...everyone, mostly. And this isn't a new trend. Historically, young people are the most valuable demo to advertisers and brands because, well, they buy stuff. 

And because they buy stuff (a lot of stuff, really) they need a strong financial institution to show them how to invest, where to put their money, give them long term financial education, etc. However, in regards to credit unions, this is easier said than done. 

*Because this article is about millennials, the rest of the blog will be accompanied by gifs.

Really, all financial institutions have a problem with younger consumers, it's just that credit unions are already fighting an uphill battle in terms of awareness. As we've mentioned here before, studies have shown that less than 50% of Americans are aware of credit unions and the services they offer. Even fewer reported seeing credit union ads. Obviously, this makes us feel a bit frustrated.

But there are ways to combat the problem. 

First and foremost, your financial institution needs to be constantly, constantly creating content for a younger demographic. And no, not just gifs, but compelling content that provides financial advice relevant to their lives as young adults. A recent study done by NewsCred showed that 55% of younger individuals would trust a financial institution more if they received helpful, unbiased content from them. 50% said they would stay loyal if the institution provided high quality content. 

The study also showed that 18-24 year olds are less deterred by commercial messages within content. 

So what kind of content are we talking about here? We personally believe that social media is a huge part of this. Why? Because people, young, old or middle-aged, want to engage with brands. It's the world we live in now. And if you're on Facebook, great start, but if you're just on Facebook, you're a few years behind in this content game. People are expecting content from you brand from multiple sources, and they'll want variety from those sources, too. 

It's not enough to just write articles about how to plan to pay off student loan debt, you have to: 

a) Present those articles in a compelling style (e.g. infographics, texts with image, videos, etc.) 

b) Share them in interesting ways 

c) Give people a chance to engage with them 

You may not think there's an interesting way for your brand to be on Instagram, but it's only because you haven't thought of the best way yet (and no, it's not sharing memes). 

And also, be honest with yourself: when you were in your early to mid 20s, did you want to read articles about finance? Do you want to do it now? The content should always lead back to finance but that doesn't mean you article just has to be "Here's how to save money" (read in a Ben Stein voice). It could be "10 Places You Could Visit if You Start Saving Now." 

Basically, the content to engage with your younger members is already there and the tools are already at your disposable. You just have to realize that there's more than one way to use those tools and go to work.

(pictured: Your reaction to this blog) 

Like or like-like? Facebook bans like-gating.

“You must not incentivize people to use social plugins or to like a Page. This includes offering rewards, or gating apps or app content based on whether or not a person has liked a Page. It remains acceptable to incentivize people to login to your app, checkin at a place or enter a promotion on your app’s Page.”  

This new addition to Facebook's Platform Policy's was not a front-and-center announcement. Rather, it was left up to a number of blogs and publications to pick it up and report that Facebook will no longer allow "like-gating" on brand pages. 

What is like-gating? If you've ever interacted with a brand page on Facebook before, you have most likely encountered it: 

In the golden age of two months ago, it was a way to incentivize likes on brand pages. The page would run a contest or some promotion through a third party app (like Wildfire or WooBox) and people who wanted to enter the contest in order to win whatever "awesome" prize was being offered would first have to like the page. It was a nice little tool to get customer data and to give a boost to your page growth. And now, on November 5th, the like-gate will pass on. 

However, is the disappearance of this feature is a bad thing? 

On one hand it is slightly annoying because Facebook has very selfish reasons for doing this: they want you to use their ad platform to reach new users. Facebook's biggest moves lately (e.g. changing their algorithm to decrease the average post's reach) have been built around driving dollars to its ad platform. It's Facebook's world and we're just living in it. 

On the other hand, however, the disappearance of like-gating isn't the worst thing that could happen. Generally, the people who like your page because of the incentive are, well, liking the page because of the incentive. Meaning, they like it, they don't win and they never interact with the page again. You're boosting your followers but decreasing your engagement which is actually harmful when trying to push your posts into people's news feeds. 

So while like-gating was a useful feature in some instances, especially when you're first launching a page, it's banishment won't have any long term negative effects. In fact, they might be positive as brands must now refocus their social efforts on strong and appealing content that is deserving of our attention, rather than buying likes with the prospects of a prize. 

Branding: An interesting look at the quest to uncover a brand's DNA.

Remember the documentary filmmaker (Morgan Spurlock) who who ate nothing but McDonald's for 30 days in an effort to see what the side effects were on his health? This is a TED talk discussing another one Spurlock's ventures from a few years ago on branding and brand marketing. 

Morgan Spurlock: The Greatest TED Talk Ever Sold. 

The Importance of Social Media and Content Marketing

What’s a company’s magic formula for popular social media presence? It’s actually pretty simple: content to inform the customer, plus social connection to humanize the brand.
Of course, each business must navigate its own balance of the two but content marketing does not need to be a puzzle. Jay Baer writes in his article “11 Big Myths About Social Media and Content Marketing” that “content is fire. Social media is gasoline. Use social to drive awareness of your content more so than awareness of your company.” Awareness of your content will translate to greater popularity and brand recognition. 

So how does a company produce quality content?  According to the Content Marketing Institute the essence of content marketing is “the belief that if we, as businesses, deliver consistent, ongoing valuable information to buyers, they ultimately reward us with their business and loyalty.” That means engaging the customers in an ongoing conversation that does not hinge on the sell or the pitch. In the same way that conversation builds friendships, conversation with the customer builds trust and affinity. Here’s your fire.

Now for the gasoline. There is an incredible opportunity for content marketing through social media to humanize your brand and build that loyalty. Valerie Buckingham makes the point in her article “Four Tips for Authentic Online Engagement” that businesses can run into problems when they adhere too strictly to brand guidelines and rely solely on an omniscient company voice. She suggests too instead “imbue your social channels with the many unique individuals who work for the company.” By realizing the benefit of individual voices, the company’s social presence won’t become monotone.

  In his book Social Media Marketing: The Next Generation of Business Engagement David Evans writes, “[in] business…taking [online] collaboration into the internal workings of the organization is at the heart of social business.” By including customers in collaboration through social media exchange, they become part of the brand formation. Given the fast-paced communication culture and the decreasing rate of brand loyalty, it is essential for companies to engage the customer at their level of interest. Social media and content marketing is the right way for companies to get a spark roaring.  

Additional Reading: 

http://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-strategy/11-big-myths-about-social-media-and-content-marketing/

http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/what-is-content-marketing/

http://mashable.com/2012/03/27/tips-for-authentic-online-engagement/

Social Media Marketing

The social media universe mimics that of our own and is always expanding. New platforms seem to pop up everyday giving each media-savvy business a unique opportunity to present the cyber-community with their brand. Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram provide just that chance. Success with these distinct media formats is simply a matter of getting acquainted with the different features and implementing a personalized, brand-specific approach.

 Instagram is a popular photo and video-sharing mobile-based app that was acquired by Facebook in 2012. Instagram is a friendlier format because unlike Facebook, there is no algorithm to dictate what appears on followers’ newsfeed.

There are 20 filters available to enhance the aesthetic of the image. Each post should include a brief caption containing hashtags to include the post in a trending theme. The most successful posts are those that are most relevant to both your brand and your potential customers. Photos and videos that share an interesting or inspiring story will help attract your target market. 

Check out the blog: Instagram for Business offering tips, brand spotlights, API examples and news from Instagram HQ.

For more specific, helpful tips read Debbie Hemley’s article 26 Tips for Using Instagram for Business at Social Media Examiner and Eric Ho’s How To Use Intagram To Promote Your Brand at Elite Daily. 

 

Pinterest is a pinboard-style photo-sharing website that businesses can use to their advantage. To entice other Pinterest users to pin your images, include a mix of product photos and non-sales photos across your boards. If you have a company blog, share images from those posts. If you come across a cool image you think your target market would like to see, pin that too!

To get started, set up your Pinterest account in the Pinterest Business Section and fill in the applicable details about your business. Create boards for certain categories of images, for instance “the great outdoors” or “delicious delicacies ”, and get pinning!

For more advise, read Mark Macdonald’s article Why and How You Should be on Pinterest, Even if You Haven't Joined Yet on Shopify and Jason DeMers’ How to Use Pinterest in Your Online Marketing Initiative at Huff Post.

YouTube is a video-sharing website with massive viewership – over 6 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube. Savvy businesses use YouTube to their advantage by uploading videos that provide a clear picture of the product or service you are offering. Each video should include a link to your website and contact information.

YouTube is a useful tool for creating awareness of your brand. This strategy does not focus on a particular video or service, but is an ongoing effort to promote the entirety of your brand concept. YouTube can also be used to advertise particular products or promote retail stores. These should be both informative and entertaining. Companies can use YouTube to extend product and customer support by addressing customer problems and frequently asked questions. Training videos can also uploaded for staff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE (example of successful brand awareness campaign)

Listen to your audience and you will gain a greater viewership.  

Read on at Using YouTube to Build Your Brand, Authority and Business and Using YouTube for Your Business