As expected, quarantined people talk about quarantine. Across social media and news sites, there have been 19 million mentions related to Covid-19 around the world in the past 24-hours alone.

It’s no surprise that as more and more Americans adopt social media, the user base changes as well. Sites such as YouTube and Facebook now have users more broadly representative of the population. YouTube has become the second most popular search engine and second most popular site next to Google, as us Americans watch over a billion hours of YouTube videos a day (yes, you read that correctly…), more than Netflix and Facebook video combined. And with 22% of Americans on Twitter – the most preferred social network for news consumption – social media is at the forefront of an attention revolution, becoming so much a part of American life that it is synonymous with American culture itself.

Want to know what most Americans are talking about right now? Simply check which hashtags are trending.

Americans’ viewing habits are changing, and with that comes a greater responsibility for businesses to understand what is the most effective way to market themselves in this digital world. Although there are hundreds of blog posts, podcasts, and books written on social media marketing, below are three helpful tips we’ve picked up along the way to help you make the most of your social media marketing campaign.

1. Fan engagement And Hashtag Strategy On Instagram

Many Instagram users feel the need to use all 30 hashtags in a post. However, a more useful approach would be to create a more intentional hashtag strategy. Pursuing too many audiences at once will dilute your content’s impact and diminish returns. Along with creating 2-3 original hashtags for your brand, aim for 5-10 of the most relevant hashtags for your post. These 5-10 related hashtags should not simply be popular tags, such as #love or #photooftheday.

Much like an effective SEO strategy, good hashtags are like good long tail keywords, with hashtags between 75,000-1,000,000 posts. Content with hashtags in these ranges is more accessible to viewers, preventing them from being drowned out by more popular feeds and more popular hashtag categories. Your goal, as with every other social media feed, is to increase engagement and interaction with your brand.

The more accessible your content is, the more likely viewers will comment, like, and follow. That’s why some are forgoing automated posts to actively respond to comments right away. If you are a fan of a popular account and receive a very quick reply to your comment, you’re more likely to pay more attention and be more likely to comment again. Comments show that fans want to contribute their ideas. Imagine a business that invited customers to submit their photos for a special event, all of them using your brand’s original hashtag? You’ve now founded a community, a group who actively encourages others to promote your brand’s image, who spread more content and brand awareness without you even lifting a finger.

2. Organic Data Can Inform Paid Social Media Strategy

If you’re like us, when you first started using Facebook ads, you just put $5 in, sat back, and waited for your content to go viral. Of course, we’re not all so lucky. However, your business can certainly benefit from a good paid social media strategy. First, evaluate traffic coming to your site from the organic social media traffic you already have. What’s your most popular source? Do people click more on your Facebook posts, comment more on your Instagram feed, or like more of your Tweets? This is akin to having a good focus group. 

For instance, if a blog post such as this one is getting a lot of traffic from Twitter, then it would be a good idea to run Twitter ads to give that post a further boost. Instead of spending a little on everything, you can spend more on the content pieces most likely to drive your desired results. Explore analytics to see what posts are performing best based on your goals. Is it reach, shares, or engagement rate? What’s unique about the posts that do well? Is it short or long? Is it an image or a video? Does it focus on a particular person or subject? And if your content is for a specific audience, target that audience specifically by changing the demographics of your ad. Focus your promotion on what’s working best and double down on creating similar content. If customer reviews are getting the most feedback on all of your social media channels, promote more reviews by:

• Curating blog posts based on comments to social media posts
• Publish more testimonials on your social media platforms
• Encourage more interaction on your blog in the comments section by asking readers for their thoughts

3. Create Relevant Content

If you want to create evergreen content, it needs to be valuable to the very people you’re targeting. Spend time developing your buyer persona. Ask yourself why they would consume your content. Would someone who doesn’t know your brand share it? One of the best ways to do this is to either answer a common question your prospects ask, solve a problem or pain point your customer has, or entertain a customer. 

Facebook wants its users to stay longer, so which content can you create that does either of these things? Video content creation is one of the most effective formats on social media, so which aspects of your business would translate well into this medium? Below are some Facebook video content creation tips you can use for your brand:

• Make it’s run time less than 90-seconds or as short as needed
• Keep it simple and to the point
• Include a call-to-action

Try to stay consistent not only with your tone and style, but with your posting frequency. If you can post great content on a weekly basis, over time it will build a better picture of what content works best and what doesn’t. One of the best parts about these platforms is the speed at which consumers respond to your marketing efforts. So try new things, adapt, and make the most out of your social media channels.

Need help shaping and/or writing your content and curating the best mode of delivery? We can help with that. If you’re in need, we’d love to hear from you!