Why Social Media ‘Content’ is the new business key word of 2020

Both a hugely vague and yet heavily intricate term for the pictures we post, the videos we use and ultimately the little snippets of our business, products or services that we choose to offer to the public, online. It does, however, trigger all manner of human reactions and thus forms the imperative initial basis for any B2C or B2B relationship with our customers.

Ultimately see your social media and online content as your businesses ‘first impression’ – Great interactive or engaging content can spark a customer relationship that lasts a lifetime.. however content for content’s sake, just leaves you dead and buried below all that noise of every other business out there doing what you’re doing.

So what is ‘Good Content’?

Like any other factor of life, humans will all react differently to different pictures, videos, animations or adverts that we see. It depends on our mood, our surroundings and so many other factors that no business could ever predict nor control – so what CAN we be doing to keep our customers happy?

It’s no secret that the world pandemic has brought about unprecedented turbulence to businesses and consumers around the globe, but the one thing it highlights is that we’re all human. Now more than ever poses the opportunity to truly connect with our respective target audiences and customers by letting that corporate guard down and showing the world ‘we’re human too’.

This can be done with all budgets available and even the simplest of pictures or videos can break a barrier that gives you that invaluable one-to-one customer connection, at scale. Here’s a few quick and easy tips to get ahead of the curve:

  • Involve People NOT Just Product – If you’re a restaurant or bar.. show us your customers, show us your staff and show us the atmosphere.. not just the amazing food & drink! If you sell fitted kitchens or fancy new front doors.. show us your process not just the end result, quick time lapse videos of before and after WILL get peoples attention and it will show you results.
  • Keep Things Simple – 1 in every 4 minutes on a mobile phone is currently spent on Facebook, which is a crazy statistic, but it offers a wealth of opportunity to anyone using it’s advertising capabilities, so put yourself in the customer’s shoes.. what picture or video would get YOUR attention? Like we said.. we’re all human, so think like a human and NOT like a business.
  • 30 Seconds or Less – The Human Brain is incredible but also VERY lazy, Social Media is not a Netflix Binge platform, so don’t post a 3 hour epic when you can explain in brief what you do in 30 seconds. This video below is testament to showing people in a short, dynamic and engaging way exactly what to expect when they visit this bar.. great cocktails. It’s simple, it’s effective and it tells the parts of the story that cocktail fans want to hear.

So Why ‘Content’ Now?
As discussed above, the world is a far different place to that of 12 months ago and adapting to business in the ‘new normal’ is part and parcel of remaining successful or in many cases ‘open for business’. The reality of consumer behaviours and expectations has changed dramatically as a shift to the digital age takes many businesses into a realm they don’t necessarily feel as comfortable or confident in.

The bottom line is that it’s ok to ask for Social Media help, it’s ok to not understand digital marketing for your business and it’s fine if you’re asking yourself ‘How do I advertise my business online?”. Ultimately these things are all still developing and evolving for businesses in all sectors and verticals.

The key notes here are that there is always something that people can be doing at varying levels of expertise, to better advertise themselves online.. and for those that simply don’t have the time, the patience or the means to do this effectively there are plenty of experts out there to suit all budgets and get you the most for your money.

The transition of traditional business is happening and will continue to do so, but the actions business owners take now with Social Media Advertising is key to keeping ahead of the curve and ensuring the continued success of everything that’s been built to date. Consumers are expecting a better, bolder online presence and those that are grabbing it with both hands, are undoubtedly the ones that are continuing to thrive despite the current goings-on.

The truth really is that all business owners, be that small family run boutique’s or large international corporates with 1000 strong marketing departments, are still getting to grips with advertising amidst the current climate. The upside to this of course, is with increased people working from home, more time is spent on social media than ever before and so the market size for your adverts is far greater than before.

The downside is that with this increase in potential traffic, comes an increase in adverts circulating social platforms and thus the need for fantastic content is more imperative than ever before. So whilst Social Media for Business can feel like a scary landscape, you’re certainly not alone and there’s plenty of ways to use simple, effective content (explored above) – to drive traffic, engagement and conversions.

Author: Aaron Trowbridge – Director | Socialise Digital
aaron.trowbridge@socialisedigital.com