Social Media Should Not Fall Under “Other Duties As Assigned” via @sejournal, @TheJennyLi

The landscape of social media constantly changes, along with the functionality of individual platforms.

Early in my social media career, Google+, Periscope, and Storify were all part of a social media manager’s vernacular.

And as I look at the myriad of new platforms that have come out in the past year I wonder if I’ll be creating brand accounts for any of them in the near future.

Change is omnipresent in the industry – social media managers are always learning how to use new platforms, digital tools, and technologies.

Social media is no longer a hobby or a pastime, it’s a growing industry. It has become much more sophisticated and complex as time passes and technology advances.

Maintaining social media channels for an organization requires, at the very least, a full-time position dedicated to the organization’s social media presence.

I would even argue one full-time position is not enough, and that it takes a team. It certainly should not fall onto the list of duties of a junior member of a department as an afterthought, not if you want to see results.

In its simplest form, maintaining social media channels involves posting content regularly, which requires having content to post and publishing the content to the platforms.

This is time-consuming.

If your organization is adopting social media as a vital part of its communications or marketing strategy it necessitates much more work – creating content, posting content, engaging with content, listening and monitoring channels, keeping up with new functions and practices – and that’s for existing platforms.

Although there are new platforms that are constantly being introduced, there are still only nine hours in a workday.

No one should expect one person to maintain the organization’s social media presence.

An organization’s social media presence is its public presence and brand voice; there is no un-coupling the organization’s social media identity from the brand identity.

If you wouldn’t leave it up to a junior staff member to manage the organization’s public-facing content and communications, you should probably rethink it if you have a junior staff member managing all the social media channels in addition to the regular duties they were hired to do.

In addition to all the social media related responsibilities, those who are full-time social media managers often serve as their own audio-visual team and information technology support.

In the past few years crisis communications has also become a large of portion of a social media manager’s daily responsibilities and it continues to grow.

This fundamentally shifts how the position functions and serves the organization.

Social media managers are the first people to receive feedback and criticism from their audience, as well as often being the first to hear of breaking events, because they are on the front line of public-facing communications.

Therefore, a key part of a social media manager’s job is to relay information and make recommendations to senior officials on the back of this.

They should also be one of the first to know when decisions are made in regard to the situation. If there’s anything 2020 taught us, it’s that no two crises are the same.

While we were becoming better equipped to respond to each new dilemma, there was no creating a template. Every crisis had its own challenges and constraints.

For example, sometimes a crisis would break on a weekend or a holiday, sometimes it would be cut short by an even bigger story, sometimes it was strictly internal, and at other times a global calamity.

And while our responsibilities grew and our work hours extended, you wouldn’t know it by reading our job descriptions.

We need to start thinking about social media as a team sport. Each position on the team would serve a unique and necessary function and there should be bench players available to complete the team.

To be successful at it, it requires the full-time attention of a number of people. Before considering a new platform, here is the necessary makeup of a social media team:

• Director of strategy.
• [X, formerly Twitter]–Facebook–LinkedIn specialist.
• Vertical video specialist.
• Gaming specialist.
• Live streaming specialist.
• Writer.
• Photographer.
• Videographer/editor.
• Graphic designer.
• Animator.
• Data scientist.

Of course, there are various ways to build your team, and I’m certain new specializations will arise.

Larger organizations should consider a creative director, and if you do paid social you will definitely need a marketing director or an ad specialist.

A common problem, though, is that the job descriptions for social media managers are antiquated.

While social media might have been manageable as an additional duty in 2004, that’s no longer the case today.

However, a major oversight in the profession is that the job descriptions remain the same.

That’s why they don’t reflect the breadth of responsibilities social media managers handle on a daily basis, which has led to many social media managers being underpaid and overworked.

Many social media positions remain entry-level, even though they now require more senior-level experience.

It’s unreasonable for one person to handle all these skills, which are full-time positions in and of themselves, and they should absolutely not fall under “other duties as assigned.”

There is something social media managers can do about it—we can take the initiative and help to rewrite our job descriptions.

I realize there is a bit of bureaucracy involved, and this is no easy task, but if we don’t do this, who will?

Working with your manager and human resources to rewrite your job description may be the best way to educate them on just how much you do and initiate conversations that could lead to positive change.

It’s an eye-opening exercise when you write down everything you’re doing and are responsible for, and while the process might be arduous the benefits may include a promotion and salary increase.

If people who aren’t familiar with social media and social media job roles continue to write the job descriptions, the chances are they will not fully represent the scope of the position.

For example, they may ask for a social media “whiz,” “guru” or some other label that sounds complimentary but does not come close to representing the profession accurately.

This could lead to them seeking a new intern every semester when what they actually need is a seasoned professional.

Many communication professionals and administrative assistants who have social media as one of their (many) responsibilities start to find it’s taking up more and more of their day.

If this is you, it’s time to separate social media from your duties and help to make it its own position.

If social media channels are truly an integral part of your organization, it’s necessary to allocate more resources toward managing social.

If we don’t do this, then it’s likely nothing will change. This means that even if you move on to a new role, the person hired to do your job after you will have to endure the same growing and unsustainable workload.

I, for one, want future social media managers to have the respect and salary they deserve walking in the door of an organization, and I believe it’s up to each of us to advocate to move the needle on advancing our profession.

This extract is from Organic Social Media by Jenny Li Fowler ©2023 and is reproduced and adapted with permission from Kogan Page Ltd.

To purchase the book, SEJ readers get an exclusive 20% discount and complimentary shipping for all US and UK addresses. Use code: OSM20 here to redeem your offer.

There are three articles in this series, find the other two here:

More resources: 

Featured Image: Rawpixel.com/Shutterstock

Setting Goals For Social Media And Making Them SMART via @sejournal, @TheJennyLi

In some cases, you might be consulting or advising a client and they’re having trouble determining what their goals are for social media.

When you know you’re going to have a goal-setting session or conversation with a client it’s a good idea to come with three goals in hand.

Basically, tell them what their goals should be.

You’ve done the research, you know the industry, you’ve done a competitive analysis, you understand what their social media needs are, so just go ahead and make recommendations on what you believe their goals should be based off their needs and your knowledge.

It’s like writing versus editing. Writing something from scratch starting with a blank document is hard. But for some reason, everyone is an editor.

If you give them something to work with, people always have edit suggestions and revisions for you.

So, make it easy for them, and for you frankly, and come to the table with goals in mind. That gives the clients something to work with or “edit” and you can have a much more productive conversation.

Again, you can always pivot or change them later. The idea is to not overthink this step or get stuck on goal setting, keeping you from moving on with the process.

After you’ve determined your goals – I think it’s ideal to have anywhere between three and five goals – you want to build on them.

A popular practice for goal setting is to make them SMART.

SMART is an acronym for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound, developed by George Doran, Arthur Miller and James Cunningham in 1981. This framework is widely used to create goals.

Here’s a quick summary in case you’re not familiar or need a recap.

• Specific – It helps to be as specific as possible when defining a goal. Being specific about what you’re trying to achieve helps to keep it clearly in focus.
• Measurable – If your goal is measurable you can track your progress. How else will you know whether you are on your way to achieving your objective?
• Achievable – In Doran et al’s 1981 paper, A stood for Assignable. I like the old version because it requires you to specify the person or persons accountable for meeting the goal. But I suppose it makes little sense if the goal only applies to one person. The A has evolved into attainable or achievable. It’s good to have high aspirations but you want your goals to be reachable, especially if it has to do with your job performance. You want to make it challenging but not impossible.
• Relevant – The R has also changed over the years. Originally, it was realistic, and it became relevant in later versions. You want the goals to be pertinent to the organization and aligned with its mission and values.
• Time-bound – The T also had a face-lift over the years. Initially, it was time-related. You’re more apt to hear people use timely or time-bound these days. No matter which version you use, the concept is the same. You want to identify a timeframe for when the results can be achieved or give yourself a due date. When you hit your goals, you want to create new ones.

These are important characteristics for your goals to have, and you want your social media goals to be SMART. But it can be an intimidating place to start.

When you’re looking at a blank sheet and you’re trying to include all the SMART elements (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) to your goals, and your goals are qualitative or centered around messaging, it feels impossible to make them completely SMART.

I had trouble wrapping my brain around this for a long time until I reframed the practice. I propose you set your goals, like mentioned earlier, and build on them.

Here’s what I mean by that.

Let’s take a previous example, launching a selection of savory cupcakes. Then list some tactics you plan to employ to support the goal and how long you plan to continue the tactics.

Company goal = Launch a selection of savory cupcakes this calendar year.

Tactic #1 = Publish an Instagram story once a week about the new cupcakes.

Tactic #2 = Publish an Instagram Reel about the new cupcakes every two weeks.

Tactic #3 = Publish a TikTok about the new cupcakes once a week.

Length = Until the new cupcakes are launched.

Then write this into one complete thought from the perspective of the social media manager or team:

One of our main objectives is to support the launch of the cupcake store’s new savory line of cupcakes. Our goals are to publish an Instagram story and a TikTok once a week about the launch of the new cupcakes and post an Instagram Reel about the new cupcakes every two weeks.

Our plan is to continue at this pace until the launch date of x/x/xxxx at which time we will reassess our posting schedule regarding the new cupcakes.

When you approach your goals this way, you will notice you naturally end up with a SMART goal. Let’s break it down:

• Specific – The objective is to support the launch of the new savory line of cupcakes. (This is much more specific than “Make the world a better place.”)
• Measurable – You can track whether you’re publishing an Instagram story and a TikTok once a week and an Instagram Reel every two weeks.
• Achievable – If you have the right resources to maintain this level of content creation, this is an achievable goal.
• Relevant – The content is relevant to the company’s goal.
• Time-bound – You stated that you will do this until the launch date, at which point you will reassess the schedule.

Let’s try it again with another previously mentioned example.

Let’s use one of the vague company goals, “We want to continue to be a leader in our field.”

After you’ve done your listening tour let’s say you’ve chosen to support this goal by promoting the company’s in-house daycare and pre-school services for employees’ children, provided at a low cost and with scholarships available for those in need.

Company goal = We want to continue to be a leader in our field.

Tactic #1 = Tweet once a week about the in-house day care and preschool.

Tactic #2 = Publish an Instagram Story every two weeks about the day care and pre-school.

Tactic #3 = Post in LinkedIn every two weeks about the childcare services.

Length = Until the end of the calendar year.

Then write it in one complete thought, which will serve as one of your goals:

One of our company’s goals is to maintain our reputation as being a leader in our field. We feel the in-house childcare service available to all employees demonstrates the company’s leadership in the industry. We will promote this fact on social media by tweeting about it once a week and posting an Instagram Story and on LinkedIn every two weeks until the end of the calendar year.

Now let’s break it down into the SMART elements:

• Specific –While the overarching company goal is vague, you’ve identified a specific way to support the goal.
• Measurable – You can track your posts to identify whether you’re hitting your goals of one tweet a week and an Instagram Story and LinkedIn post every two weeks.
• Achievable – If you’re finding you don’t have enough content to maintain this pace, adjust the goal to make it achievable or add more resources. It’s okay to make adjustments as you go.
• Relevant – The content supports the company’s goals and reinforces the stories you’re trying to tell.
• Time-bound – You stated that you will continue this posting schedule until the end of the calendar year, at which point you will reassess the schedule and the goal.

Let’s do one more example so you’re confident in the process and feel you can repeat it yourself.

Company goal = Sell 10,000 units of product Beta in the first quarter of this year.

Tactic #1 = Publish an Instagram Reel once a week with a fan of the product talking about it, sharing their stories of how they discovered it and why they like it.

Tactic #2 = Share user generated content about product Beta on all platforms.

Tactic #3 = Work with micro-influencers on collaborations.

Rewrite these ideas in one complete thought:

The company is aiming to sell 10,000 units of product Beta in Q1. After doing some research, we discovered the product is starting to amass a small but loyal following. Our strategy to support this goal will be tofeature the fans in our content.

We’re going to publish an Instagram Reel with a fan once a week and share user generated content about the product on all of our active platforms. We’re also going to identify some micro-influencers who have given the product positive reviews, and recruit them for possible collaborations.

And now transform it into SMART elements:

• Specific – Selling 10,000 units of a product is super specific.
• Measurable – There are ways of tracking whether a purchase was made from a social media post or by using a promo code specific to a micro-influencer. You can also document whether you’re posting an Instagram Reel with a fan once and week and record how many pieces of user-generated content you’ve shared.
• Achievable –Make sure you can maintain your tactics for the first quarter of the year.
• Relevant –Fan stories and testimonies are relevant to the product and the goal.
• Time-bound –The goal states the target dates of Q1.

Notes

3 G Doran. There’s a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management goals and objectives, Management Review, 1981, 70, 35–36.

This extract is from Organic Social Media by Jenny Li Fowler ©2023 and is reproduced and adapted with permission from Kogan Page Ltd.

To purchase the book, SEJ readers get an exclusive 20% discount and complimentary shipping for all US and UK addresses. Use code: OSM20 here to redeem your offer.

More resources:

Featured Image: dizain/Shutterstock

Reddit Is a Marketing Goldmine

Reddit is a growing source of leads and insights for seemingly any business. Reddit posts rank organically for many Google queries and appear frequently in the “Discussions and forums” search result section.

The posts — all user-generated — reveal brand awareness, sentiment, and much more.

Here are four AI tools to search, analyze, and summarize content on Reddit.

1. GummySearch

GummySearch analyzes Reddit to:

• Locate and connect with customers,
• Search with advanced filters,
• Track keywords related to a business,
• Summarize and extract insights from posts.

To start, search Reddit using one or more keywords and select Subreddits to engage with. GummySearch will then create a dashboard and assign categories to the active discussions, enabling further discovery.

Filtering by keyword also provides a quick summary of every thread and a link.

GummySearch creates dashboards based on the query and assigns categories to the active discussions. Click image to enlarge.

GummySearch helps monitor Subreddits and engage with discussions relevant to your company or product. It’s handy for learning customers’ pain points, brainstorming content ideas, and generating sales leads.

The free plan is limited to 50 searches. Paid plans start at $29 a month and include keyword alerts, content insights, Subreddit analysis, and more.

2. Marketing Blocks

Marketing Blocks is an AI-powered content-generation suite that integrates with Reddit. Input a keyword, and the tool will pull related discussion titles from Reddit and add them to an on-platform content brief. It then generates an AI response to those titles.

Marketing Blocks pulls related Reddit discussions based on the inputted keyword. Click image to enlarge.

Marketing Blocks is helpful for addressing prospects’ concerns and suggestions, unavailable via traditional keyword research.

Paid plans start at $47 per month with a free five-day trial (credit card required).

3. GigaBrain

GigaBrain searches Reddit by keyword and summarizes the findings using generative AI. Clicking on any listed Subreddit enables additional filtering. Further down is the list of threads and comments based on the query, to analyze and condense.

GigaBrain searches Reddit by keyword (“What is Godaddy”) and summarizes the findings using generative AI. Click image to enlarge.

GigaBrain reveals discussions on Reddit for a brand, products, and competitors. It’s also helpful for discovering the words and phrases of consumers to include in your own content.

GigaBrain is a cloud-based platform with a companion Chrome extension. Both are free.

4. Profiler

Profiler is a free AI-powered Chrome extension to analyze the activity of any Reddit user, streamlining outreach and audience research.

I ran the tool on a user profile. Here are the results:

• Interests: The user is interested in podcasts (specifically “LightsCameraPodcast”), movie and television discussions, sports commentary (e.g., “PardonMyTake,” “barstoolsports”), and seems to have a particular focus on “KingOfTheHill,” “LOTR_on_Prime,” and local Connecticut topics.

• Profession: Indicated being a former teacher in 2018; current profession unknown.

• Sentiment analysis: Overall mixed sentiment, with many negative comments (“hate,” “stupid,” “worry,” “bad”) balanced with some positive expressions (“thanks,” “great,” “love,” “awesome”). This user expresses strong opinions with a sense of humor.

• Political leanings: No explicit political stance observed, but does not shy from harsh criticism, which may imply skepticism toward various subjects.

• Psychological traits: Critical, candid, possibly dealing with a past of loneliness or dissatisfaction (e.g., from the heartfelt post about the podcast). Uses humor as a coping mechanism. Opinionated.

• Gender: Likely a male given the use of “brother” and other context clues within the comments.

• Religion: No direct information provided.

• Origin/ethnicity: Likely American, specifically from or has lived in Connecticut, as evidenced by repeated references.

• Behavior patterns: Engages frequently with entertainment-related content, is critical of media content, and often interacts in community discussions with humor and sarcasm.

• Bot or human: Human user based on the diversity and personal nature of posts and comments.

• Other: Engages predominantly in communities associated with popular culture and entertainment. Seems to appreciate humor but also has moments of serious reflection. Formerly engaged in a long-distance relationship and faced personal struggles, which he overcame with support from his podcast community.

My 6Ms Of Social Media via @sejournal, @TheJennyLi

This extract is from Organic Social Media by Jenny Li Fowler ©2023 and is reproduced and adapted with permission from Kogan Page Ltd. Take a strategic approach to social media marketing and build an organic community of followers in Organic Social Media at www.koganpage.com/organic-social.

Kogan Page Ltd. extends its gratitude to SEJ readers with an exclusive discount code: OSM20. This code ensures a 20% discount on your purchase, coupled with complimentary shipping for all US and UK addresses. Visit https://www.koganpage.com/marketing-communications/organic-social-media-9781398612976 to explore and redeem your offer.

My framework for every solid social media strategy includes six M-words: mission, message, management, medium, metrics, and monitoring.

Every time I need to create a new strategy, I start here.

The rest of the book elaborates on these elements, and here is a snapshot of each.

Mission

What are the goals? It’s crucial to know the goals because they are the why.

Why is the brand or organization using social media channels?

I’m not referring to the company’s mission; the social media mission should differ from the mission of the entire organization.

Your social media mission (should you choose to accept it) is more like a mission James Bond or John Wick would take on – an assignment to meet a specific objective.

You need to know what your goals are in order to achieve them.

Your goals become your North Star when faced with decisions challenging your strategy.

Having clear goals gives you reason to say “No” to content or tactics that do not align with or support the objectives you’re trying to achieve by using social media.

If not, your content will lack focus, and if you don’t know why you’re using the platform, then your audience won’t know either.

Using social media just to be on the platforms is like being a hamster on a wheel doing a lot of work for no purpose or ever achieving anything. If you don’t know why you’re doing it, then why do it?

Message

What are the stories you want to tell to support your goals?

We all know the importance and value of storytelling. It’s how you create an emotional connection with your audience.

It’s a way to show your audience you relate to their needs, concerns, and priorities.

No one wants to listen to anyone making a point, but people will stop to listen to a good story. Being consistent with your message is how you achieve your goals.

The marketing rule of seven states that customers need to be exposed to your brand at least seven times before they make a purchase.

A colleague I once worked with remarked that you, meaning employees working within the company, have to be sick of a message, like literally want to throw up if you have to hear the message one more time, before consumers even start to take notice of it.

Thus, your messages have to be constant, repetitive, and laser focused in order to reach your audiences. What stories are your social media feeds telling?

Management

What are your processes and procedures?

It’s important to have a system when posting social media content, and it should be all written down.

There’s something about having processes and procedures written on paper that makes them feel more official and formal.

When you have a process document it helps to gain trust with leadership and stakeholders.

When they can see and understand the process it gives them a look underneath the hood and demystifies the process, and hopefully they’ll micromanage it less if that’s something you experience.

You don’t want to post content haphazardly. No matter how hard you try to prevent mistakes they will happen, and having a process minimizes those mistakes.

It also helps to minimize the severity of the mistakes. Having a process makes posting content more reliable.

Medium

What are your primary platforms?

It’s not the quantity of social media channels you’re active in but the quality of your content that matters. If the content is good, people will take notice.

Good content on any given channel can lead to earned media.

I’ve never seen an article published about an organization who’s active in the most number of platforms.

Virality doesn’t have anything to do with what platform it’s on and everything to do with the content itself.

I think too much importance gets placed on being on all of the platforms. If the content isn’t good there’s no point to being on any of them.

Metrics

What numbers are you tracking?

At the end of the day data, even anecdotal data, is what tells you if what you’re doing is working.

It’s important to determine which metrics you plan to track before starting, which is why this is an essential part of the strategy.

Sometimes there’s a direct line between your goal and the metric you want to track. For instance, if growth is your goal you would track followers.

But chances are there’s more of a dotted line between your goal and the metric you want to study, it’s less obvious, like awareness or excitement around a new product launch.

In this case, you might record engagement on content promoting the new product, comments about the new product and the launch and the sentiment of the comments, and independent mentions of the product and the launch.

When you start tracking what you need from the beginning it’s easier than going back. Take screenshots of comments as you see them and record the numbers you need.

This way you’ll be ready to report on how the topic is doing on social at any moment and you’ll know early on if content is resonating or not with your audience.

Monitoring

Are you listening to your audience? They’ll reveal a lot if you pay attention to their interactions on social media.

They’ll give you feedback, their current emotional state, their needs, what they want to see more of on your channels.

While there can be a lot of noise in the comments, you will also find a wealth of information about how your community feels about you and your online relationship with them.

The process doesn’t end when you hit “Post.”

That’s when the community building part begins.

More resources: 

Featured Image: Gorodenkoff/Shutterstock

12 Social Media Experts Offer Their Predictions For 2024 via @sejournal, @theshelleywalsh

Social media has seen interesting changes recently.

The dramatic changes at Twitter – now rebranded as ‘X’ – saw many SEO professionals looking for new social media platforms to maintain their community connections.

We saw the rise of BlueSky, Mastodon, and Threads, and renewed interest in LinkedIn and Reddit as marketing channels for brands.

As big shifts happen in SEO and search following the introduction of generative AI, this could be a time when social media evolves.

As marketers experiment with AI, it’s going to be important to understand how to leverage these tools whilst maintaining authenticity and trust.

With exciting times to come this year during this evolution of online marketing, there is much anticipation for how this will impact social media.

The overriding sentiments in the industry appear to be building relationships and meaningful connections alongside leveraging AI tools for better analytics and understanding how to create a social media strategy with impact.

Where Should Social Media Marketers Focus Their Attention In 2024?

We reached out to a variety of social media experts and thought leaders to get their input on what might happen in the coming year, and to ask where social media marketers should focus in 2024.

Build More Sustainable Relationships

Ann Handley, Chief Content Officer, MarketingProfs

If you haven’t shifted your social strategy lately, you’re doing it wrong. For most of us, it’s not a traffic accelerator; it’s a relationship builder.

Walk with me back to the dawn of social… Then, we were using it to amass massive audiences quickly and easily, then using it to boost traffic or conversions (however we defined “conversion”).

Those days are over. Done. Cooked. Toast.

Instead, in 2024, it’s all about recognizing that social media’s superpower is its ability to help us build more sustainable relationships more slowly.

Social in 2024 and beyond requires a shift in strategy. But also (importantly) an evolution of your mindset.

Executive Thought Leadership Social Strategy

Purna Virji, Principal Consultant, Content Solutions, LinkedIn

One core area I’d encourage social media marketers to focus their attention on in 2024 is to supplement their regular demand generation activities with an executive thought leadership social strategy.

As a result of the continuing economic worries, businesses increasingly cut budgets throughout 2023.

According to Edelman’s research, “44% of decision-makers also claim they will be less receptive to sales calls or marketing outreach, making it harder for businesses to attract new clients.”

Marketers have realized, often the hard way, that nurture- and bottom-funnel campaigns alone aren’t sufficient. After all, it’s increasingly futile to promote, say, a free demo when people might not have the budget to buy what you’re demo-ing.

How, then, to stand out? That’s where thought leadership comes in.

Thought leadership campaigns (both paid and organic) help increase market consideration and build trust with prospects to support demand generation efforts that drive ROI and can attract talent.

According to the Edelman study, “More than half of decision-makers say that during an economic downturn, it’s essential that non-critical suppliers produce high-quality thought leadership if they want to earn business.”

Five top tips:

1. Thought leadership content doesn’t need to be long; in fact, snackable content can often work best.
2. It doesn’t all need to come from the C-Suite. If they’re busy/unable to lean in to help, start with your sales representatives or other subject matter experts. People respond best to their peers, so if your end audience tends to be very technical, for example, then starting with the more technical subject matter experts in your organization can be helpful.
3. You don’t need a separate strategy for thought leadership. Rather, weave it in as part of your existing strategy for effectiveness and efficiency.
4. You don’t need a massive budget for it, either. Start with organic posts, try different approaches and formats, and then amplify what’s working with paid promotion.
5. Thought leadership content does best when it’s authentic to the creator, on a topic they’re passionate about and have expertise in. Focus on offering value and building trust and rapport.

A Fun Year For AI-Powered Social Media Marketing Data Analysis

Andy Crestodina, Co-Founder/Chief Marketing Officer, Orbit Media Studios

Social media is a data-rich environment. This is a huge advantage for marketers who analyze this data and then iterate their social strategies – which is more fun than ever if you use AI.

So, in the new year, smart social media marketers will focus on getting data out of social media and getting it into an AI-friendly structure.

Give ChatGPT nicely organized CSV files, and it will give you charts that may cause you to immediately rethink what you post.

Here’s a chart that AI made for me based on one year of top posts on LinkedIn, categorized manually before uploading. Interesting, right? 2024 will be a fun year for AI-powered social media marketing data analysis.

Image from Andy Crestorina, December 2023

Short Form Video

Larry Kim, CEO, Customers.ai

The entire world’s social media has converged on short-form video. If you still haven’t mastered the art of producing content in short-form videos, it’s hard to see how you’ll be successful in social media in 2024!

Personalization And User-Generated Content

Katie Lance, CEO/Founder, Katie Lance Consulting

Firstly, embracing emerging platforms and technologies is crucial. While it’s important to maintain a strong presence on established platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, keeping an eye on rising stars in the social media world can offer fresh opportunities.

For instance, platforms that leverage augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are becoming increasingly popular, providing new, immersive ways to engage audiences.

Also, considering the growing interest in decentralized platforms and blockchain technology, exploring these areas could position brands at the forefront of digital innovation.

Secondly, video content continues to dominate across social media channels, and this trend is likely to persist and evolve.

Short-form video content, popularized by platforms like TikTok, has shown significant engagement rates and offers a creative way to showcase products, share stories, and connect with younger audiences.

Additionally, live streaming is gaining traction, offering real-time engagement and fostering a sense of community among viewers. Investing in quality video production and exploring diverse content formats can greatly enhance a brand’s online presence.

Lastly, personalization and user-generated content (UGC) are becoming increasingly important. Social media users are looking for authentic, relatable content that resonates with their individual experiences and interests.

Encouraging UGC not only fosters a sense of community but also provides marketers with valuable, authentic content that can enhance brand credibility.

Pairing this with data-driven personalization strategies ensures that content reaches the right audience at the right time, increasing engagement and conversion rates.

Create An Exit Plan For X

Greg Jarboe, President And Co-founder, SEO-PR

If social media marketers haven’t already created an exit plan for X, formerly Twitter, then they need to prepare their bug-out bags now.

Where should they go? According to SEJ’s list of The Top 10 Social Media Sites & Platforms, social media marketers should focus their attention on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Pinterest, Reddit, and LinkedIn.

And marketers shouldn’t forget that blogs were one of the original social media platforms. So, if you still have a small team tweeting, then it’s time to get them some upskilling and reskilling ASAP.

In addition, social media marketers should focus more attention on creating videos worth watching and content worth sharing.

Why? According to the Content Marketing Institute’s latest research, 67% of marketers say video has become more important to their business over the last year. Why? Video’s ability to tell stories and resonate emotionally with audiences makes it an ideal format for making human connections.

Finally, run, don’t walk, to learn which AI tools – including AI image generators and AI video generators – will help them in 2024 and beyond.

As Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang told 10,000 graduates during a commencement address back in May, “While some worry that AI may take their jobs, someone who’s expert with AI will.”

Audience Building And Analytics

Jeff Riddall, Senior Product Manager, OneLocal

In 2024, as in previous years and likely in years to come, I believe social media marketers should focus their attention on two primary areas: audience building and analytics.

Far too many who look to leverage social media to build their brand spend an inordinate time trying to create and distribute killer content but forget or simply fail to ensure there is a receptive audience waiting, or even available, to consume it.

More time should be spent “socializing” and “community building” in the channels your desired audience favors. Build your following by following and sharing content from like-minded brands and influencers in the hopes they will reciprocate and/or their audience will take notice.

And this is where analytics comes in. Social marketers should be leveraging native social media analytics or web analytics to effectively understand what is working or not working and where.

We all know social media is not just about likes and shares, but actual clicks and conversions, so every effort should be made to use branded and/or tracked URLs to see if and where real engagement is happening.

In social media marketing, along with digital marketing in general, there are so many things that can be done, so it’s critically important to use analytics to determine the things that should be done.

Meaningful Connections And Responsible Branding

Ashley Segura, Co-Founder and CMO, I’ll Tell You Soon!

In 2024, social media marketing will be all about meaningful connections and responsible branding. Here’s how to make the most of it:

Influencer Collaborations

Tap into the power of micro-influencers. These are individuals with smaller but highly engaged followings. Brands can collaborate with them for more authentic and targeted outreach.

Start by identifying influencers whose followers align with your target demographic. Then, craft campaigns that resonate with their audience’s interests, ensuring a more personalized and impactful connection.

Sustainability and Social Responsibility

Embrace and communicate your brand’s commitment to sustainability and social responsibility. Consumers increasingly value brands that are environmentally conscious and ethically sound.

To do this, integrate sustainable practices into your business model and share these stories on social media – and share them often. Use your platforms to educate and engage with your audience on these issues, especially the issues that matter most to your demographic.

This creates a brand image that’s not only about products but also about positive impact on issues that matter most to their customers.

Community Building

Focus on creating and nurturing online communities around your brand. This involves more than just selling products; it’s about fostering a space for shared interests and discussions and can look like Facebook groups, Slack channels, email lists, and more.

Engage with your audience through regular, meaningful interactions in these unique groups. Host Q&A sessions, create discussion forums, and encourage user-generated content to build a community that feels valued and connected to your brand.

By concentrating on these three strategies, brands can create a more impactful and resonant presence on social media in 2024.

Understanding And Leveraging Data Analytics And AI Tools

Jason Hennessey, Founder, Jason Hennessey Consulting

In 2024, social media marketers should focus on several key areas to stay ahead in the ever-evolving digital landscape.

Firstly, they should prioritize video content, as it continues to dominate user engagement on platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube.

Additionally, marketers should pay attention to emerging platforms and trends, adapting their strategies accordingly. Building authentic and meaningful connections with their audience through personalized and interactive content will also be crucial.

Lastly, understanding and leveraging data analytics and AI tools to optimize campaigns and track ROI will remain essential for successful social media marketing in 2024.

Focus On Capturing First-Party Data

Casie Gillette, Senior Director, Demand Generation, Customers.ai

As we head into 2024, we have to really look at how privacy changes by Google and Apple are impacting our social media remarketing campaigns.

When it comes to social, organic reach has already become minimal, and with iOS 14 and now iOS 17, we are seeing our paid audiences shrink as well. Businesses need to focus on capturing first-party data.

Whether it’s on-site methods like promotions, pop-ups, or visitor identification tools, without this first-party data, the social reach will be limited, and remarketing campaigns will continue to underperform.

Meta Will Unveil Developments With Generative AI

Mari Smith, CEO, Mari Smith International, Inc.

Meta will roll out significant AI-powered updates throughout 2024. Along with more refined use of its AI-powered discovery engine to recommend content, especially reels and ads, Meta will unveil impressive developments with generative AI to rival ChatGPT and DALL･E, among other platforms.

As Meta CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, stated in February 2023, the company has a turbocharged focus on generative AI, in particular. We saw the launch of simple AI-generated stickers in Instagram and Facebook Stories.

But much more impressive, with real utility, will be when the company bakes generative AI into Meta Business Suite. This will offer businesses the ability to create unique text, image, and video content and then schedule, publish, and track performance, all without having to use any other third-party AI app or tool.

Meta will also integrate more AI-powered tools inside Messenger, Instagram Direct, and WhatsApp, including new custom AI personas. Possibly into Threads as well.

These are conversational chatbot assistants. This will allow businesses to create custom avatars and build their own effective use cases such as FAQs, customer service, a unique knowledgebase of their own, and likely much more.

Approach AI Integration With Caution

Brent Csutoras, Managing Partner, Search Engine Journal

As AI transforms social media in 2024, approach its integration with caution, especially regarding branding and upcoming regulations.

Authenticity becomes crucial as AI content proliferates, so it’s essential to use AI as a supportive tool, not a substitute.

While short-form video storytelling remains a key to success on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, platforms like BlueSky and Threads are gaining traction for their content updates, reminiscent of Twitter’s style.

Remember, in 2024, a blend of authentic messaging and engaging short videos will be the cornerstone of successful social media marketing.

More resources: 

Featured Image: Dilok Klaisataporn/Shutterstock

The Key to Successful Advertising

The emotional pull of an advertisement can make or break performance, much more than budget alone. Once its messaging resonates with a target audience, a brand typically sees lower acquisition costs and elevated return on ad spend.

Emotions

“How Customers Think: Essential Insights into the Mind of the Market” is a groundbreaking 2003 book by Harvard Business School professor Gerald Zaltman. According to Zaltman, “… 95% of our purchase decision-making takes place in the subconscious mind.”

Emotions are what drive purchasing behavior. Impactful brands tap into these latent sentiments, often superseding features or price. Top creative doesn’t just show what a product does but also the feelings it elicits. It sparks desire and stirs action through viewers’ subconscious needs.

Consider True Classic, a direct-to-consumer men’s apparel brand. It has reportedly earned $250 million in revenue since its founding in 2019. The company’s secret is crafting creatives that transcend physical products to evoke compelling identity and lifestyle aspirations. True Classic’s marketing strategy is “down-to-earth, humorous, relatable, authentic.”

Co-founder Ryan Bartlett stated in a LinkedIn post that “creativity is massively underrated,” adding, “…we create humorous ads for paid media because it adds value to people’s lives when you can brighten their day and make them smile, even for a moment. People don’t forget that.”

True Classic’s marketing strategy is “down-to-earth, humorous, relatable, authentic.”

Future Pacing

Future pacing is the craft of painting a picture in prospects’ minds. It helps consumers visualize how their life could be, to dream and aspire. For example, Nike’s “Find Your Greatness” campaign encourages the audience to imagine taking action and achieving their goals — a dream career, car, body, girl, status, lifestyle.

That is why True Classic focuses on helping men look good so they feel good, with ad copy such as “Girls will find you more attractive if you dress better” and “fits you tight around the chest and arms and loose in the front.”

Ultimately, people are driven by emotions more than logic. Focus on the result your customer wants and the feelings attached to the outcome. Then make the case that your product is the answer.

Authenticity

Combining future pacing with creative authenticity is a proven winner. Cassey Ho, the founder of PopEx, a female activewear brand, does that on her YouTube channel. It has 9 million subscribers, contributing to PopEx’s $5 million in annual revenue.

In a YouTube Short titled “This legging is designed to fit you perfectly,” Ho quickly attracts viewers’ attention by stating, “80% of women are wearing leggings that don’t fit.” It captures the audience’s needs, desires, and emotions in the first three seconds.

Then she dives into the product, demonstrating real-world body types and her leggings’ solutions.

Getting Started

Launch advertising campaigns with static creative to test messaging and visuals. Use simple images, copy, and graphics to experiment across variations rapidly. It’s a quick, affordable way to gauge response.

Sarah Levinger, a creative consultant, suggests running three static ads, each with an emotional message, and keeping track of the ones that resonate best. It’s not until you’ve nailed the messaging that she recommends going full-fledged into “producing UGC, pro video, founder videos, and other ad categories to match.”

Potential content includes:

• Product testimonials,
• Unboxing,
• Comparing your product to others,
• Ad hooks (1 to 3-second clips).