It's 2022; that alone is incredibly wild, considering I still vividly remember the potential end of the world in 2000 based on the ending of the Mayan calendar. Even more remarkable is the growth and importance of social media to building a business, making a name for your brand, and engaging with old and new customers. When I was in college, Facebook was for college students only - and my future career as a social media manager wasn't a thing... isn't that just amazing to think about? As social media continues to evolve, so do the challenges along with its capabilities. Here are some of the social media challenges of 2022 and ways to navigate and utilize social for your business.
Which platform?
One of the biggest challenges is selecting the platform(s) that will yield the best results. What might be trending may not be where your audience is spending their time, so even if everyone is TikTok this and Pinterest that, it doesn't mean they are right for you. To determine the best social media platform with the highest ROI for you and your business, you have to decide which platforms your target customers are spending the most time on and which platforms are worth the time and money.
With that said, dismissing a platform like TikTok can also be detrimental. Newer platforms evolve their audiences and their capabilities. While TikTok wasn't a good platform for advertising early on and wasn't utilized by generations beyond Gen Z'ers, that has changed. In other words, don't say no to a platform until you have done your research. And just because "no one else is doing it" doesn't mean you shouldn't be the one to start!
What are your goals?
Your goals for your social content are also a big piece of the social media challenge. If you don't know what you want the social content to do, you won't know whether it worked. The challenge is to understand what you want to achieve and determine the best way to achieve it. Then, measuring and evaluating success is doable.
What kinds of content?
Another challenge marketers and small businesses face in creating a social strategy is determining how your audience prefers to experience content. Deciding how your buyer personas prefer their content is central to strategizing social content that will increase quality lead generation, build brand recognition, and ultimately improve sales. One way to find out is to ask! Talk to your loyal customers and determine the kinds and type of content they are looking for.
How to create engaging content
One of the biggest challenges is creating engaging content. There is so much content being produced every day, for example, this blog! So you have to determine what your customers want and need to know to engage with your content, with your brand, and ultimately with your products and services.
Spending money on high-performing content is crucial. Keep in mind that you don't have to reinvent the wheel all the time. Let the content on one feed be the spark for other content on another platform. For example, your 10-page DIY Home Improvement Guide, also known as a content magnet, can now be used to create ten smaller videos, a bunch of small reels for Instagram, and a huge number of social posts and captions on other platforms.
How to set yourself apart
One of the challenges of marketing on social media is saturation. It is tough to set yourself apart from the competition. One way to do that is to know your competition and determine what they are and aren't doing. If they are doing something, but you can do it better, then by all means... if they aren't posting on Instagram Reels, YouTube videos, or Facebook live feeds, then those are social avenues you will want to pursue fast and furiously. Look for gaps in content. Consider what questions haven't been answered. Determine whether the content has been formatted in ways that audiences find engaging. In other words, find the gaps and fill them.
How do I keep my content fresh?
Many marketers express that coming up with ideas for content that are fresh and new is a big challenge. We have created some ideas for you:
Don't reinvent the wheel; instead, share content from some of the accounts you follow that your buyer persona would find interesting.
Create unique visual images and graphics that show your business, products, and services in unique ways.
Ask your loyal customers for a review and share that comment on your social platforms.
Do a behind-the-scenes post each week that lets your potential consumers see the faces behind the services and the products. This builds awareness and trust.
Share your accomplishments, milestones, and celebrations on your social media. It shows your values, work ethics, and who you are as a business.
Create some live feeds where potential customers can interact and ask questions from the convenience of their own homes.
Utilize some of the social content creation/mapping services available.
How do I know it is working?
Measuring the effectiveness of your social efforts is essential to determine your return on investment and make future decisions about what to do again, what never to do again, and what to try next. Make sure you have a goal before you start and ensure that the metrics on the platforms can give you data to measure your strategies' effectiveness. If you can't measure it and evaluate it, then there isn't a lot of sense in doing it--you might as well throw some spaghetti on the wall.
Social media has the potential to help a business grow its brand recognition, customer engagement, and, ultimately, sales. We hope that understanding the challenges and what you can do to minimize them will prove beneficial for your business. If you need help devising a plan, Anneomaly Digital can help. We can do your social for you.