Can you believe we are already almost at the closing of February 2020? I feel like the year has just begun, yet so much has already happened and with every new year, I feel I must learn from the last year and grow.
I would like to introduce myself, I am the Social Media Manager here at Bottom Line Marketing. This year I am stepping into a new role that focuses more on the strategic advertising side of Social Media to help grow the department’s knowledge about the newest trends and campaigns we can utilize this year. If you would have told me at the beginning of last year that I would be heading to Idaho to help welcome the newest client of the BLM family as the Paid Advertising Manager on the account, I would have thought you were mad, but a lot can change in a year! Which is why I decided to take a look at this year’s social media trends, so I can help Bottom Line Marketing make knowledgeable decisions about our client’s social page strategies.
Shifting Away From “Likes”
Start with a topic that is not always popular. Marketers are being urged to look beyond the surface level metrics of like followers and likes. Rather than chase a viral moment, brands are rightfully trying to understand what’s driving conversations with customers and how they can gain long term success, instead of instant gratification.
Building Connections
Marketers are being urged to focus on building meaningful connections with their audience versus connecting with anybody and everybody. We have tested CRM data for many campaigns and have seen how well they do. Utilize your CRM lists to reconnect with your current clients to build connections with them and get them back in your store and be repeat customers. Also, don’t be afraid to break up your audience based of their purchases. (i.e. engagement ring buyers for a wedding band weekend).
Focus on Product in Ads
Consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable with the concept of social shopping in general, so in 2020 marketers are shifting away from the generic ads to be more product specific. This means making sure your website showcases the specific products available in your store or services that you provide.
Introducing the Nano-Influencer
More and more brands are connecting with Nano-Influencers, representing accounts with only a couple thousand followers. The concept is simple: smaller audiences are more engaged vs. “influencers” just chasing “Likes.” These influencers also come at a smaller price tag without sacrificing quality content.
Stories Aren’t Slowing Down
Stories have been one of the biggest social media trends of the past couple of years and 2020 looks to be no different. Utilize organic content coupled with polls and other interactive features to create stories about your business. Make It REAL, showcase what is going on at your business!
Video Will Always Be King
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: brands really can’t sleep on video anymore. With so many options between ads and organic video, the barrier to entry is lower than ever when all you need is a smartphone. No longer do we need to rely on huge productions to be able to post video content, pull out your iPhone/Samsung and take a video!
User-Generated Content
Modern consumers are happy to have brands tell them what to post. Encouraging user-generated content and customer photos is a brilliant move for engagement and for the sake of social posting. Build a brand hashtag and tell your clients to tag you on social media and use your hashtag when they post their new bling, products or services! Let your customers be your brand ambassadors.
Paid vs. Organic Social Media
The last trend is about as popular as the first one we discussed. Social media has become a pay-to-play arena, which is forcing more marketers to turn to paid advertising. Meaning, more competition. We can no longer give social media minimum budgets and expect the same results. If you want to reach more people, you have to be willing to spend more.
The Bottom Line: A lot has changed in a year, including my job duties and expectations, but there will always be one constant variable here at BLM, hard work. No matter what the day holds, and it’s always different: launching campaigns, building reports, hopping on calls or putting together a couch (yes, that happened). We treat it all with the same passion, dedication and getting things done. Putting your all into everything you do is not required, but at BLM every team member treats every task with the same amount of importance, no matter the relevancy to their actual job title.
I absolutely love that about working here. We are a close-knit group of hard-working individuals who care about each and every client we work for, which is not the norm for advertising agencies and that’s why BLM is the best agency to partner with for your marketing. We will be here through the good, the bad, the ugly and everywhere in between, because when you do well, we do well.
Give me or anyone else at Bottom Line a call to learn what it means to be a part of the BLM Family.