Brain-hurt scale = 6/10. Parents only use Facebook, teens only use TikTok, Instagram is dying, Twitter is already dead, and YouTube is just for video.
Out of all the media that brands can use, perhaps Social is one of the most misunderstood, and it's a victim of it's own accessibility. The more everyone can use a medium, the more everyone thinks they know how to use it and how it works underneath. But, the opposite is usually true.
So we had to talk with a social media expert about social media strategy. First of all, is Social Media even a thing? Why do firms get an intern or the nephew/niece of the owner to do the social media instead of a professional. How do you 'hack' the algorithm? What's the best platform to use?
If there’s one channel that’s changed just as much as Search has, it’s social. There’s a reason you no longer see the story on the news of the stay-at-home mum who’s made millions selling some random product online with just a Facebook or instagram following to boot.
Those days have long gone, but legacy thinking remains. And there seems to be this fantasy that with the right post on social media, a brand can go viral. There an obsession with content and a belief that posting as much as possible will somehow compensate for a poor strategy.
But Social media is a mature market and platforms no longer give away free exposure for nothing in return. You’re obligated to pay to play - either with your time or, increasingly, with your money.
So how do you slot social media into your growth strategy. What are the common mistakes to avoid and where are these social platforms heading in the future?
We needed these questions answered which is why we had to talk to Marcus Willus, social media barron, passion-pop aficionado, melbourne hipster, business owner.
Marcus has been running a social media agency for a number of years and we first met back in the good old days of instagram. When it was cheap and easy to use programs which automated Instagram activity. How times have changed. Today, those tactics would get you ejected or shadow banned pretty quickly.
And that’s why we needed to talk. We needed to get to the bottom of what social media platforms are looking for at their core. The things that won't change very much in the future. By understanding this, we’ll understand where to focus our time and resources instead of chasing the tail or an ever changing, sophisticated algorithm. Elon’s purchase of Twitter makes this episode timely.
With so many platforms out there, I’m not going to do a separate episode on each because they are all so different. The tactical approach would vary so much between them, and these episodes would date too fast.
So instead, here’s a core social media strategy episode to sink your teeth into which will point you in the right direction, regardless of what platforms you are using - now and in the future.
