But what’s the secret sauce behind those engaging posts and heartwarming campaigns that make you hit “like” or “share”?

Surprisingly, the answer is rooted in psychology!

It’s not merely about throwing content into the digital abyss; it’s about understanding the whims and wonders of human behaviour, peering into what makes us click, comment, and care.

Here are five key marketing psychology theories that play a hidden yet pivotal role in social media marketing success:

The Mere Exposure Effect Means Consistency Is Key!

Did you know that the term “mere exposure effect” was coined by the American psychologist Robert Zajonc?

He came up with this idea while researching a fascinating psychological phenomenon. People tend to start liking things or people more when exposed to them repeatedly, even if they did not particularly like them.

Now, in social media marketing, this theory is like a golden nugget of wisdom. It reminds us of the importance of keeping a regular online presence.

Imagine this: when your brand shows up consistently in your audience’s social media feeds, it’s like saying, “Hey, I’m here for you!” And here’s the fun part – the more they see you, the more they trust you.

It’s a bit like when you meet someone over and over again, and you start feeling like old pals. In the world of marketing, this is pure gold.

Regular posting doesn’t just keep your brand fresh in people’s minds; it also gets them talking and interacting. And as time goes by, they become super comfortable with your brand, which often translates into more sales!

Top Tip: Try planning, batching and scheduling your content in advance. I love the scheduling tool Agorapulse for this.

Apply the Similarity-Attraction Theory By Humanising Your Content

The concept of the similarity-attraction theory sheds light on why it’s essential to share behind-the-scenes content and humanise your brand on social media.

In simple terms, this marketing psychology theory suggests that people naturally gravitate towards others who share similar characteristics or experiences. In the realm of marketing, this means crafting content that enables your audience to form a personal connection with your brand.

You create an atmosphere of closeness and relatability by offering glimpses into your company’s inner workings, your employees, and the creative process. This, in turn, humanises your brand, making it more approachable and strengthening the emotional bond with your audience.

Moreover, showcasing the human aspect of your brand plays a pivotal role in building trust. When consumers see the faces behind your products or services, it instils confidence in your intentions and authenticity. This trust can lead to heightened brand loyalty and positive word-of-mouth marketing.

Top Tip: Make an effort to humanise your brand by regularly introducing yourself and your team members on your social media profiles. It’s a great way to connect with your audience on a personal level!

Embrace the Reciprocity Theory by Sharing Your Knowledge

Ever notice that when someone does something kind for you, you feel an inclination to reciprocate the kindness?

That’s the essence of the reciprocity theory in action!

This marketing psychology theory posits that people tend to feel obligated to return favours when others have extended their generosity or help.

Now, let’s connect this fascinating theory to the world of social media. Knowledge sharing becomes a potent tool here. When you share valuable information on your social media platforms, you’re not just positioning your brand as an authority but also cultivating goodwill with your audience. It shows that you genuinely care about assisting them in solving problems or fulfilling their needs.

In essence, knowledge sharing on social media is like planting seeds of goodwill that can yield rich rewards in the form of your audience’s trust, engagement, and loyalty.

Top Tip: Consider creating a lead magnet, such as free e-books or webinars, as a little gift for your audience to entice them to engage with your brand and reciprocate the value you provide. It’s a win-win strategy!

Leverage the Peer Comparison Theory to Establish Social Proof

Have you ever found yourself scrolling through Instagram or TikTok, only to stumble upon your friends raving about a fantastic new restaurant they’ve discovered?

Enter the peer comparison theory, a powerful concept in social media. This marketing psychology theory highlights the significance of social proof—our tendency to base decisions on the actions and opinions of others, especially when we’re unsure about something.

It’s the driving force behind the effectiveness of influencer marketing, online reviews and user-generated content (UGC).

Influencer marketing involves teaming up with individuals who wield substantial social media influence, typically through a paid partnership. When these influencers endorse your brand or product, it creates a powerful form of social proof that can sway the opinions of their followers. People tend to trust recommendations from their peers or those they admire.

User-generated content, on the other hand, offers a window into how real customers are using your products or services spontaneously. When satisfied customers share their experiences on social media, it fosters trust and authenticity. To encourage user-generated content, consider running contests or invite your customers to share their stories.

Top Tip: Online reviews are a powerful form of social proof. Ensure you are always asking your customers for feedback!

Utilise the Scarcity Principle to Infuse Your Offers with a Sense of Urgency

Have you ever experienced that unmistakable “Fear of Missing Out” (FOMO) when you see something rare or in short supply on social media?

Well, you’re encountering the scarcity principle in action!

This theory suggests that people are more inclined to take action when they perceive something as scarce or available in limited quantities.

Incorporating scarcity elements into your social media campaigns can be a game-changer for your audience’s motivation. This could involve offering limited-time deals, exclusive promotions, or early access to new products or services.

By instilling a sense of urgency, you push your audience to act swiftly, potentially resulting in heightened engagement and increased sales.

Top Tip: Be transparent and authentic in your scarcity-based promotions. So, when you offer something as scarce, ensure it is genuinely scarce and not just a way of tricking your audience!

In a nutshell, delving into these five marketing psychology theories and weaving them into your social media strategy can work wonders for your business success.

Social media is not just a platform for broadcasting; it’s a powerful marketing psychology tool for understanding and influencing human behaviour. Use it wisely, and watch your brand thrive.

Sign up for my Tiny Tips Tuesday newsletter for more helpful marketing tips and insights.

The post The Marketing Psychology Behind Social Media: 5 Theories that Showcase Its Influence appeared first on Jem Bahaijoub Consulting - Social Never Sleeps.

Measuring R.O.I. (return on investment) is one of the most common questions I get asked by clients and can often be the most challenging part of social media marketing – a bit like figuring out whether your shiny new gym membership is earning its keep or if it might be better to say “See ya!” and use that money for a Netflix binge-fest instead.

Yet, equipped with the right guidance and appropriate tools, gauging your social media R.O.I doesn’t have to be a Herculean task. Below, you will find several insightful tips that simplify the process of measuring the return on investment from your social media marketing endeavours:

Bust Out the S.M.A.R.T Goals

Nope, I’m not talking about your lofty ambition to rewatch every episode of SuperStore. Although, let’s be honest, that’s an amazing goal (Glenn forever!). I’m talking about setting Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals. This acronym stands for:

Specific: Your goal should be clear, precise, and straightforward. No vague or generalised statements here! For example, instead of saying, “I want to grow my business”, you might say, “I want to increase my customer base by 20%”.

Measurable: Your goal should have a defined metric to track progress and determine when the goal is achieved. If we continue with the above example, the “20%” allows you to measure whether or not you’ve reached your goal.

Achievable: Your goal should be realistic, based on your resources and current circumstances. Setting a goal to triple your followers in a week may not be achievable, but that 20% increase over six months could be.

Relevant: Your social media goal should align with your broader business objectives.

Time-bound: Every goal needs a time frame or deadline. This adds a sense of urgency and provides a timeline for tracking progress. “Increasing reach by 20% in six months” would be an example of a time-bound goal.

Get Down With Metrics

Next on the list, it’s time to track your progress with metrics that matter. Here’s a handy guide:

Brand Awareness: Reach, impressions, engagement, all the stuff that makes you do a happy dance when your audience sees and interacts with your content.

Lead Generation: Your click-through rates, website traffic, and newsletter signups are all prime suspects here.

Sales: Count that money! Look at the revenue coming in or the cost of customer acquisition.

Advocacy: Keep an eye on referrals and reviews. These are golden!

Gear Up with the Right Tools

Let’s arm ourselves with some fantastic tools to track these metrics. Here are some of my favourites:

Bitly: Bitly isn’t merely a link management service. It is a powerful tool that allows us to shorten, customise, and share links across different platforms. It also offers detailed analytics about who’s clicking on your links, where they’re coming from, and when they’re doing it. This can help you understand what content resonates with your audience, and you can use this information to tailor your future content and marketing strategies.

Google Analytics & UTMs: Regarding web analytics, Google Analytics partnered with UTM parameters is your comprehensive solution. Google Analytics offers detailed insights about website visitors, their behaviour, and web traffic sources. It tracks metrics such as bounce rate, session duration, and pages per session. It also provides demographic details about your audience, like their location, device, and interests.

On the other hand, UTM parameters are tags you add to a URL. When someone clicks on a URL with UTM parameters, those tags are tracked back to Google Analytics. With the data from UTM parameters, you can precisely understand where your traffic comes from and how your various marketing efforts perform.

Agorapulse: This is my go-to social media management tool; Agorapulse is a powerhouse that helps you manage all your social media channels in one place. It’s efficient for scheduling posts, engaging with followers, and monitoring your social media performance.

Agorapulse’s unique social inbox feature ensures no user interaction is left unnoticed. Its detailed analytics and reporting can help you understand what content works best on each platform. In addition, Agorapulse includes features to monitor your brand’s online reputation, compare your performance with competitors, and collaborate with team members.

By leveraging these tools, you can measure, monitor, and manage the success of your social media marketing efforts more effectively.

Keep Your Eye On The Ball

Always be on your toes. Watch your social media metrics and R.O.I. like a hawk. Spot trends, identify patterns, and find those little areas that need a boost.

Use what you learn to review and refine your strategy. It’s all about testing, testing, testing!

Find Your Platform Happy Place

Remember, not all social media platforms will be a good fit for your business. So, find out where your people hang out and focus your content there.

LinkedIn fan? Create content for that. Facebook more your speed? Do your thing there.

Mindset Matters

Look, this isn’t some mad dash to the finish line. Nah, we’re talking long-haul marathon style here. And here’s the thing – sometimes there are these magical, mysterious parts of your social media impact that you can’t measure with cold, hard numbers. I mean, who can put a value on the screenshots taken of your posts, those real-world chit-chats sparked by your content, or the warm, fuzzy sentiment from your fans? Not everything that counts can be counted, right?

So, there you have it! Social media R.O.I. might feel like a dragon to be slayed, but with a dash of determination and a sprinkle of strategy, you’ll start seeing the payoff.

If you need help with your social media strategy or management, please give me a shout!

The post How To Measure Your Social Media Return On Investment (R.O.I.) appeared first on Jem Bahaijoub Consulting - Social Never Sleeps.

There are some serious perks to using a branded hashtag. Here are just a few:

Increased Brand Awareness

Branded hashtags can help your content reach a wider audience beyond your immediate followers. You can make your brand more discoverable and recognisable by consistently using your branded hashtag across all your social media channels.

For example, Nike’s iconic #JustDoIt hashtag has been used in countless campaigns. Most recently, the brand used the hashtag in a campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick, generating praise and controversy. Despite the controversy, the campaign succeeded, with Nike’s online sales increasing by 31% in the days following the launch.

Improved Social Media Engagement

A branded hashtag can be a great way to encourage your followers to engage with your content and join the conversation around your brand. It’s like giving them a secret handshake into your brand’s inner circle.

For example, Coca-Cola’s #ShareACoke campaign encouraged people to share photos of their personalised Coca-Cola bottles on social media using the hashtag. The campaign was a huge success, with over 500,000 images shared on social media and a 2% increase in sales in the US.

Enhanced Brand Loyalty

When your customers or followers use your branded hashtag in their own posts, it creates a sense of community and loyalty around your brand. It’s like being part of a cool kids club without secret treehouse meetings.

For example, In response to the US travel ban in 2017, Airbnb launched the #WeAccept campaign to promote diversity and inclusion. The campaign encouraged people to share photos and stories of their own experiences of diversity using the hashtag. The campaign received widespread media coverage and helped position Airbnb as a socially conscious brand.

Tracking and Analysis

By monitoring your branded hashtag, you can get insights into how people engage with your brand and adjust your social media strategy accordingly.

Using a branded hashtag for your events, in particular, can help increase your event’s visibility and inspire user-generated content. By encouraging attendees to use a consistent hashtag, you can create a cohesive brand identity for your event, encourage participants to share their experiences and gain insights into how people engage with your event.

To summarise, branded hashtags offer a variety of benefits, from boosting brand awareness to spicing up your social media engagement. Just look at Coca-Cola’s #ShareACoke, Airbnb’s #WeAccept, and Nike’s #JustDoIt campaigns – those hashtags united and inspired social media followers everywhere.

For more marketing tips and insights, sign up for my Tiny Tips Tuesday newsletter HERE.

The post What Is A Branded Hashtag & Why Does Your Business Need One? appeared first on Jem Bahaijoub Consulting - Social Never Sleeps.

It’s the same with social media. Well, not quite the same. There aren’t any calories (thank god), and there is no equivalent to licking the spoon.

But however much someone exclaims that you need to “get on social media!” not knowing what to post, when to post it or on what platform can be daunting. So what’s the answer? What if you need guidance or simply don’t have time? That’s where a social media consultant comes in. A good social media consultant can help you create a strategy, design content, build an engaged community, fuel lead generation and more — but how do you ensure you hire the right one? Let’s consider four key factors when hiring a social media consultant.

Experience & Credentials

The most crucial factor when looking for a social media consultant is experience. Before hiring anyone, check out their portfolio and testimonials. Do they have experience working with companies in your industry? What other projects have they worked on? The more experienced and knowledgeable the consultant is, the better equipped they will be to help you succeed.

Strategic Thinking

Don’t get me wrong, if you’re actively posting; you’ve already got a big thumbs up from me. But if you have a social media consultant working for you, you should expect them to think of the ‘why’ as well as the ‘what’ and ‘when’. Your consultant should always start with a strategy, as this is key to tracking the ROI of your social media communications – after all, without a goal, how do you know you’re winning? Also, this strategy should align with your other marketing outputs.  A good social media consultant will talk to you about your wider business goals, granular social goals and the budgets for achieving them.

Cost & Value

Of course, the price comes into your decision in hiring a consultant, but you should be looking for value over the price tag itself. Price should never be your only factor when deciding something as important as your business’s online presence. It also shouldn’t be your first factor either! Think of it this way: If someone charges you half as much as another person, are they really giving you twice the value? (Hint: No). Consider how much value their services offers your business — not just how cheap or expensive they are.

Personality & Communication Style

When finding the right fit for your business, personality matters! And I’m talking about your business’s personality, not theirs. Although rapport is obviously a sweetener. Ensure the consultant understands what makes your company unique and can communicate similarly to your target audience. It would help if you had someone reliable and communicative; after all, communication is key for any successful relationship between an employer and employee (or consultant). During an initial call or meeting, watch for body language cues and ask questions about what strategies they typically recommend — this will give you a good sense of their style and approach. 

Ultimately, finding the right social media consultant can make all the difference in managing your online presence. In the words of Jessie J, “it’s not about the price tag”, so try not to look straight at the bottom line. Instead, focus on experience, credentials, strategic vision and communication style. If you are still on the fence about WHY to hire a social media consultant, check out these five benefits.

By considering all these elements carefully during your search process, you’ll be able to find someone who matches up perfectly with both your budget and expectations – ensuring that everyone involved benefits in some way from this arrangement! Good luck!

The post <strong>How to Hire the Right Social Media Consultant for Your Business</strong> appeared first on Jem Bahaijoub Consulting - Social Never Sleeps.

So what do you do when you’re feeling overwhelmed? Pour yourself a big glass of sauvvy b, of course. 

Right – you’re here for slightly more constructive advice. OK, how about this: I have a few timeless guidelines that will keep you calm and collected. Here is my top 7:

Post With Purpose

This one gets overlooked the most in favour of ‘getting something out there’, which I understand. But creating social media content that aligns with your business goals is crucial for success. Otherwise, ask yourself – is it a good use of your time? When crafting your content, remember that you’re guiding your audience through a customer journey. With that in mind, make sure you have a clear call to action. Each post should have a specific purpose, such as driving sales, boosting website traffic, or raising brand awareness. This call to action can be as simple as asking for their opinion or more complex as directing them to a free resource. By including a clear call to action, you make it easy for your audience to take the next step in their journey. 

Top Tip: A customer journey is not always linear, so always have a mixture of calls to action to speak to your audience at every stage of the buying funnel.

Consistency Is Key

Have you heard people talking about your brand voice? It’s simply how you communicate with your audience. It’s one vital way of asserting the personality of your business. Brand consistency ensures that your business values and identity are consistently presented across all your social media channels. What do I mean by this? Essentially, it’s making sure that everything you put out across all platforms sounds and looks like you (or your business, I should say). 

Frequency? That’s up to you. But it’s crucial to decide on a posting schedule and stick to it. Consistent posting will help increase your credibility and build trust in your brand. Whether posting content three times a week or daily, keeping a regular schedule is essential. This way, your audience will know when to expect new and valuable information from you. It’s also pretty handy for you when you’re planning out your week. 

Don’t Post & Ghost

Oh no, you’re not ghosting, are you? Creating engaging content, scheduling and posting it is only the first step in successful social media marketing. One of the most common mistakes businesses make on social media is neglecting to interact with their followers after posting. It might sound obvious, but social media is meant to be – well – social! Make sure to e-n-g-a-g-e in conversations with your followers by responding to comments and messages on your platforms. Remember, social media’s actual value lies in your discussions and interactions with your audience.

Different Platforms, Different Content Requirements

Boy, oh boy, running your business is hectic, hey? When you’re time-poor, it’s natural to want to use the same content across all social media channels. However picky little things they are, each platform is looking for something slightly different. It’s essential to restructure, resize, and adjust it to fit each platform’s requirements. Keep in mind that different platforms have different audiences and preferences for content. For example, a behind-the-scenes video may perform well on Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok but may not have the same impact on LinkedIn if the caption is not tailored to the platform’s audience and tone. Does it sound like a lot? I’ve got you. I can help. 

Map It Out

Ever tried to get to a new place without directions? Navigating social without a roadmap can feel like you’re on an endless drive around Spaghetti Junction. A content roadmap will guide you from where you are to where you want to be. Simple, hey? To create an effective social media content roadmap, it’s essential to first understand a) your audience, b) analyse current content, and c) identify your business objectives. 

A great place to start is by looking back at the route you’ve just taken. By assessing the performance of your recent content, you can use this information to build a weekly content plan. A monthly editorial calendar is crucial when managing multiple social media channels; it keeps you organised and on track with creating, planning, and posting content.

Top Tip: Look at ways to improve and enhance existing content; it’s not always about the new.

Plan, Batch, Schedule (repeat)

It’s one of Daft Punk’s lesser-known hits: Plan, Batch, Schedule (repeat). Social media batching is a time-saving strategy involving creating, planning and scheduling your social media content. Like meal prep for marketing. This could be for a month, two weeks or a week. It includes planning, writing captions, choosing/taking images, creating videos, and scheduling in one sitting. This technique ensures consistency in your brand voice, cohesive content and a continuous connection with your audience. Scheduling tools like Planoly, Later, Agorapulse, or even directly scheduling on some platforms like Instagram can help you automate the process and free up time for other essential business tasks.

Top Tip: After years of praying to the Social Media Gods, Instagram (finally) announced that users could schedule reels on the platform directly! Hall-e-lu-jah.

Balance It Out

The ancient Greek philosophers, and also De La Soul, believed that 3 was a magic number; a number of harmony. That’s certainly evident in the success of the golden rule of thirds in creating engaging content. This formula creates balance and harmony in your social media presence, especially for service-based businesses.

What is it? Well, the theory suggests dedicating one-third of your content to sharing expertise and adding value to your audience, one-third to giving an exclusive behind-the-scenes look into your work process and culture, and one-third to promoting your services or products. By offering a mixture of informative content, humanised behind-the-scenes content, and promoting your unique offerings, you can build connections and trust with your audience, ultimately leading to the growth of your business. And trust me, the ancient Greeks were so hot on Instagram. 

Give me a shout if you need help with your social media planning. It’s what I’m here for! 

The post 7 Guiding Principles To Elevate Your Social Media Planning appeared first on Jem Bahaijoub Consulting - Social Never Sleeps.

Nowadays, you don’t even have to slip out of your onesie or leave your front door. Amen to that. But what does “discoverable” mean in the context of your social media presence? ‘Discoverable’ means making it easy to be found by your ideal client, so your target audience can understand who you are and what you are. It’s top-of-the-funnel stuff: the first step in supporting your customer journey.

You don’t have to hope to catch a wave, though; there is an obsession with “going viral” on social media, and I think this obsession is counter-productive to business growth. We only hear the success stories. Not the failures. The stories of people working consistently hard over a long period before achieving success on social media. I saw a quote the other day that said, “the only place success comes before work is in the dictionary”, and I think that applies here too. Put in the work for your discoverability, and I’m positive you’ll see an impact.

Start by reframing your thinking; think about being discoverable. Here are seven tips for achieving this:

Use Keywords

When you hear the term “keywords”, you’re probably thinking, “isn’t that a website thing?” Well, yes, it is. It’s linked to SEO – search engine optimisation.

It also applies to social media. You can boost your SEO on social media by placing keywords in the following:

• your captions
• your title or bio
• hashtags 
• Alt-text (this is the text that should accompany an image)

Keywords should be related to your niche, industry, services, audience and location (if your audience is local).

Keywords are super important as social media has become a research tool, not just a social platform. It’s reported that 75% of internet users use social media to research products, and I, for one, am not surprised. For example, YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world. Pinterest is like a search engine for images; LinkedIn and Instagram have searchable headlines.

By using keywords in your social media content, you are achieving two things:

1. Telling the algorithm who to serve your content to
2. Showing up in search results for your ideal client 

Cross-Promote

My second tip is to cross-promote your social media platforms across all other online and offline marketing platforms. Social media doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s there to complement and align with all of your other marketing activities. 

You can promote yourself on your:

• Website
• Blog posts
• Business cards, flyers and banners
• On your other social platforms
• Email signature
• Newsletter
• At networking events

Create Social Proof

People buy in different ways, and a large proportion of people need social proof to get them over the line. What is it? Well, put simply, social proof is the idea that consumers will adapt their behaviour (i.e. potentially buy/take the next step) according to what others say or do. Let me give you an example: 

Imagine you walk past a restaurant….

We’ve all been to a restaurant where we were worried about stepping inside because the place seemed empty. Still, within 10 minutes of you being in there, another couple of people have sat down. Before their orders have been taken, there’s another bunch of people coming in, and the place is full before long. It only takes one or two people to start a whole influx.

It’s the same with fuelling brand advocacy. Basically, get people talking about YOUR brand FOR you! 

As a small biz owner, there are several ways you can do this:

• Encourage online reviews and testimonials
• Fuel peer-to-peer recommendations (BNI is an excellent example of this offline, and Facebook groups are a great example online)
• Showcase your credentials and awards
• Build an engaged online community
• Invest in an influencer marketing campaign

Engage with Others

Social media is meant to be social! Do not post and ghost. The more you engage with others, the more they become aware of your brand in an organic way. 

When you are at a networking event, who do you remember at the end of the day? The people you spoke to, or the people you just walked past? It’s always the people you’ve talked to. This applies online, too. Engagement makes you memorable.

With social media, you can utilise the following tools to make your engagement more manageable and strategic: 

• Add potential clients to your “Favourites” List on Instagram
• Build Twitter lists
• Utilise the LinkedIn bell notification or LinkedIn Sales Navigator

It’s simple but so effective! Engaging with others instantly boosts your discoverability.

Post Consistently

You’ve probably heard that being said repeatedly, mostly from moi, but it is one drum that I will continue to bang the bejesus out of. Yes, there is much more to social media success than consistently posting, but there is value in prioritising consistency over perfection. 

Posting imperfectly will always be better than not posting at all.

There is a social psychology theory behind this. 

It’s called the “Mere Exposure Effect”, a term coined by social psychologist Robert Zajonc in 1968. It states that repeatedly exposing people to something will develop a preference for it over time. Repeated exposure increases familiarity, which leads to sales! 

So posting consistently matters! It contributes to the power of persuasion. 

Understand Priority Content

Each platform favours particular types of content and not only that, but it changes like the flippin’ wind. My newsletters help you keep up with these constant changes if you still need to sign up. 

Once you know which platforms prioritise what, it should inform your content strategy. Video rules across most platforms.

Give them what they want, and it will make you more discoverable as the algorithm thanks you in the form of exposure. 

It’s not always easy, but it’s always necessary!

Deliver Compelling Content

My final tip is a dinky little one, but so essential to remember: create compelling content for your audience!

Add value to their scroll, their day – nay, even their life (without trying to sound too dramatic)! It’s about them, not you.

Need more tips and insights? Sign up for my weekly Tiny Tip Tuesday newsletter series for snackable social media tips directly to your inbox. Yum.

The post 7 Things To Do Right Now To Improve Your Discoverability On Social Media appeared first on Jem Bahaijoub Consulting - Social Never Sleeps.

I know that’s probably not what you want to hear, as one of the most common questions I get asked from clients and colleagues about social media marketing is “how often should I post on social media as a small business owner?” I’d love to give you a formula: n-(n² x ) where ‘n’ is Instagram posts per day and ‘’ is cat memes. But alas, there’s no “one-size fits all” answer to this question. Here’s a few factors that will inform your decision, however: 

– your goals; the loftier your ambitions, the potential that you might need to increase your activity. However, to counter that I’d always favour quality over quantity.
– which platforms you are going to be using; and of course,
– your resources; don’t overcommit yourself – consistency is key, so only plan what you can keep up.

Let’s break those points down:

First off, your goals…

You’ve heard me say it before, but you need a clear goal to be able to judge whether you’re smashing it or not! Your posting frequency on social media depends on your overall marketing strategy and its goals, which can change every month or quarter. For example, if you are launching a new product or service, I recommend posting every day for a good four to six weeks in the lead-up to the launch. If your goals, on the other hand, are to simply maintain visibility and social proof,  then you can post less… as long as you’re consistent. And if you want to drastically increase your followers and reach, then it goes without saying that you need to post as often as possible; more posts = more reach = more potential followers!

Next up are the platforms…

Another factor to consider is the platforms you are using. Fickle little things that they are, every platform is different, and the life span (and potential reach) of a post varies on each one. For example, Twitter requires you to post multiple times per day to maintain visibility. However, on LinkedIn, you can get away with posting 2-3 times per week. As I’ve said before, quality over quantity is essential here; this all links back to your goals! (see above!).

Lastly, Your Resources…

When I talk about resources, you might think I mean tools, perhaps money – sure, they’re a key ingredient, but the most fundamental resource is your own time. Know your worth, my loves! When thinking about how often to post on social media, you need to work out what is sustainable for you as a business, not just this week or this month, but beyond. Can I get a “consistency is essential”, from the congregation please?! If you’re a solo entrepreneur wearing all the hats, believe me, you’re absolutely rocking them, but posting daily may not be doable. However, if you’re a growing business with the funds to outsource or hire someone in-house, go ahead and commit to posting daily. 

Don’t nail your strategy or frequency to the mast though. The beautiful thing about social media marketing is that you can test and analyse what works for you, then adapt your tactics when you need to. Start off small and manageable, and then see where a bit more attention would pay dividends. 

Need more tips and insights? Sign up for my weekly Tiny Tip Tuesday newsletter series for snackable social media tips directly to your inbox. Yum.

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1. Ethical Marketing

Less of a trend and more about exercising your values through your comms output, ethical marketing is hallmarked on its honesty and usually its commitment to a cause. Take shoe brand TOMS, for example; their growth plan was built around marketing the fact that for pair of their shoes that were bought, they would donate a pair to those in need. They didn’t focus their marketing on the style of the product, nor on their demographic. Neither did they develop their product line until late in their life cycle; they simply saturated the market with their message about donating shoes.
As a society, we’re starting to expect more from our brands, as we shop more ethically too. We expect transparency from retailers when they try to promote their own values. Take Primark for example they have recently tried to clean up their fast-fashion image by taking steps like signing the Cotton Pledge, which boycotts Uzbekistan cotton, yet they have been slow to respond or take action against the claims of them not providing a living wage to their employees.

So how can you apply this to your marketing plan in 2022? Well, it starts by asserting your own values but then importantly, acting on them. For instance, if you post something about loving your community, why not follow it up by donating supplies to your local foodbank, or helping with a homeless kitchen. Ask yourself, if you’re not willing to walk the walk, should you talk the talk?!

2. Get Immersive with Experiential Marketing

Let me start by saying that even if your business is purely online, you should still read on! Why? Well, the principles of experiential marketing are a really good exercise to take your business through for some marketing inspiration. Put simply, experiential marketing is about giving your audience, or potential customers an immersive, full sensory experience. It can work both offline and online. One example off-line that I’ve seen work recently is John Lewis, who has been heavily pushing their in-store stylist service. John Lewis is aware that the edge they have over their online competitors are their stores and staff. So while they may market the message online, their efforts are pushed towards getting you in-store, in front of a human (shocker!) and upselling you, of course. It sounds mad that nowadays it’s not the norm to go and try on clothes, have a feel of the fabric and chat to the assistants about whether it actually suits you, but with the ease of buying online, it’s something we do less and have less chance of building brand loyalty.

This concept can work online too. You don’t have to throw a major event or have a shopfront to make use of experiential marketing; with social media, you can utilise live streaming, virtual reality, gaming, and paid-for creator subscription models. A great example is Lili Nas’s concert on Roblox during lockdown which was attended 33 million times. It’s all about the experiences you can create for your audience!

3. Welcome to The Metaverse

Even if your only experience of virtual reality so far is your 10-year old punching the air with a VR headset on, virtual reality is something that we’re going to have to get used to. Why? Because one of the biggest companies in the world, Facebook (or Meta as we’re supposed to call them now) have told us to. It’s not just them, of course, but when the biggest marketing powerhouse, who own Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp tell us they’re going virtual, it’s a good idea for us to get clued up. Let’s talk about this simply: if people are starting to spend more time in an alternate universe, as a brand, you’re going to want to be the big name on their virtual high street. It’s no surprise then that companies have started to buy ‘real estate’ in these virtual worlds, and big fashion brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton have even designed virtual designer threads to kit out your avatar.

4. Influencer Marketing Hasn’t Reached Its Peak Yet

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock (hey, no blame here – it sounds cosy), you’ll have come across the growth of influencer marketing; that is, leveraging the following of others accounts to promote your brand. Although 2021 was a peak year for influencer marketing, buoyed by increased screen time owing to the pandemic and increased popularity in platforms like Tik Tok, the strategy doesn’t seem to be abating for 2022, especially regarding the rise of B2B influencers. One reason to consider including it in your marketing mix, even if you haven’t previously, are the increasing number of tools that help you as a business get matched with the right influencers, and be able to report on the campaign’s efficacy alongside your other marketing efforts. You may even be able to become the influencer yourself. Platforms like Tik Tok and Instagram Reels have made it very easy to reach large possibly niche audiences who are looking for your service or product. LinkedIn, on the other hand, has introduced more and more tools for creators to leverage their influencer status.

5. Memes

The other day my 11-year-old created his first meme. He had only had his new phone for a week. This made me realise something – memes are a staple of Gen Z culture and are set to rise in popularity even more. What is a meme, I hear you say? Memes are “an idea, behaviour, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme” (Thanks, Wikipedia). Remember the Bernie Sanders memes that went viral last year? Memes are a great way to inject humour into your social media communications and join trending conversations. Knowing meme, knowing you!

What trends do you predict for 2022?

The post Social Media Marketing Trends for 2022 appeared first on Jem Bahaijoub Consulting - Social Never Sleeps.

It got me thinking about how each of the social media platforms requires a slightly different knowledge base and execution, but also should work together for the overall goal of marketing your business. Thankfully, understanding mastering each of these disciplines can be done without squeezing yourself into any form of lycra, unless that’s your thing. So let’s have a run-down of the business purpose of each* social media platform.

*This isn’t an exhaustive list – I know there’s Clubhouse, Tik Tok, Snapchat and more to consider, but I try to focus on the platforms that bring the most meaningful growth to my fabulous clients.

Facebook

Head of the eponymous conglomerate, the Facebook platform itself still holds the title for most active users with a quite healthy 2.853 billion worldwide. Old Zuckerberg and his friends have done alright since creating the platform in their dorm rooms and recruiting their mates.

Facebook has placed more emphasis on community in the last couple of years, so while the potency of brand pages took a sharp nosedive, there are still meaningful ways to interact with your customers through Facebook Groups or perhaps directly selling your products through their e-commerce platform. Facebook remains a great way of announcing and promoting events too, giving attendees the chance to share their RSVPs and encourage others to join.

Instagram

Like Facebook, Instagram’s gone through a major evolution, but probably more so. At its heart, the little indie photo-sharing app launched and gained popularity through its filters, helping us turn sorry selfies into glossy mag worthy close-ups (I’ve never looked better than with Nashville). Now it’s so far from just a photo-sharing app that they mentioned it in their recent company announcements on changes to the algorithm.

Like with all the platforms, the changes present opportunities, and businesses have really thrived on Instagram when building community, speaking directly to customers or harnessing influencer marketing.  They too allow seamless e-commerce through their Instagram shopping tab, which is set to dominant even more beyond 2021.

Twitter

No platform has arguably got a better finger on the pulse than Twitter, who really were the original champions of the words ‘trending’ and ‘hashtag’. Breaking down cultural and geographical barriers, Twitter gives you the news from the heart of the action in any sector, from politics to entertainment.

For businesses, there are two directions that work well: business-to-business and consumer-to-business. Twitter is a great social listening tool to gauge general sentiment towards your business, but it becomes harder for businesses to speak directly to customers. That’s not to say it doesn’t happen, or happen well; take the recent joint campaign from Weetabix and Heinz, who set Twitter alight with response to their beans on Weetabix meal suggestion. Barf-worthy idea, but from a marketing perspective, it couldn’t have been tastier.

Youtube

Launched back in 2005, if you were a company concerned with cats chasing laser pens, or perhaps riding a robot hoover, you were quids in. However, YouTube grew quickly beyond its usage as a sort of You’ve Been Framed portal into something that Google recognised had universal appeal, prompting their $1.65 billion acquisition of the platform in 2006, just a year later. Now that’s a payday.

Nowadays YouTube is recognised for its authority as the second most popular search engine (even if we don’t think of it in this way), with content creators providing thought leadership in every industry, from ‘How to Fix a Leaky Tap’ to the Pope’s ‘Our Moral Imperative to Act on Climate Change.’ Unboxing and ‘unbiased’ reviews are also a great boost for e-commerce marketing, with the option for influencers to add affiliate links.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is the spiritual home of business online. Even though other social media platforms have tried their hand (can we say a quick RIP to Google+), keeping your work profile and your social profile separate has been LinkedIn’s currency since its inception.

Not a lot has changed since Microsoft’s acquisition of the platform, and its cornerstones of purpose remain the same: to provide thought leadership, build strategic business connections, hire talent and provide possible lead opportunities for businesses.

Pinterest

Home of craft moms and DIYers, wedding inspiration and diet meal plans, Pinterest is your digital fridge door, with their ‘pins’ acting like fridge magnets, saving ideas, recipes, quotes and more for either referral later or just to delight you. Like YouTube, Pinterest has become as much a search engine as a social network, with users engaging with the content rather than other users.

E-commerce businesses can add ‘rich pins’, which carry price details and a direct link to your online shop, increasing the chance of conversion.

So let’s recap on the main business purposes of each social media platform:

Facebook – Community building, events and customer service.

Instagram – E-commerce, community building and influencer marketing.

Twitter – Social listening and customer service.

LinkedIn – Talent acquisition, thought-leadership and strategic partnerships.

YouTube – SEO and influencer marketing.

Pinterest – SEO and e-commerce.

I hope this overview of the business purpose of each social media platform has served as a reminder of the unique opportunities available to businesses – to you – and given you some inspiration on the best content or connections to create for each one.

The post The Business Purpose Of Each Social Media Platform – A 2021 Comparison appeared first on Jem Bahaijoub Consulting - Social Never Sleeps.

Canva vs. Canva Pro

Canva is the industry leading social media post design software. Their free version gives you an absolute wealth of designs, layouts, fonts, graphics and stock images to choose from and the interface is very intuitive. Arguably though, there’s so much you can do with stock fonts and images, but if your branding uses a particular typeface, using it in your branded social media posts will be the difference between it looking kinda right to spot on. This functionality of adding your own fonts – Canva calls this their Canva Pro package – will have you reaching for your wallet. While the prices aren’t bank-breaking (pay yearly and you can get Canva Pro for £99.99 / year for 1 user), you may be able to achieve the same thing for free…

Using Powerpoint or Keynote to design social posts

Most of us will have had to knock together a Powerpoint or Keynote throughout our careers, but did you know that they’re actually brilliant for designing social posts? With your brand fonts generally already loaded onto to your computer, you already have an easy way of adding them to your slide as adding a text box will allow to you browse through your system fonts. Think of each slide like a canvas, where you can change the background colour to your brand colours and add imagery like your logo or photos.

The key to using Keynote or Powerpoint for design is in selecting a different document size. So for Instagram posts, for example, you would change your document slide size to a square – I recommend 1080px x 1080px. Not sure how to change your document size on Keynote or Powerpoint? Don’t worry – I’ve taken the hard work out for you and created templates for

• Change the document size – Powerpoint
• Change the document size – Keynote

Social Media Post Sizes

• Instagram post: 1080px x 1080px minimum
• Instagram stories / reels: 1080px wide by 1920px high
• Facebook shared image: 1200px x 630px although square images (same as Instagram) work fine too
• Twitter post: 1200px wide x 675px high
• Linkedin shared image post: 1200px wide x 627px high

Free Keynote Templates for Social Media – including PPT versions

• DOWNLOAD TEMPLATES

Adding free stock images and animation to your branded social media social posts

So what about free stock imagery to use in your designs? Well, my favourite free image resource is Unsplash.com – they have literally millions of copyright free images for you to use, which means you’re not going to get in trouble for including them in your designs. They’re also nice big files, which means they look great on all sizes of device too – you could use them as blog post images without them becoming pixelated on larger screens.

We’ve probably all experienced a Powerpoint presentation where the transitions and text animations detract from the content of the slide, but just a little gentle animation added to your slides here could look great. Maybe your final slide is just your logo with a little ‘Pop’ animation added, to catch the users’ eye. We can even import videos and gifs into Powerpoint and Keynote, and then slap our logo on top of it. This functionality is something that you’d have to be fairly experienced at in any video editing software, but is super simple in Keynote and Powerpoint. But how do you save a presentation file like that as something that would work on social?

Exporting Keynote and Powerpoint as Image or Video Files

Here’s where the second important step comes in – the saving. Both Powerpoint and Keynote have options to export your file as a video, a gif or a series of images (as well as their normal PDF and presentation format files). There are options to adjust the timing between each slide transition, meaning you can make the clips longer or shorter if needed. As the timing is even, rather than different per slide, a little tip here is to duplicate a slide a few times if you’d like it to last on screen longer than some of the other slides.

So there you have it – the secret to creating branded social media posts without signing up for any service or downloading any more apps. Create branded Reels content, add a logo sting to the end of your image posts, and keep your content on point on terms of branding. You. Are. Welcome.

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