Social Growing Gains

Social Growing Pains Gains

Let’s face it… people love spending time on Facebook. And brands have spent tons of time and money to build their presence there because of this fact. Crafting meaningful, organic content for Facebook has now become as standard as creating an ad or running a sale. But as with all things social, change is the name of the game. The most recent Facebook changes to their algorithm now means that organic brand content is having a harder time reaching the masses. Facebook maintains that the changes are aimed at delivering the highest quality content, but monetizing the platform is not a hidden agenda. While the reduction in organic reach may sting, these changes are helping to influence a shift in digital content strategy that in the end will deliver more value to brands.

Making Content Meaningful

To cut through the clutter and stand out among the deluge of information, brands must make the switch from reliance on gimmicky, shallow content and focus instead on value-laden material, leading to more meaningful relationships with consumers. (But it still needs to be fun and clever, of course!) Consumer preference continues to evolve towards authenticity and relevance instead of the more promotional focus that had previously been accepted. By understanding consumer insights and behavior, brands can continue to develop content that is breakthrough and more shareable.

More Than Just Facebook

Every day consumers on Facebook are seeing more and more brand content. But what’s standing out? And how do you cut through the clutter? It’s time to re-evaluate a Facebook-only strategy and diversify across other channels too. It’s what consumers are doing. Although Facebook remains a primary stomping ground, more and more consumers are finding other places to spend their time too. Smart brands understand this and are adopting a channel agnostic approach to their social outreach strategy that enables them to create content that is mapped to the consumer, not built for one channel.

Developing a clear social brand voice will enable authenticity no matter which channel is being used. This defined voice will allow brands to implement a digital content strategy centered on the channel usage patterns and preferences of their target audience as opposed to only gravitating towards the most known commodity.

There’s no doubt that Facebook’s role in helping to support the development of brand affinity and serving as a customer service platform continue to make it a valuable addition to a brand’s digital arsenal. The unmatched size of its community and ability to target users with immediate shopper opportunities makes it a channel that should not be ignored. High reach on Facebook can be achieved by focusing on bigger and exciting Facebook activations throughout the year, as well as associated paid media investment to boost reach.  But diversifying channel strategies, and focusing more on understanding engagement patterns and interests will help brands best leverage digital strategies and demonstrate the ROI of social engagement.