Hacking social media marketing just got a little tougher with Twitter’s announcement to restrict retweeting in July of this year. It’s still early to say the noisy environment created by spam marketers that push lackluster “freebies” is over, but with developers are trying to limit the abilities of marketers on every platform to bring the power back to users who abandoned the platform. This change will do what we’ve all been waiting for, which is bringing back good old-fashioned quality content.
Now, don’t take this the wrong way. Not all spammers were selling crappy infotainment. Some were very valuable. I should know because I bought a bunch of those “guaranteed” to get me the laptop lifestyle courses. I’m sorry to say that despite even the great courses still yielded me working at Starbucks and freezing cold winters.
However, throughout that process were the occasional duds despite my sometimes strenuous vetting process. It’s good to see big-time marketers starting to say I told you so and the quality is starting to come back.
We definitely need a revamp the way we marketers view social media marketing. It can’t just be a way to get numbers. It needs to come back as a true community building tool with the right intentions. Social media has the potential to enhance the global economy in ways regular education will never come close.
It’s also a way for people of all ages to make the connections they couldn’t ever make in their local communities. The internet creates options if we just choose to think bigger. Let’s not limit social media marketing to the dregs of selling worthless how to flip Chinese earrings courses.
I think we’ve only scratched the surface of what social media is all about. Use this article to learn the easy-mode social media marketing rules for the next decade.
Automate To Teach
If your social media marketing provides the most cutting-edge infotainment then, by all means, you have my blessing, but what I recommend it to create unique, creative, current and native content for every platform you leverage. Yes, it will become a huge blow for people who base their businesses on spam-posting all the time on social media, but this will force everyone to just get better at how they market themselves.
Headlines become undoubtedly more important and the content within must have the options of being consumed anywhere, anytime.
Those who became accustomed to taking shortcuts will be forced to outsource or just work harder. That’s not the most fun thought to think about but after a little bit of time, people will realize it’s really not that different and the more people start to use the platforms again the more the quality posts will stand out.
Automation allowed mediocre marketers and savvy clickbait headline producers the ability to shine when they really shouldn’t have. It polluted the platform and alienated many casual users away to other platforms. Watch the decline of posting statistics when the spambots are completely taken away.
Twitter’s Change Can’t Come Soon Enough
Twitter realizing that their social network is suffering because of the spambots and making this change is an amazing first step in their recovery.
If you go on Twitter these days, it’s hard to find anything but lead magnets. Everything is all about scaling traffic and not actually using the platform. The problem is the duplicate content getting retweeted over multiple accounts. Twitter was meant to give people the most up-to-date news. If users are allowed to create multiple accounts and continuously retweet without the end user in mind then the platform gets destroyed.
Instead of it being a way to business development with people that would otherwise be difficult to get a hold of, it’s turned into a disgusting version of QVC. No one wants that. Let’s focus on what to do on Twitter now that the retweet bots are being eighty-sixed.
Twitter has an enormous amount of useful information on it if you know how to look for it. Use the advanced Twitter search techniques to filter out the links unless you like that sort of thing.
The next section gets into the meat and potatoes of the do’s and don’ts of the post-revamp of social media marketing.
The 4 Easy Social Media Marketing Strategies
There is a saving grace for social media marketing spammers. You can go back to what you did before you became addicted to your automation. Create the best content and be transparent. As Gary Vee talks about coming, just document your story every day. It’s simple, but sometimes not easy unless you understand that it’s what you’re people seek.
We know reality television is still in. People love watching other people living their lives to the max no matter what “the max” is at the current time. If you focus on the right things, the potential you show will get many people to enjoy your content.
The right things include your screw-ups, victories, revelations, special situations, your meals, etc.
Here is your checklist for each piece you put on social media no matter which platform you use. If you’re looking for my specific branding information then check out these articles to understand the intricacies of understanding what to do next.
1. Unique Content is King.
Learn to sidestep your industry by understanding that content is king. You have to insert your uniqueness into the mundane to make the story something of substance.
Don’t be shy to tell your story more than once. It should be a part of every piece in some shape. That doesn’t mean you regurgitate the cliff notes version of your story every time. It means you represent the core values you’ve learned over time.
If you’re not keeping a journal of everything you’ve learned in your journey to wherever you’re at now, your missing out and so are your customers. They want to know what makes you tick so they don’t have to. Plus, showing your humanity makes you much more attractive.
Don’t skip the opportunity to turn yourself into the magnet you’ve always wanted to be. What, did you think it would happen on its own? As writers say, learn to bleed.
2. Transparency is Not Just For Millennial Markets
Companies that tell the truth as their go-to social media marketing strategy don’t just appeal to millennials. They are the future kings of the mountain. Look at Dominos in one of our previous articles. They are the epitome of what transparency can do in any market.
Who knew social media marketing could produce a 200 point stock price jump? Then look for ways to tell the truth. Turnarounds like that don’t come around every day just like the people that it takes to pull something like that off. Just adopting this simple truth will change your public persona immediately.
If you’re using automation to spam the masses, stop doing it now and revamp your approach. Your integrity will be restored in a matter of weeks if you choose transparency as a tactic for social media marketing.
3. Document Over Create
Everyone loves good reality television, and taking their lead on the content you create is a great way to create quality information every day. Think about adding video marketing to your arsenal like your local news station. Most of the time there really isn’t much to talk about, so they go pretty deep on what’s happening in the community and sometimes go outside their comfort zone to ensure they have something to talk about every day.
You can do the exact same thing. If you’re keeping up with what is happening in your industry there shouldn’t be a reason why you cannot tie your company’s mission into the daily events that surround your industry. If you’re good, you can even tie in politics, books, videos, etc. to provide more color to your stories.
This is why the social media stories function on most platforms is so popular. It allows you to share a small, but creative and customizable daily update on your journey. All companies and influencers should use this function to share the details of the ins and outs of your business.
4. Mobile Optimization is a Must
Every part of your social media marketing strategy needs to consider mobile optimization. Even Google is going “mobile-first” these days. This means that audio and video should be integrated into everything you do.
Start a podcast and a Youtube channel immediately. Spend your time creating options for your followers. They want your content in all forms, which totally destroys the whole video versus written debate.
Here’s a formula to follow…
If you blog, don’t stop there. Create a video, podcast, blog and micro-content all relating to each other. Then disperse that data to each social platform within the guidelines of the platform to qualify it as native content.
If you follow this premise you’ll be good to go.
Avoid The Temptation to Cut Corners
Social Media Marketing is as you know an extremely fast-paced environment. If you want to know how to get ahead, stick to the basics of the long game outlined above. Refuse the urge to cut corners at all costs. It will destroy your brand and create many issues for you in the long-run.
Less content is better than bad content. Some say more is better, but I can agree with that. More mediocre content make you boring and being boring is worse than not being everywhere. It will force into nowhere.
If you can be everywhere and be quality then you have the best of both worlds.
