Ramping up your social media marketing in the New Year

Just when you think you've got the hang of social media, things change, and you have to reconsider your approach. That's because it's a moveable feast, forever evolving, adapting and responding to new needs. This year is no different. With trends, attitudes and behaviours changing following the seismic year we've all gone through, it's time to get your head around what's coming up.

In this newsletter, we're focusing on five of the biggest social media trends of 2021 and how they can improve how you interact with your audience online.

Improving ROI

In the wake of the pandemic, many businesses are doing all they can to recoup lost sales and depressed performance. This includes short-term social media marketing tactics to increase brand awareness, re-engage existing clients and find new ones. According to a recent survey, 73% of marketers ranked "increasing acquisition of new customers" as their top goal for the coming year. One way to do this is by creating engaging and interactive content that resonates with your target audience and provides value. Think high-quality premium articles, videos and user-generated content.  Here at WEBPRO, one of our unwavering missions is to help our clients get their messages across through engaging, flawless and shareable content.

Listening more

One of the reasons some brands struggle with social media is they are always in transmission mode, hardly ever in receive. They keep pumping out sales messages, which is the equivalent of going up to someone at a party and bellowing in their ear, "Buy from me! Buy from me!" Brands also misjudge the type of content their followers really want. But one hot new trend that could start to pay dividends is listening more. Stand back and pay attention to what your followers are talking about on your feeds. What content are they sharing among themselves? Use these insights to help you decide when and how to engage with followers. This is something that can take up an incredible amount of time but don’t worry, WEBPRO can help!

Reaching out to the baby boomers

Marketers have long ignored the generation born between 1946 and 1964, but baby boomers are a digital savvy and lucrative audience. Around 70% of internet users aged 55-64 say they've bought something online during the past month. While many people lost their jobs during the pandemic's height, baby boomers, by and large, fared better with healthier finances than younger generations. They are particularly active on Facebook, and companies that ignore this demographic could be missing out on a potential goldmine. In 2021, let WEBPRO put together a targeted marketing campaign to help you really connect with this often ignored group of consumers.

Understanding engagement data to better know the audience

Many social media marketers have a poor understanding of what type of customers they are engaging online. It could be a prospect, a long-term client or even an employee (past, present or future). If you're unsure of who you're reaching, the chances are you'll find it challenging to form a deep and meaningful relationship with them. You could be wasting a lot of time generating engagement that doesn't pay off.

A promising solution is using paid social media ads, which come with detailed reporting metrics that tell you exactly your audience's makeup, allowing you to deliver relevant content to the right people. WEBPRO’s social media gurus can drive old, new and existing clients to your front door through highly targeted ad campaigns.

Delivering on values

Consumer expectations have changed significantly over the last year. They're not only judging brands on the quality of their products and services but also on how well they live up to their values and the positive contributions they make to the world. The consumer's authentic voice is more powerful than it has ever been, and companies have to listen and deliver content that recognises and responds to this. Businesses that only provide brand-driven narratives can expect to lose some of their audience. That is why it is now more crucial than ever that you have an expert doing this kind of work for you.

Recap: Understanding and applying social media trends can help your business better connect with your existing clients and attract new ones.

PS: At WEBPRO, we closely follow what's going on in the social media world and make it our business to know what's hot and what's not. We're continually looking at how we can apply the latest trends in our work to achieve our clients' goals.