Due to the pandemic, social media usage has skyrocketed.
But simultaneously, click-through and engagement rates have fallen.
Why?
And what can you do to make sure your social media program is actually connecting with customers and prospects?
For his SEJ eSummit session, Jay Baer, Founder of Convince & Convert, unveiled the TV network framework he and his consulting team use to help the world’s biggest brands get and stay on track with their social media.
He also covered the three types of shows you need to be producing in social in these COVID-19 times.
Here’s a recap of his presentation.
Competition is tougher than it’s always been.
In response, majority of marketers make more and push harder.
We create more content and publish more on social media.
But the reality is when we opt for this approach, sometimes that doesn’t feel so good to our prospects and customers.
This is probably how they feel when you push a little too hard.
A+ for message consistency and call to action. Lower marks for subtlety.
This is how it feels to your customers when you come on a little too strong.
But you don’t have to do that.
There is another way.
You won’t succeed by pushing harder nor spending more.
To succeed with social (or search), your customers and fans must help it spread.
The best way to get attention is for your customers to do that for you.
But there’s a couple of things that have to happen for that to work.
How do you actually do that?
How to Get People to Pay Attention to Your Social Media Content
It Must Be Someone’s Absolute Favorite
If you’re going to make content of any kind, it has to be somebody’s absolute favorite thing of that type in the world.
The problem with most social and search content is that it tries to please too many people.
We all tell ourselves the same lie.
“The reason nobody pays attention to me on social media is that they just don’t have time.”
This is not true.
It’s not about time.
When you provide somebody what they want, in the format they prefer, and give it to them when they need it, the time necessary to consume that thing magically appears.
Relevancy creates time and creates attention.
“What’s the perfect content for a specific audience?” is a better strategy than “What’s good content for a broader audience?”
It Must Be Found & Consumed
We’re all fighting against the same algorithms.
In order to fight against that, we have to make sure that our content is locatable by our customers.
Many social media posts reach 1%of your audience – or less.
If you have 100,000 people liking your Facebook page and you publish a post, in almost every case, fewer than a thousand of them will see it.
So, how do you fight against that?
Think Like a TV Network & Create Shows
You need to stop random acts on social media and create shows that you can put out on a consistent basis.
The benefits?
- Content creation and promotion efficiencies: When you’re doing similar things over and over, you get faster and better at it and you gain efficiencies over time.
- Audience discovery and tune-in: As you do the same kind of work in social repeatedly, your audience will notice it and tune in – which is not possible when you approach social media from a random standpoint.
- Algorithm advantage: Because your audience will find it, they will engage with it. That tells the algorithms and social media that what you are publishing has merit and they consequently will show it to more people.
- Downstream memorability and awareness: Doing something once is unlikely to break through. Sometimes things go viral. But usually, they don’t. If you do the same kind of thing over and over, eventually it starts to take root.
- Repetition of CTAs.
Here are the ingredients of a social media show:
- Consistent target audience(s): You’re trying to reach the same people, the same types of people each time.
- Consistent format(s): A show is a show in that it is executed and produced the same way. Either it’s a podcast, a video show, an ebook, a series of interviews on Facebook, etc. It’s not one day an interview and the next day it’s an interactive quiz.
- Consistent distribution, window, and amplification: If you’re going to have a show that is episodic, you publish it at a specified time slot consistently (e.g., Wednesdays at 2 p.m.). You also want to amplify it the same way (e.g., two organic tweets to promote the episode and one paid Instagram post).
- Consistent calls-to-action: You’re asking the audience to do the same thing every time they engage with this particular type of social media content.
3 Types of Social Media Shows You Can Create
There are three types of shows you can start creating now.
1. Binge-Worthy Shows
This is the episodic, consistent execution similar to what we see on television.
What They Are
- Usually top of the funnel content: They’re not necessarily about your products or services, but more of entertainment-focused and broader education type of content.
- Often video or audio: They can be a video series on YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, or IGTV, as well as a podcast.
- High production value.
- Often weekly.
- CTA = Subscribe.
Examples
Oracle Marketing Cloud’s “On the Fly”, which is produced by Convince & Convert, is a video series with small bites of marketing advice and training from marketing experts – delivered while they are on the road.
Another example is Baer’s weekly marketing podcast, Social Pros.
In the show, he interviews a guest who either manages social media for a major brand, or has contributed expertise and counsel to the world of social media.
2. Special Event Shows
In TV, this would be the Emmys or Grammys, a special broadcast lookback, etc.
It’s a special program that occurs once or over a short run.
In marketing, that might be a webinar, an ebook, or a report.
What They Are
- Usually mid-funnel: It’s equal parts of entertainment and information.
- Often white papers, reports, webinars.
- Highest production value.
- Monthly or quarterly.
- CTA = Download or Register: You’re gathering data from prospects to create a lead and push them further down into the funnel.
Example
Podium hosts webinars with topics that their prospects might find valuable.
3. News & Updates
NBC, ABC, CNN, and other networks all have news.
These are the regular updates that you have on social media – which is what most people do.
They only have this kind of show and that’s the wrong approach.
What They Are
- Usually mid to low funnel (most similar to email).
- Often short posts, product announcements, time-based content.
- Lowest production value.
- Daily.
- CTA = Stay informed or click through to specific webpage.
How to Keep Track
To approach this, you want to make sure that you are creating all three types of shows and you’re being intentional about your calls to action.
Baer recommends using a content execution brief to keep track of everything.
3 Takeaways: How to Get People to Pay Attention
To find success in social media nowadays, here are important reminders:
- To gain attention, get specific not broad.
- Random social media rarely works. Customers and algorithms want consistency.
- Use three types of shows to add order and effectiveness to your social media program.
Watch This Presentation
You can now watch the video of Baer’s full presentation from SEJ eSummit.
More Resources:
Image Credits
Featured Image: Paulo Bobita
All screenshots taken by author, September 2020
