Social Media Ace
To begin, I'd like to state the obvious: social media has never been a primary medium for most brands outside of fashion and lifestyle. It was a constant uphill battle due to the lack of a sound social media strategy and the inability to prove the return on investment.
This was true, prior to the start of Covid, but it got importance during the lockdowns where it took the place of traditional marketing methods and has grown into its own world. Some of the features that stood out and when used smartly delivered excellent results such as:
Boom of the swipe culture:
The pandemic provided an opportunity to test and implement several strategies. Some won. Some didn’t. The ‘swipe’ though won hands down with the ease of usage it presented. Most importantly, social media marketing became an important tool and perhaps at the centre of a brand’s outreach strategy. 1. The swipe culture, where one swipe results in CTA. 2. Visually engaging creatives to get that attention. 3. Video format always ruled the content, Reels in social media just made it accessible to the user. This way, most marketers were able to achieve extremely high engagement rates and confidently discuss return on investment.
The foundation of any successful marketing strategy is in understanding your target audience and the use of the appropriate tool to conduct social listening on their behalf.
Smart Use of social media:
Refreshing your brand’s communication to align with the situation and needs is important.
Considering the Covid-driven adjustments, many businesses had to reinvent themselves on social media platforms. The demand from consumers resulted in a newer approach and effective communication skills. For instance, incorporating live streaming videos and leveraging the live features of Instagram and Facebook became an interesting platform for having conversations with the audience. Smart use of moment marketing by keeping an eye on the latest trends and capitalising on them intelligently helped brands appear smarter to a younger audience.
With billions of pieces of content being created daily, snap stories are also an extremely creative way to market instantly. Influencer marketing was another smart way to help drive insane ROI.
In my past assignment, we built a community with a mix of aspiring, new and industry’s leading social media influencers to create content that helped us reach a wider audience and garner significant recognition.
Create a stronger online brand community:
At Zolo, we have used social media effectively to foster and create a sense of community rather than to garner new subscribers..... With our #ZoloGotTalent" campaign, we used social media to provide our customers with a platform for them to showcase their talent. We also launched the #ZoloCare campaign, which connects those in need with those who can help.
Embracing the New-normal:
While we will evolve and alter the strategy by keeping up with the ever-changing media consumption habits, we will also be making social media an important part of our media mix for inbound marketing and most importantly improving on what has already worked well for us, building a community around the brand.
Finally, I would say that it is irrelevant how many things you do in marketing; what matters is the impact of the one thing you did. We must identify the winning play. All previous assumptions about effective marketing tools appear to be challenged in the new normal. It is critical to recognise your target audience's evolving needs and to understand how to better serve them. Maintain a state of readiness, availability, and activity, even in the most uncertain of times, in order to create opportunities for the present and future!
*The author is Rishi Sharma, VP, Marketing, Zolostays
