The Higher Syntax of Social Media Marketing

Lately I have been getting into podcasts and I figured I tried checking out a couple of content marketing podcast to continue learning more about the topic as well as keep up with the latest trends in content marketing. I have listened to few different content marketing podcasts but the one the stuck out to me and enjoyed listening to was “Social Media Social Hour” hosted by Tyler Anderson. In this episode, the topic of “growth hacking” is covered and discussed as a tool any business can use to build a larger following on social media. Tyler speaks to guest Derric Haynie about growth hacking and how it can be beneficial.

Growth hacking can be considered as trying to get a little for a lot but some believe it is tricky tactics to get a large number of followers. Create a scalable, repeatable, predictable process to grow a business from iterative testing and using a frame work to uncover the channels and tactics to leverage to scaling the growth. This could lead to greater revenues for a business and a framework for a business to build a large following. The goal shouldn’t be just getting followers but making sure it ties back to the metrics of business. A business should sit down and think about the impact of the content, the confidence of delivering, and the execution of delivering the content. With this process, a business can figure out what opportunities a business can take advantage of what projects to deliver. In defining what makes a project successful or not, it builds a level to measure to in executing a project. Keeping these ideas in mind can continue to make each project better and better. It separating the different channel outlets, a business can test and figure out what platforms are working to meet the goals. It can be more important to find out what is not working as oppose to what is working.

        Haynie recommends a business to not even deliver content unless there is a strategy. Sometimes having a non-active page can be better than delivering content aimlessly. A business should look to create realistic goals so that there are short measure of success and build on a strategy each day. Social media should be viewed and handled as another strategy or channel to market to consumer that becomes more of a distribution of content and information to consumers. It is key to run tests on each platform to figure out the difference of what works on each one. The consistency of how long to test is not so important, but instead what can be tested in a week to continue testing more often even though each test can take. This is an important part of process so that time and investments do not go to waste in crating the best content possible. There should be a meaning and purpose to creating content, and these tests can help determine what content is working. Haynie explains how it can take anywhere from 6 months to a year to really figure out what content is actually working on each platform. Throughout the process, the core of the business should not change so often so it does not change the scalability of determining effective content.

        Once an effective trend is determined on a channel, it is important to continue other tactics that work on the content, but also putting more effort into determining the best tactics for other platforms. Haynie finishes the interview recommending listeners to focus on failing to truly figure out the best content that works in delivering your message. Platforms such as twitter and Instagram now have data available to any business that shows what content is being engaged with the most. User do not even have to pay for this data and any business should look to use the data in creating the most effective strategy possible. Platforms are also now allowing businesses to further promote their content for a fee determined on how many estimated users will see the content.

          In looking to find more ways to continue building my skills in content marketing for my own music ventures, I am beginning to find the best ways to get the latest information and trend in content marketing. As a newer channel to reach consumers, content marketing continues to be a developing and changing tactic for any business marketing strategy. I look forward to continue listening to more podcasts from “Social Media Social Hour” to continue learning new ways to use content marketing to reach a greater audience.

SONG OF THE WEEK: 

Bank Account by 21 Savage

When it comes to social media marketing, Twitter can be one of the most effective platforms to bring more exposure to your business if used effectively. Twitter gives you a number of options in the type of content you can post, but more is not always better. In the article “5 Stupid Simple Tips to Drive Traffic from Twitter” by Ankit Roy, the author goes over a few ways any business can potentially increase their traffic on Twitter. More traffic on Twitter can lead to more exposure which can lead to more revenue for a brand.

The first tip Roy gives is effectively using links in tweets for readers to read more in depth about a topic or subject. If a reader has a link to further read on a topic, it builds more credibility for the business. This can also help keep tweets shorter then they have to be which can also be more effective in getting the attention of a reader. What can truly spread word of mouth about a business is the addition of a “click to tweet” link on a post to give readers the ability to further share the content being presented. The more credibility links build for a business; the more trust is built with a potential consumer.  

Like I mentioned before, keeping tweets at a short length is more effective in getting the attention of readers and that is also a tip Roy goes over. Shorter tweets that are kept between 120-130 characters or less can get up to 21% higher interactions. Along with getting more interactions, those tweets also get high click-through rates which shows how much more effective it is to keep tweets at a shorter length. Though it can seem like a challenge getting a message across in 100 tweets or less, but sometimes just going straight to the point of telling your audience to click a link can be effective as well. Roy also highlights the advantage of having compelling headlines which can increase the conversion rate on a link by 73%. Sometimes keeping things short, compelling, and straight to the point is more effective then trying to squeeze a full explanation in 140 characters.

One of the most popular ways to increase traffic that business can sometimes overlook is the use of hashtags. Roy highlights how hashtags can double the amount of engagements compared to tweets without hashtags. Using hashtags that are associated or related to your content can greatly increase the visibility it receives. Though hashtags can be effective, it is important to not go overboard with the number of hashtags per tweets. Roy recommends keeping hashtags to three or less. Too many hashtags can potentially devalue content, the brand, and the pleasant readability of tweets.

Though it is important to give readers the relevant information, it is also important to not give too much information per tweet. If a reader gets all the information they get from the tweet, why are they going to bother clicking on the link to read more. It is important to make tweets like teasers to the content. Not too much that the reader will not want to read everything, but enough to spark curiosity in the reader about the content. Roy gives advice not to use complex words or phrases as they can potentially lose readers. She recommends using questions to spark interest in readers to further read up on content that is being presented.

Timing is everything, even when it comes to marketing or specifically, tweeting. Tweeting during times that Twitter is most active with users can lead to more traffic per post. Roy recommends 5 p.m. as the best time to post tweets for retweets. Noon to 6 p.m. is the best time to drive the highest click through rate per tweet.

Roy goes over a few simple tips for any business to bring more exposure to their brand through Twitter. If used effectively, Twitter can bring great exposure to any brand. I believe that many music artists can being more exposure and plays to their music if any of these tips are plied to the content they are posting. Any record label that is just starting or even just looking to bring further exposure can build a greater following with just using simple tips that highlight the finest details. Sometimes it can be the small details that sets apart good content from great content.

Song of the Week: 

New Freezer by Rich The Kid Featuring Kendrick Lamar

Though social media can be an effective marketing tool when used effectively, there are a number of factors that go into creating content that will actually trigger consumers to engage. One of the most important variables in creating effective content is the use of images to get your message across. In the article “The Importance of Images In Your Digital Marketing” by Susanna Gebauer, the author goes over the how to much of an impact images can have when creating content. With content marketing becoming more integrated into the marketing schemes of brands, it is beneficial to analysis all variables and their effectiveness when presenting content.

           Gebauer begins the articles by stating that not any image will be effective in presenting your message. The author highlights multiple image ideas that can possibly add value to the content presented. Screenshots can effectively give a visual representing to what information is being presented. Presenting an image with a quote from a reliable sources agreeing with your point of a topic can effectively present creditability to your information. Memes are becoming effective presenting information to consumers while making the smile at the same time. Presenting social media images from other pages, photos about your topic, and illustrations can all bring more value to the stories being presented.

           One major attribute of an effective image is keeping the attention of the reader. The author presents data from eye tracking software that clear shows readers paying closer attention to images then the rest of the content being presented. Depending whether an image is related to the topic being presented, the image can help the reader in skimming through the information being presented whether it is useful or not. Whether or not the content is effective in triggering a reader to act, it at least gets the reader more involved and thinking about what the information is being presented.

           Not only can an image get a reader to engage with the content, it can also make the content more memorable whether or not a reader is triggered to action. The author highlights that we tend to remember only 10% of the information that is presented to us after three days compared to remembering 65% of the information when it is presented with an image. This could possibly lead to more consumers recalling the information when thinking about the topic in the future.

           Adding an image can also trigger more readers to share the content with other readers. On Twitter, tweets with images get 150% more retweets and more engagement with readers then those without images. On Facebook, images get 2.3 times more engagement with readers on content then content without images. Even internet articles found online get double the shares between readers if there are images every 75-100 words. These number all clearly show how much of a positive impact there is in presenting content with images. Infographics of data itself even get 3 times as many likes and shares then all content.

           Just getting people to view the content being out off can sometimes become a challenge to a brand. Adding images could attract 94% more views then content without them. This could be a difference maker with brands that are just starting out and still looking to get their name out in the market.

           With internet shopping becoming a more convenient way to purchase items, images can greatly impact the purchasing behavior of consumers who may not be able to see an item in person. Having effective images can build trust in potential buyers who may not be able to look at a product in person before purchasing. 67% of consumers claims that quality images greatly factor into selecting and purchasing a product.

           Gebaur finishes the article by highlighting not only how effective images can be in content marketing, but how it now is a must in presenting stories to consumers. With more tools available to create the perfect images to go with content, creating valuable images can greatly impact the effectiveness of any business’ content marketing strategy.  

           As I continue to learn more about content marketing and the music industry, I can now see how effectively images can present the energy of artist and their messages to their fans on social media and Youtube. Many fans see social media as a way to get closer to their favorite artists, artists can greatly influence the how they want their music to be presented as well as engage their fans to discover their music. Sometimes creating buzz just through social media can make an artist more popular than being marketed through a major label. 

Song of the Week: Loyalty by Kendrick Lamar

          How do you solve problems? Some of us take a more predictable structured approach while some of us try to find a  more creative and clever approach to problem? One approach to solve a problem is design thinking. In other words, solving an issue being creative but also being structured in forming to the most ideal possible for a solution. “Design Thinking, explained” by Rebecca Linke goes over the steps to apply the design thinking problem solving strategy to an issue that may come up. There is not always one way to go about a problem, but sometimes having an open mind and apply all strategies is the best approach.

           Linke sates the article by defining Design thinking and how it may be the new and best way to approach to a business problem. She breaks Design Thinking into 4 steps: Fully understanding the problem, exploring a wide range of possible solutions, ideating extensively through prototyping and testing, and implanting through the customary deployment mechanisms. With each of these steps, there are skills that need to be applied to come up with the best solution for the problem.

           The first step in the process of Design Thinking is understanding the problem at hand. Not just understanding the problem at the surface, but truly understand the problem and the core and defining the root causes. Linke explains how many companies may at times attack a problem that they think is outside of the company, but sometimes the issue is within the business. As example, Linke use the company “The Good Kitchen” who realized that changing the way their employees see themselves greatly influenced that satisfaction of their consumers. The happier the employees were, the happier the consumers would become. Another way a company can analyze a problem is by getting consumers involved and figuring out the deep root on the consumers’ need. Consumer input can greatly contribute to not only defining a root problem but also coming up with a solution that can solve future problems as well.

           The next step Link highlights is developing solutions to the problem at hand. In developing solution, a team must brainstorm as many solutions as possible to come up with One factor the author highlights holding back criticism during brainstorming. In allowing everyone to throw out as many ideas as possible, a team may find multiple ways to approach a problem. By assessing all solutions and analyzing them equally instead of criticizing them, a team can come up with the best solution. With great minds coming g together, a great solution can arise. 

           After analyzing the problem and researching the possible solutions the problem, the next step is to test solutions and come up with models to figure out which one can best fit in solving the problem. By consistently brainstorming, testing, and remodeling a marketing strategy; a company can effectively take on any challenge that may lie ahead. Even when a company comes up with a good solution, it should always continue to build on a solution or find better solution. Markets always change and adjusting to the changes can make or kill a business. 

           The final step in Design Thinking is implementing the best solutions possible for the business problem. Fully executing the best plan possible is key in making sure that all the time and effort invested into the problem pays off. Thinking big is the main key when it comes to Design Thinking to ensure issues are being met the best solution possible. The more satisfied consumers that come from the efforts, the more consumer will continue to trust the brand.

The Design Thinking model can be used for any business that experiences obstacles in the long run. It is a simple but effective solution process that forces a company to think out of the box in find the most effective solution to any business problem.

With the music industry continuing to change on a consistent basis, many businesses may come across issues that have not happened before. With encounter new industry problems, business may be forced to apply Design Thig king strategies to produce solutions. creativity seems to be the most important skill to the “Design Thinking” strategy to find the best solution. Especially with the influence content marketing has in the music industry it is essential for companies to condiser all problem solving strategies to their goal. Adjusting to the changing trends in the music industry could be the real difference maker in who takes advantage of the new markets and who falls behind. Being on top of trends could also ensure companies to put their efforts into markets that matter the most.

Song of the Week: Plain Jane by A$AP Ferg

Social Media is one of the most empowering ways for a brand to reach and interact with their consumers. Through content marketing, a brand is able to create, publish, and promote content to attract consumers. Though social media can be a very powerful tool, it is also very important to build a strong and carefully thought-out content marketing strategy and approach. A brand needs to think about not only what channels to use, but how to use the channels effectively. Being an active social media user myself, it is interesting to learn about the time and effort that brands put into coming up with effective and engaging content for consumers.

In the article “Create a Successful Content Marketing Strategy” by Debra Murphy, the author discusses the various questions to consider when building a content marketing strategy. She begins by defining a content marketing strategy as a plan to provide relevant, valuable content and promoting on the marketing channels that best reach your target audience. In doing this, one can become known as a trust expert and advisor in a specific industry. Building an online presence can greatly increase a brand’s exposure, influence a consumers purchasing decision, and attract new consumers.

Murphy lists off a number of goals that many brand can incorporate into their own content marketing strategy. She lists goals that businesses can accomplished through effect content marketing such as attracting new visitors, generating more leads, growing an email list, developing an expert reputation, and building brand awareness. In order to be effect, one must be organized and plan out their strategy. Like other marketing strategies, it is important to find out what your target audience wants from the content. In looking for problems to answer, topics for content will come up. These content topics need to be organized and incorporated into a calendar which will help guide what content to come up with and when to post it.

Though not all businesses have the time and effort to come up with professionally curated content marketing strategies, it is still important for businesses to develop an online presence through content marketing. Murphy explains how even small businesses that rarely posts can use a content calendar to make their few posts as effective as possible. Part of building an effective content strategy is determining how you will be promoting your content to your target audience. Adding features such as subscribe and share buttons on a page makes it easy for visitors to share and keep up with your content. In content marketing, one of the most effective methods for spreading your message is word of mouth. By linking subscribe and share buttons, visitors can easily share content with others to bring more exposure to your page.

Debra Murphy’s last step is to measure the effectiveness of a strategy. By setting out goals in the beginning, a brand can look back on them to measure how effective a strategy has been. Questions such as how effective the content is in increasing inbound leads, attracting the right audience in an email list, and is projecting you as an expert in the industry can all help determine how effective a plan is. Murphy highlights a number of different factors to consider when coming up with a content marketing strategy, but she finishes by highlighting that creating content regularly is key in being effective with your strategy. The more often a brand posts, the more opportunities it has to interact with existing or new consumers. By creating a calendar and using it as a blueprint, a brand can develop the consistency need to keep visitors engaged.

With aspirations to be successful in the music industry, I consider how important it is to have a social media presence to spread music effectively to listeners. Not only does content marketing help keep listeners up to date with artists, it also gives fans the opportunity to interact with their favorite artists like never before. Artists are now able to partake in activities such as Q&A’s, periscope and Facebook live streams, and social media contests to make their listeners feel closer to the music. For artist to be able to do these activities with an audience, they have to build a following. These is where having an effective content marketing strategy comes into play in interacting new listeners and followers on a consistent basis. We can look at many artists that have used social media as a tool, but one band that stands out is Imagine Dragons. Imagine Dragons, a Grammy winning rock band from Las Vegas, has made an effort from the beginning to stay on top of their social media following. By staying up with fan conversations and interactions on a consistent basis, they have built a following of “superfans” who act as almost “ambassadors” of the band. From focusing their marketing efforts to engaging with “superfans” the band has gained the most powerful tool to spread their music, word of mouth. This tactic is much more effective then marketing to a broader audience. With the music industry always shifting, it will be interesting to see how other artists incorporate content marketing. I look forward to incorporating content marketing strategies into my own music ventures and seeing what tactics are effective.

Twitter, one of the most popular forms of social media out today, has announced that they will be testing out doubling the number of characters allowed per tweet. Though some people may see the change as an exciting changed to the social media platform, there are critics to the move as well. Originally kept to 140 characters, the tweet limit originally came from an “arbitrary choice” from the 160-character cap of text messages in the early days of cell phones. Over time, many users have learned to get their tweets out in 140 characters or less. It has defined what Twitter is, a short and simple messages that only take a few seconds to read. With doubling the characters, it will increase the time it takes for users to go through their feeds. Some user may not like this feature and could possibly stop using the platform all together. As risky of a move as it may be, Twitter seems confident the character limit increase will bring new and exciting changes to the platform.Will doubling the number of characters allowed per tweet ruin what twitter is today or will it become it make the platform bigger than ever before?

In the article, “Why Marketers Are Concerned That 280-Character Tweets Will ‘Dilute’ Twitter’s Marketing Potential,” the author discusses how some user may feel that the change will not be authentic to the platform and may make it harder for users to navigate through the site. Critics believe that it will take away from the platform being a place where consumer can emotionally engage with their favorite brands. Many Twitter brand accounts have built a reputation in consumer engagement and creating a persona on the platform itself. Brands with large Twitter followings, such as Wendy’s or DiGiorno Pizza, have been able to get such a large amount of engagement on the platform from its users because of how these brands have been able to fit their messages into 140 characters. They have created a persona out this technique of getting their messages out in 140 characters like everyone else. Though the change may possibly go against the personas these brands have been able to create through the platform, it could also introduce a better interaction between brands and consumers because consumer may be able to express their thoughts fully to brands which may be more beneficial in finding out about the brand’s consumers. Matt Briton, CEO of Crowdtap, suggests that companies should not begin to write paragraph long tweets just because they can. He suggests that companies should instead take advantage of the higher character limit only when they need to. We could possibly see the demise of the platform’s identity for good or worse, but it could be better for brands if user start to use the character change for fully expressing how they feel about a brand. As well as the brand fully responding to consumer interactions more in depth. 

This change may break the distant voice that Twitter itself carries. The short-form humor that Twitter provides to its user maybe disappear as user may change their posting habits. It will be interesting to see how brands will adapt to the new character limit change as well has how they creativity process may change as well. It could also result in less tweets as user will be able to say more per tweet. This could be a good or bad thing for the platform as some people may not adapt well to the dramatic change in the length of tweets. As social media continues to become more and more popular, it will be interesting how Twitter continues its operations and how it’s users adjust.

As an avid Twitter user, I believe the character limit increase will be a change needed for a platform that has basically been the same since it’s early days. Though this may be a reason why so many users continue to enjoy using Twitter, this may be a change the platform needs to continue staying up with other social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat. Instagram, which has surpassed Twitter in users, has had a number of dramatic changes to its platform, but has continued to grow in users. Snapchat, which has grown in popularity in the last couple of years, has also dramatically changed its platform over time while continuing to grow in users. It may be time for good old Twitter to make dramatic changes like everyone. For better or for worst, I hope the character increase will not change Twitter’s authenticity and that the platform does not become “watered down” or more commercial form of social media.

A post shared by Ronnie Fieg (@ronniefieg) on Aug 3, 2017 at 4:54pm PDT

As we enter a technology age with smartphones become more popular and the internet being a part of our everyday lives, companies are now looking for new ways to reach their consumers. We see Coca-Cola, world’s largest drink manufacture in the world looking, create a marketing model with the intent of reaching as many consumers as possible through as many technology channels as possible. Just recently in August 2017, the company collaborated with streetwear line Kith to release a nostalgic clothing collection to with the pieces displaying logos from both companies with a nostalgic feel. They video above was posted by Kith CEO Ronnie Fieg on Instagram. With Kith becoming one of the most popular up and coming brands in the streetwear industry, the video posted by the CEO must of surely excited some of his 587k followers. It did. Many pieces of the collection sold out with some even going to be resold on eBay for higher prices than they were originally bought for. This is just one way we can see the company finding new ways to use technology to reach their consumers and establishing the images of both brands. One of the many ways Coca-Cola is looking to find new ways to reach their consumers. They day the collection was release, many fashion and music blogs posted about it for their own followers to see as well further reaching more buyers as well as creating more hype. It seems like it was all part of the plan. The 20/20 model as Coca-Cola calls it, focuses on using technology channels to spark more conversations between consumers as well as finding ways to connect with consumers directly. The model looks for ways to monitor both kinds of conversations at all times to gain as much data as possible from consumers. Distribution of creativity through technology where consumers can turn their demands on 24/7 is what is sparking ideas of how to get the message delivered between the technology. It allows Coca-Cola to immerse in deeper consumer connection through these channels. As the company looks to focus from traditional one-way storytelling through the television to more dynamic and impactful storytelling, they search for brand ideas that will spark conversations throughout technology with the goal of being a part of pop culture. Storytelling is the most important part of the process as the brand needs to show their commitment to making the world a better place as well as figuring out what parts of the story to tell to what channels. They look to show live positivity principles with insights from bigger thinking to perform bigger transformational actions. Data is the soil of the content and spreading of content. They see “data whispers” as they call them to play a bigger part of their strategy. Data whispers being people who have many connections through technology. With the Coca-Cola x Kith release we can see the CEO of Kith, Ronnie fig, with over 500 thousand followers in a way being a data whisper in the release of the collaboration. Coca-Cola now looks to collaborate with their consumers from their technology channels to come up with more ideas for liquid content. Liquid content is the main fuel of the 20/20 strategy. Each story has to matter in peoples live so it can make an impact. They consider the liquid content the main substance of engagements and conversations. The liquid content is the has the elements of the stories from the technologies connections that move freely but don’t become separated stories. They look to create connection ideas that are so compelling that they take a life of its own throughout the all of the multiple technology connections. They look to continue trying out multiple models of liquid content development with creatives, brand fans, industry collaborations, and rock star singers’ agencies. They want to inspire conversations between these people and connect all their minds to share different results to continue development of the model and measure success from their efforts. Inspired to impact pop culture and bring out the greatest creativity all of these minds, Coca-Cola encourages risk, bravery, creative ideas from all of these minds and even encourage tension and for people to learn how to thrive from using conflict as well.  From their content, they separate it into 3 different categories. Low risk content which is same usual kind of content they send out on a consistent basis which takes less time, but is the bread and butter of the all of their content. There is innovating content which can have a specific audience on a broad scale. High risk content is where the company looks to innovate the content they put out. They always look to the level of buzz and impact their efforts make and learn from them. They always look for more fluid approaches to the production process and make more marketing content for less dollars. Though Coca-Cola has a plan and strategy, they know that they will not know all of the challenges they may come until they are fully summered in the market. With the recent collaboration with Kith being just one of their recent efforts with a clothing brand, it will be exciting to see what direction Coca-Cola goes next with their 20/20 strategy!

Below are some more pictures from the Coca-Cola x Kith collaboration