Sydney Community College Blog | on 2 August 2019
It used to be about the Joneses next door: the car, the lawn, the picket fence… But now social pressures are felt through our screens. And it’s not just having the latest phone or fashion, it’s about who’s living their best life, who’s telling the best stories.
All those Citizen Janes and Jamals out there posting, liking and story-ing up a storm. Connecting to their online communities, creating content, sharing news, forming opinions…
And then there’s the shopping. Which, for anyone in business, means not just your personal socials to stay across, there’s the whole colourful, moving and changeable world of social media marketing.
A social media marketing strategy is a great place to start, as it defines what you want to say, where, when and to whom. There’s not much point in trying to engage teens via Facebook (their numbers are dropping dramatically in this space), and Instagram content or TikTok will be all wrong for your over 65s (though older demographics are increasingly saying yes to Facebook).
Social content by definition should resonate with the right voice. Whether marketing for sales or gaining support for a cause, it’s important to stay consistent with your brand’s values and personality. But you should nuance your tone to suit the platform: we’re talking professional for LinkedIn, lighter on the more social platforms.
It won’t have escaped most people’s attention that content is on the move. Even the basic social toolkit and content calendar should now include videos and regular stories. On both Instagram and Facebook, stories are right up the top of the screen, and increasingly competing with the regular feeds for user time, attention and engagement.
And for some years now, social media marketing has also been on the move towards mobile – with the “mobile-responsive” user experience now stepping aside for "mobile-only” in many areas. This brings us back to those phoneses.
According to Think with Google, 90% of millennials have at least one mobile phone and 75% of people say their smartphones help them to be more productive.
So the ever-changing world of social media and marketing brings with it the challenge to constantly adapt and keep up. If you’re feeling overwhelmed you’d be forgiven for wanting to pass it all on to the nearest teenager. But we think it connects rather nicely to the concept of lifelong learning…
