By Irene Williams
Recently, I was introduced by an emcee as a “social media expert” before leading a training session for the sales team of a large brand. Immediately upon taking the mic, I made a correction: “One cannot be an expert on a topic that changes outside her control multiple times during the course of any given day.”
Here’s the deal. Social media platforms are businesses with owners and developers who constantly change the functionality and algorithms to benefit their revenue goals. You and I—the biz people using these platforms—don’t have access to the dials, yet we must navigate the changes to reach customers who need the services and products we provide, hopefully benefiting our revenue goals, as well.
That’s why I come to you here not as an expert, but as an experienced practitioner using these platforms for business every day, to offer a practical, midyear check-in. Social media is never stagnant, but these days, the changes are more frequent and, often, more impactful. Let’s get our bearings on what’s happening now and what you need to know to best support your business.
INSIGHTS AND ACTIONS RELEVANT TO ALL PLATFORMS
• Outside links are accommodated but not rewarded.
All key social media platforms allow you to provide external website links in your organic (aka unpaid) content. This capability lets you invite clicks to your website, and, on the surface, that seems like a solid tactic. However, all the platforms (except Pinterest) seem to penalize content with external links—likely because it’s most beneficial or profitable to keep users in the app rather than clicking away.
Use external links with caution. Rather than include links in the body of a post, offer it in the first comment so that the content isn’t downgraded by the algorithm. Go ahead and give the full story in the post itself rather than offering just a tease that would require visiting a website. Back this up with a statement about how the reader can get in touch to take action.
• Video content continues to be encouraged and rewarded.
We’re deep into the video content era on social media. Short clips are a standard for core content on all the big platforms: Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and, of course, TikTok.
Up your video game if you haven’t already. Not only do algorithms favor video, but users do, too. People are not only drawn to motion and action in their feeds, but they are also accustomed to and expect video content. You do not need to invest in highly polished productions; the stats show that clips shot on smartphones and edited with mobile apps (Edits, CapCut, InShot) consistently do the trick. Keep them short, as clips that are 30 seconds or less seems to get the most views.
• Engagement really matters.
Although the developers turn the algorithmic dials, the users of these platforms do have influence in the form of expressions of interest, namely likes, comments and shares. In other words, actual human interaction and interest still counts, thankfully.
As you create content, think “person-to-person,” not “business-to-customer.” What do people who need what you offer care about? What intrigues them, makes them curious or amuses them? In other words, what gets them to stop their scrolling to actually watch or read, then like-comment-share? Put yourself in your customers’ shoes—or, rather, their scrolls—and produce content with this perspective in mind.
As they say, you can’t manage what you don’t measure. Be sure to track engagement metrics on your posts and stories in order to gauge what content best connects with your followers on each platform. Even if the numbers are relatively small, they can help guide you to keep creating in ways that are most helpful and interesting to the people who matter for your business.
• AI prevalence expands.
AI is everywhere on the socials. It’s baked into each platform’s discover and search functionality. It’s being used for content creation. It’s present in-feed in many instances, in almost clickbait fashion.
Be keenly aware of and cautious about how you use AI. It can be helpful in streamlining content creation if used with lots of human intelligence and strategy. However, it can also work against you if employed haphazardly and without clear intention. Err on the side of the human-to-human approach I talked about above. Yes, the tech is getting really convincing, but people still detect and respond positively to authenticity and honesty online. The real deal remains really important.
PLATFORM-SPECIFIC SHIFTS TO KNOW ABOUT
• Why it matters for your biz: Potential for large reach/volume viewers. Your biz may get in front of many customers/potential customers based on its vast base of active users.
• Most notable changes to be aware of: The algorithm is favoring users’ interests and allowing content discovery based on known affinities. AI is further integrated into in-app main feed content, search results and advertising for hyper-personalization. Reels, educational posts and FB Stories are performing well.
• How to pivot now: For in-feed content, focus on product education, real-life video clips (e.g. showroom tours, job site visits, etc.), and in-depths on specific topics/tips. Share all posts to your stories, too. However, don’t rely only on organic content alone to reach followers. Find interest-based Facebook Groups and non-competing Pages that you and team members may participate in authentically in order to connect with key audiences. Consider targeted advertising if you have clearly defined, desired results for those ads (generating new leads, driving traffic to a sale or new product push, etc.).
• Why it matters for your biz: Still the best business-to-business connection point on social media, allowing businesses to share expertise and leadership with relevant audiences attuned to industry news and interests.
• Most notable changes to be aware of: Analyst reports indicate the focus is on rewarding authoritative content that’s indepth and highly informative, with text posts and document-style content performing best. Narrative shorts are the strongest performing type of video.
• How to pivot now: Say it and show it. Don’t rely on visuals as the core message conveyance on LinkedIn; include full text to explain your key points. Think in terms of a few paragraphs for your posts rather than just a pic with a short caption. If creating video, turn your fuller explanations into a storytelling format. These types of content give you and your team room to express leadership, knowledge and approachability to audiences who’ve showed up already interested and ready to engage.
• Why it matters for your biz: Highly popular with your key audiences, mobile-first for constant access by devoted users and visually driven content can be a good fit for your business type.
• Most notable changes to be aware of: Carousel posts (posts with multiple images that users swipe to view) are a current focus, with the platform introducing new features for this kind of content, and the ability to re-order your profile grid recently launched. New paid “Instagram Plus” touts new ways for biz profiles to share and reach followers, get more metrics, etc. (free version of Instagram is not affected).
• How to pivot now: Try more carousel posts. I suggest doing so with aforementioned education content, offering different tips or insights featured on each image that followers must swipe to see. Even better, make this content useful enough that followers are compelled to save or share. Take time to review the appearance of your profile grid, but don’t overthink it. If you’ve been using a consistent brand aesthetic all along, you may not need to take time to re-order your grid. Also, make sure you’re using the free tools and measurements provided with your basic business profile before considering any kind of paid subscription. The biz dashboard native to Insta biz profiles is actually quite robust and can be informative as-is in helping you know how your content is performing.
Just think: In the time I spent writing this article, there were probably a dozen new developments across social media that we’ll all have to find out about later. Though all this can seem overwhelming, I can assure you of one unwavering fact after all my years managing socials for business, and it’s something I touched on already: person-to-person still wins. As you create and seek to connect on behalf of your business, you’ll go further by keeping the “social” in the media.
THE AUTHOR
Irene Williams is a marketing consultant with 25+ years of experience in the flooring and building-products industry. She’s also a coach, speaker and author on personal and professional development and digital wellness. Learn more and get in touch at irenewilliams.biz.
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