This never gets old
This social media strategy isn't new, but it's easy, effective, and very few do it (well)
X/Twitter and TikTok are both facing allegations of fostering antisemitism. On X, major brands such as Apple and Disney have paused their advertising after Elon Musk endorsed an antisemitic trope. Meanwhile, TikTok is being accused of promoting anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian content. My takeaway: Content moderation is going to be very important in 2024.
In today’s newsletter:
This Never Gets Old: This Social Media Strategy Isn’t New, But It’s Easy, Effective, and Very Few Do It (Well)
Social Snack: Hashtags, Without the Hash
Unfiltered: As Instagram Introduces New Filters, Here’s a Look Back…
This (strategy) never gets old
There will be lots of predictions about social media trends in 2024 (I’ll be sending along mine soon). And while understanding these trends can be helpful, there is one strategy we can all implement to make our accounts really stand out on social media, because very few people do it (well) — Engage.
Engagement should be a key part of your social media strategy for several reasons:
It helps your community feel heard, which builds greater brand loyalty.
It helps to show that you aren’t just focused on yourself, which helps build a better brand and stronger community.
And the platforms will reward you for doing it, which can help you reach more potential community members.
Here are some suggestions on how to engage:
1/5 Use polls.
Every platform offers this capability. Experiment with different types of polls, from fun and frivolous posts (that reflect your community) to questions that help you gain more insight into pain points your target audience is feeling (for example: top challenges heading into 2024).
*New this year: Instagram will soon let you create polls in the comments sections of your posts [Engadget]
2/5 DMs are trending.
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri said earlier this year that they are going to focus on DMs and Stories, so why fight the algorithm?!. DMs are a great way to engage with your community, and you can generate them by asking questions in your Stories. This way you are engaging, and doing what the platform wants you to.
*New this year: Instagram testing the ability to turn off read receipts in DMs [9to5 Google]
3/5 Make your content shareable.
Highly emotional content (such as joy, humour, or inspiration) can definitely increase the chances that someone will share your content.
But also, be thoughtful when creating important messaging you want your community to share. Don’t cut it up into several posts. Doing this can separate out the context of what you are trying to say, and make it harder for someone else to know how to share it without having to explain it. The longer people have to think about how to share your content, the less likely it is that they will.
4/5 Reply, share, repeat.
At a bare minimum, you should be checking notification on all of your accounts on a daily basis to react to comments.
Take things to the next level (if you aren’t already) by also responding to comments: you don’t have to respond to every single comment, but if it feels as if someone has put in extra effort to share, you should definitely do the same.
Next, take the time to scroll through the posts created by those you follow to react and comment on their posts (as appropriate). You like engagement, so why wouldn’t they?! Take the time to leave a thoughtful comment, and be genuine.
And finally, it’s important to take the time to share posts from your community (as appropriate); Instagram Stories is a great place to do this. Using your community to help amplify posts shows you care about your community, which is great for positive brand building. It also encourages other accounts to share your content in future.
5/5 Don’t forget about Google My Business.
Sometimes we are so focused on social media that we forget to check the reviews on GMB. But you might find some really great comments there to like and respond to (and maybe even content/testimonials you can share elsewhere). It’s even more important to respond to negative reviews in a timely manner so they don’t cause even more headaches down the road.
*New this year: Google lets businesses add social media links to profiles [Search Engine Journal]
Social media has increasingly become less about community and more about followers and likes. And there are probably a number of reasons for that. But it doesn’t mean we can’t surprise and delight our own online communities. In fact, it’s the only strategy that can really make you stand out.
#️⃣ SOCIAL SNACK #️⃣
Hashtags, without the hash
Are we about to enter a new era of tagging on social media without a hashtag?
The reason I ask is because Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri announced they are testing “tags” on the Threads app to categorize content by interest or theme.
But here’s the thing — in order to “tag” a post with a certain word or phrase, you click on a “#” but the hashtag doesn’t actually appear in the post (the word is just highlighted; see below).
Based on post replies, some seemed to like the new feature (currently being tested in Australia). But one Threads user brought up one issue: accessibility. “How would this work for folks who are colour blind, and screen readers? The advantage of having the # in the hashtag was that it was an easily understood symbol prefacing or around a specific information categorisation/folksonomy.” Great question. Back to you, Mosseri.
ICYMI
Instagram announces new editing tools and photo filters [Instagram Blog]
Meta teases new AI-powered editing tools coming to Facebook and Instagram [The Verge]
YouTube tests AI tool that clones pop stars’ voices [BBC News]
TikTok introduces a new mobile effect editor [TikTok Blog]
Snapchat says new study shows it is the platform most associated with Joy [Snapchat Blog]
🤳 Unfiltered
Instagram recently launched several content creation updates, including a new set of photo filters — the first new filters in a while!
In honour of these new filters, here are some fun facts:
In the book No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram, author Sarah Frier talks about how introducing filters to make photos look more professional was key to Instagram’s success.
Photographer Cole Rise designed several of the original Instagram apps (and app icon). The “Rise” app is named after him.
In the mid 2010s, there was a bit of a backlash against using filters, and the hashtag #NoFilter started trending as a way to show an unedited life. That hashtag currently has 285 million posts on Instagram. [Read more: Vogue]
My personal favourite photo filter back in the day was “Amaro.” What was yours?