Tech Bits from Social Media Week Chicago

Believe it or not, Social Media Week struggled with a poor wifi connection throughout the conference. It is likely the tremendous strain that professional social media users place on the system with streaming and device count, but that seems ironic nonetheless. Otherwise the conference has been a very informative. Some of the information being shared is more relevant to large agencies, but I have found that there are several tidbits that will be useful for my social media planning at Do Space and might also be helpful for some of our members. So, here are some of my favorite tidbits and sound bites that might inspire you to think differently about your social media approach as well. All of these tips come from the conference, which you can follow along on Twitter with #SMWChicago or visit the website for videos and more information at https://socialmediaweek.org. It has been a great week, but it is time to return home to Omaha.

Interesting tidbits

• An average tweet lives for 18 minutes. To be effective, you can not stop tweeting.
• One in four people do not read an article before sharing it on social media.
• People are 60% more likely to advocate for you if they are engaged by your content.
• Hard facts are 47% more likely to create a response.

Improving Your Social Media Reputation

• 62% of consumers consider social media in making consumer decisions.
• Gen X and millennials expect engagement on social media to be a conversation.
• Consumers judge your social media accounts. Be thoughtful in your social media and ensure that your pages are active. Do not have multiple pages which confuse the customer. In general, if you are not ready to have a conversation on social media, then do not engage in it at all.
• Social media is NOT about telling and selling. You need to build a relationship with your followers. People are not impressed by a self-serving sales pitch.

Measuring Success

• Number of followers is a vanity metric. What you really need to be looking at is what your fans are doing on your social media platforms. They should be engaging with your brand. Impressions are not as important as engagements.
• In advance of a campaign, define your KPIs and benchmark against similar campaigns from your history. But never focus solely on data. Be sure that the human element is considered as well.
• Make things highly shareable. Track shares.
• Sometimes you have to measure on your own metrics using Excel, though the analytics tools in Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are improving. But other platforms like Snapchat and Pinterest do not have as many options.

Social Media Strategy

• Do not just use your page to amplify your brand all the time. Social media should be about interactivity and play. Only about 20% should be business.
• In all conversations there will be disagreements. Do not be afraid to disagree with other opinions from your field, including with your own followers. The exception to this would be an irrational, angry ALL CAP comment. But if someone disagrees in a thoughtful manner, then they deserve a response. Sometimes a contrary opinion is an opportunity to educate and inform.
• Social media is a two-way conversation. You should not just push our your brand without engagement.
• Remarkable creativity is almost always talked about.
• Keep your CTA (Call to Action) simple. People are more likely to take action when it feels powerful.
• Be relevant to the platform and know your audience and how they engage with each differently. You should strive to not repeat the same content across all channels.
• More and more adults are engaging in games on a regular basis, including on their phones and computers. This is a powerful marketing tool that businesses can engage.  And the audience is not just youth.
• In the social media world things need to move fast. If you can not adjust and move quickly then you might lose momentum. Be ready to grab an opportunity within 24 hours.

Using Video

• You have 1.5 seconds to get to the point before you lose the viewer.
• 85% of video viewers on Facebook are doing so without sound. Always add copy over the video.
• If the video quality is low on Facebook, then the creativity needs to be high to compensate.
• Most successful campaigns use an issue to create action. Most social media users do not respond to a buy-this or do-this message, but they do respond to emotion and issues.
• Big bold images make people stop, but you must capture them quickly once you draw them in. Probably not a good idea to have CEO face as the opening image.
• Facebook Live is an interesting and affordable opportunity to share a message but there has been a lot of saturation recently. There is engaged and ambient content. Passive content tends to be very well received (watch this basket of kittens live).

This is my second blog from Social Media Week, you can read my first one HERE. Thank you Social Media Week!