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How We Fail To Connect
May 4, 2021
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Social media is much more than realized. It enables us to:
- Consistently reestablish our commitment to community & connection.
- Bring people together; helping folks feel a belonging.
- Acknowledge everyone by their name.
- Create cool ‘holy crap’ moments; reminding people they matter.
But all too often we watch brands falling short in creating experiences.
So – in order to help you assess if you’re really connecting or not – take the quiz below.If you answer “yes” to any of the following questions – it’s never too late to reset, restart and refocus efforts.
Are You Sharing Stuff Nobody Cares About?
To answer this – look at the engagement rate. If you’ve never tracked this data, start today.
The number you’re looking at will now be your benchmark; meaning you should never go lower than this starting number.
Study audience signals – understand what triggers reaction and equally what does not; stop doing what people scroll past.
The key is to learn about the audience and align content we want to create or curate with fan expectations.
Are You Testing Content and Posting Times?
Similar to studying audience signals – another way to help us better understand optimal content is testing different approaches towards content as well as our own posting “peak times."
Important Note:
Don’t get caught up in those general “social media peak times” many try to shill.
There is no such thing as every single brand having the same posting “peak times.”
We all have our own “peak times” (which also can be ever-changing).
Example:
Scott Clow, Morning Host - K105.3/Jackson, MI is constantly watching views and interactions to better understand audience development.
He tests out different posting times to find his unique “peak times.”
As you see below, Scott recently posted the same Reel back to back on Instagram to see if his “peak time” may have changed.
Here’s why:
After he posted at what was a typical “peak time” (7pm), he saw lower than typical views. He posted the same Reel again - the next morning at 9am and it ended up being seen by more people.
Frequent testing can help you learn what your audience is looking for.
Are You Too Self-Centered?
The best content is relatable, interactive, with outward focus.
Inclusiveness is key in the social space.
Remember the human element of social media – how can you be interesting to people who don’t care?
By helping them see a part of themselves in your content (oh, and the word, “you,” goes a long way.)
Are You Too Polished?
There’s something so disarming about the raw and real parts of us.
As we’ve talked about for months – unpolished is the new polished.
You first heard me talk about this last year during stay-at-home orders as we all had to get comfortable with our “unpolished parts.”
It’s what people are gravitating to – so are you too filtered?
Are You Still Not Bothering To Acknowledge The Audience?
This kind of content never gets old, fans getting the social ‘tip of the hat.’
Here’s John Mayer singling out a fan in a very “unfinished” and fun way.
@johnmayer Lose a pic, win a song. #music #birthdays #chromatic #songwriting #piano
♬ original sound - johnmayerWhy this matters:
If we continue to put little to no care in the content, and not see social media as an engagement opportunity, the audience will become unmoved by our mediocrity – ultimately giving them permission to go form (more fun and interesting) loyalties elsewhere.
Let us know how we can help: lori@lorilewismedia.com.
Reach out to me anytime on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Twitter.
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