Our annual social media conference, The Social Shake-Up, took place virtually Sept. 28 through Oct. 1. We provide a summary of emerging trends of importance to communication professionals as they create or restructure their social media strategies, including:
- • top-quality visual content is necessary during this moment of social media overload
- • the fundamentals of social media and social listening remain critical for content creation
- • signal boosting has replaced going viral as social justice moves to the forefront
- • companies are employing innovative benefits packages to create enhanced relationships with influencers
Use Scroll-Stopping Visuals
Be memorable. And be visual.
Leah Feygin, head of US creator content solutions at Twitter’s creative arm, ArtHouse, told of a 2019 trip to the Burning Man festival to explain her thesis of content creation.
“I could really only remember one art sculpture out of the hundreds of installations,” Feygin said. “The one I remembered was a sanctuary made out of harp strings—very sensory. Mallets were available to guests. There was exquisite craftsmanship and a warm glow.”
Similarly, with the pandemic forcing many to quarantine, social is exploding across traditional and emerging platforms; content is flooding feeds. As such, it’s important to create compelling content that relies heavily on visuals.
The qualities that make a venue or art installation memorable visually are similar to those that make people pause during a Twitter feed. If something looks like an ad, it probably won’t be effective, she said.
Feygin suggested partnering with digital artists, many of whom Twitter and other brands have found on social media platforms, who use color, imagery and motion graphics to create unique content.
The best digital content creators enjoy making content for brands they are passionate about, she said. Feygin showed a memorable example from Wendy’s, which utilized a short video in just the color yellow, showcasing a mesmerizing drippy, playful image about cheese.
For James Gregson, Lego Group’s social studios head, building social equity goes back to basics.
“The fundamentals of social media have not changed,” he said. “We still need to listen to our audiences and what is happening on the platforms.” He offered a terrific example where the Lego team jumped on Elon Musk’s cybertruck miscue and within 3 hours posted an amusing image on Instagram. It became one of the best-performing posts of 2019.
It’s ‘Signal Boosting,’ NOT ‘Going Viral’
Going viral is so 10 years ago.
The more authentic response is signal boosting. said Brandi Boatner, social and influencer communications lead, global markets at IBM. In signal boosting, brands employ a hashtag, such as #BLM or #vote, which not only provides a stance or opinion on a subject, but further information on how followers can take action.
Offering More for Influencers
Cosmetics company Sephora sought to create a deeper community for influencers. Rather than simply engaging in a transactional relationship with influencers, in 2018 it launched #SephoraSquad. The competitive program offers influencers professional training, networking and mentoring in lieu of paying them for posts.
Emmy Berlind, VP, content strategy at Sephora, who helped launch the squad, says it showcases the community of voices, perspectives and experiences that shape Sephora.
“The benefit of being in the program is not only the payments, but the support system that is available,” Berlind said. “That shows our commitment to them through peer and professional coaching, networking, content collaborations with Sephora, and reposting their content on our channels to grow their audiences.”
Sephora found listening to influencers provided useful input for the burgeoning program.
“[It’s] important to be authentic in your commitment to the influencer,” she said. “A key to a good relationship is listening, so we listen to the squad, we send them surveys, ask them what things are important to them, what do they want to learn about, and what things aren’t working well for them so we can make changes. It’s truly a…dialogue. That makes them feel heard…not like they are having a one-way business relationship.”
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