
What Social Marketers Can Do to Prepare for 2018
We wanted to create a space where social marketers can dig deeper into trending topics and learn a little more each week, so we decided to host a weekly Twitter chat. Last week at #SimplyChat, we discussed how to prepare for an audit, keep a pulse on what’s trending, implement what you’ve learned, and understand the importance of organization.
Q1: How are you preparing for 2018?
A1: I'm looking back to look forward. Full year analysis on my campaigns + competitors + best of overall social, looking at both content performance and sales. Then comes the fun: wildly brainstorming for 2018. #SimplyChat
— Jack Appleby (@JuiceboxCA) November 9, 2017
A1. Reviewing this year's promotion and creating a calendar/timeline of things we want to continue with and #marketing we want to add for 2018 #SimplyChat
— seoplus+ (@seopluscanada) November 9, 2017
A1 review of 2017; setting goals and KPIs for 2018; considering content strategy; budgeting for digital collateral (videos, photography) & activities such as contests/giveaways, influencer projects #SimplyChat
— Alpana Deshmukh (@AlpanaDeshmukh) November 9, 2017
A1: Analyzing successes, failures and sub-par campaigns and one-off promotions from 2017. What worked? What didn't? What new things can we test in 2018? #SimplyChat https://t.co/HEzLeWLVdx
— Katelyn Brower 🌟 (@BrowerKDnB) November 9, 2017
It's hard sometimes! We participate in various FB groups that discuss what is/isn't working with new changes on each platform, and often do some A/B testing or other experimenting to determine what currently yields the best results. #SimplyChat
— Houndstooth Media Group (@houndstoothmg) November 9, 2017
A1: I'm paying attention to current trends and see how/If they can be applied this year and into next. #SimplyChat
— Maria Marchewka (@_MariaMarchewka) November 9, 2017
Takeaway: As we begin planning our 2018 strategy, the best thing social marketers can do is audit what happened in 2017. To improve something, you need to know what is or isn’t working. This is where auditing comes in. When you audit your social strategy, you’ll be able to:
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- Find gaps in your marketing strategy. Compare 2017 social results with goals and/or competitors to see where your strategy fell short. Address these gaps in 2018.
- Discover which pieces of content can be repurposed, and which should not be promoted anymore. Repurposed content is information that is still useful, but needs to be edited and reformatted to stay relevant. For example, we could repurpose our Holiday Campaign Planning Guide next year because marketers will still need to create this type of campaign, but to make sure it’s relevant, we’ll have to make changes based on key events next year—there will probably be new features on each social channel by then.
- Which channels, campaigns, and months performed the best and worst, and why. Yearly audits are a chance to step back and look at the bigger picture. When you’re trying to get a sense of what your audience responds well to, the more data you have, the clearer the picture.
Q2: How do you keep a pulse on trends in your industry?
A2: I'm still hot on RSS feeds, though my constant Twitter usage keeps me up to date. I've turned on mobile notifications for a few key thought leaders to keep me informed. #SimplyChat
— Jack Appleby (@JuiceboxCA) November 9, 2017
A2: social listening is so pivotal in keeping your thumb on the pulse of your industry. Pay attention to hot topics, questions and problems and find ways for your content to address these issues. #simplychat
— Maria Marchewka (@_MariaMarchewka) November 9, 2017
A2: Curate a list of trusted yet diverse sources for information – From Twitter to Newsletters: insights can come from anywhere. #SimplyChat
— Ross Simmonds (@TheCoolestCool) November 9, 2017
A2: Don’t underestimate the value of industry events either. Lots of value from marketers in the ground putting in work. #SimplyChat
— Ross Simmonds (@TheCoolestCool) November 9, 2017
A2: Keep posted with new information from top publications, following what's trending, social listening, experimenting on social, twitter chats 😉#SimplyChat
— seoplus+ (@seopluscanada) November 9, 2017
A2: We rely on a combination of news sources + information from people who are out in the trenches. Our industry is Social Media and it is constantly & quickly changing, so we have to always be on top of our game! #SimplyChat https://t.co/TLIRApT9oz
— Houndstooth Media Group (@houndstoothmg) November 9, 2017
A2 I subscribe to industry/sector media alerts; look also at wider macro trends that can impact. See what influencers and opinion formers are sharing on social networks #simplychat https://t.co/utvNLbFLTr
— Alpana Deshmukh (@AlpanaDeshmukh) November 9, 2017
A2: Two words: Social listening. Paying attention to what your target audience is saying is SO important. This information can then be leveraged to create content that speaks to their topics of interest. https://t.co/3h7Rqr1dl1 #SimplyChat
— Flying Cork (@flyingcorkpgh) November 9, 2017
Takeaway: There are many ways to keep up with trends in your industry. The best thing you can do is find what works for you and fits best into your lifestyle. We’ve got a lot on our plates; there’s no need to make things harder.
For example, my favorite method is to subscribe to email newsletters. I love reading my emails while having breakfast or sitting on the bus. If you hate reading emails, this method isn’t for you. You might try using social media by creating Twitter lists of thought leaders or influencers, and reading through them in your spare time. You can also listen to what your audiences say across all channels with a listening tool. You’d be surprised to find that they are telling you exactly what they want to hear.
Q3: How do you implement what you’ve learned? Examples welcome!
A3: Always experiment and try new things based off what you've seen and heard. Just because it works well for one brand, doesn't mean it will work for yours #simplychat
— Jeff Higgins Wants New Garbage Pail Kids (@ItsJeffHiggins) November 9, 2017
A3: Keep what's worked well, then toss in new ideas. Always dedicate a certain % of your content to experimentation (while staying on brand) – take those learnings, then get weird. #SimplyChat'
— Jack Appleby (@JuiceboxCA) November 9, 2017
A3: We have weekly meetings with our core team where we discuss changes and what is or isn't working for us, especially with A/B testing or other experiments. Constantly learning and adapting is key! #SimplyChat https://t.co/6CCn6pPVuY
— Houndstooth Media Group (@houndstoothmg) November 9, 2017
A3. We'll test things out on our social profiles to see if it works for our strategy ex. instagram polls!
— seoplus+ (@seopluscanada) November 9, 2017
Takeaway: Dip your toes in the water to decide if the water is the right temperature. If it is, take a few steps back and cannonball in.
For example, I dipped my toes in the water when Instagram polls came out. I wanted to know if our audience would actually participate. So I posted a picture of two mugs. One had coffee and the other had tea. The question was “What’s in your cup this morning?” Almost everyone who viewed the story voted. I didn’t use the feature again because I couldn’t find a way to make it relevant to our brand. In other words, I couldn’t decide if the water was the right temperature—until preparing for our Data & Drinks event. The copy I’d been using for Data & Drinks had two questions that required a yes or no answer. I took a few steps back and cannonballed in with these photos and saw a 200% increase in link clicks from our bio.
Q4: What’s the #1 thing you’ll do to be a more successful social marketer in 2018?
A4: Spend less time + money on content that doesn't move the needle. Build bigger, more significant pieces and low-cost-but-proven-effective content, avoid that dangerous & costly middle ground. #SimplyChat
— Jack Appleby (@JuiceboxCA) November 9, 2017
A4. Be consistent in writing out 300-600 word blog posts in addition to consistently publishing them on wednesdays and fridays #simplychat
— Cheval John (@chevd80) November 9, 2017
A4: Instead of Always Be Closing ….. Always Be Innovating! #SimplyChat https://t.co/dIoGTPPgm6
— Katelyn Brower 🌟 (@BrowerKDnB) November 9, 2017
A4: Pay attention to what isn't successful and look for patterns or commonalities. You can often learn more from what didn't work than from what did, but not without some analysis! #SimplyChat https://t.co/r0H4SE1Trs
— Houndstooth Media Group (@houndstoothmg) November 9, 2017
A4. Experiment with new content types and track their success #SimplyChat
— seoplus+ (@seopluscanada) November 9, 2017
Takeaway: This will obviously be different for every social marketer, but the way we get to this answer is the same. Remember how we talked about gaps in our strategies in the first question? Well, in order to answer this question, we have to know what is missing. For example, my #1 goal in 2018 is producing and pushing out more videos across all channels. The reason for this is because not only is video a trending topic in our industry, but our data also tells us that video is more well-received with our audience.
Q5: What role does organization have in being a successful social marketer?
A5: Organization is SO important! From keeping on top of trends & events, to implementing current best practices, to juggling multiple clients effectively – none of that can happen without good systems & processes in place! #SimplyChat https://t.co/acdEvuh7pR
— Houndstooth Media Group (@houndstoothmg) November 9, 2017
A5: You can't plan ahead if you aren't organized – with some clients, I've worked 6-8 months out on content. It's a social team's job to be the most organized group in the building, which also allows you to go quick-turn when necessary. #SimplyChat
— Jack Appleby (@JuiceboxCA) November 9, 2017
A5. Staying organized keeps you on track for your calendar/timeline and ensures all campaign deliverables are met #SimplyChat
— seoplus+ (@seopluscanada) November 9, 2017
A5 organisation and forward planning is key; I’ve worked on projects that took six months to prepare, inviting influencers, commissioning collateral, website updates, legal checks #simplychat
— Alpana Deshmukh (@AlpanaDeshmukh) November 9, 2017
Takeaway: Organization is key, especially when social isn’t working in a silo, because there are a lot of moving parts. For example, I work with lead gen to promote webinars, and I work with our content marketing manager to promote blog posts; I also work with our graphic designer, who creates most of the images we share on social. This involves keeping track of all of those teams’ calendars. Without organization, I’d be in danger of promoting webinars and blog posts before they are ready, or not requesting images far enough in advance.
If you like what you read here and want to be a part of the conversation, join us Thursday at 11 AM PST for a chat on how social marketers can prepare for 2018! These are the questions we’ll be asking:
Q1. What is a social marketing audit?
Q2. What can you learn from auditing your 2017 social strategy?
Q3. What do you need to do to prepare for a social strategy audit?
Q4: Which metrics do you look at during your social audit?
Q5. Will you only be looking at your own social strategy? Or will you be taking a look at how/what competitors did?