by Rad Arekat, social media and digital director, Acorn Strategy
World #SocialMediaDay is observed annually on June 30th to recognise how it has grown to become an essential tool for communication. From connecting people from around the world to helping small businesses, influencers, and content creators grow their brands and assisting journalists covering news events- social media has become a game-changer and the way to go in a rapidly evolving digital dynamic.
World #SMDay was initially launched by Mashable back in 2010 to highlight social media’s impact on global communication and to bring the world together to celebrate it. While every day can be considered social media day, June 30th marks the official global celebration. No matter where you are or where you live, you can celebrate it the way you want, on your preferred channel.
It is important that while celebrating the wonderful realm of social media, which has revolutionised communication and the way we interact, we need to also recognise the massive efforts of people handling such online communities. These social media managers, a.k.a. gurus, ninjas, or warriors consistently share relevant channel and feature updates, industry insights, as well as their expertise and knowledge with their clients, consequently, fulfilling their roles as consultants.
Furthermore, social media has vastly changed our lives and has brought people together, which is worth celebrating in so many ways. You can share an Instagram reel that might go viral in no time or create your own TikTok dance with your own music track that can hit millions of views in just a matter of minutes. Social media is nothing short of amazing.
In this opinion piece, I have decided to celebrate the day by shedding some light on how crucial it is to grasp the three main pillars of social media and how they differ from one another. I also wish to bring awareness to the lack of perception of emerging technologies and the new challenges social media faces as a strategic business function.
The social media objective:
It all starts by asking the right questions: what are you trying to achieve, and why are you on social media?
Your social objectives, defined via specific and measurable results, act as a compass for your team, setting the directions to help you achieve larger goals. Different social media management tools can break down each of your most important metric points at a glance, regardless of what your social media goals might be.
The target audience:
Finding a target audience means discovering what kind of people are most likely to be interested in your brand, service, or product. Most businesses look at demographic information, such as, gender, age, location, income/education. marital status which is subject to availability from one platform to another.
The content strategy:
Your social media posts have the power to establish your brand as a household name, convert your followers into fans and boost brand trust.
Having a strong social media content strategy can have this kind of impact. It is insufficient to appear on all platforms and occasionally update your audience when you have the time. To have a relevant impact, you need to maintain publishing consistency.
The way to stand out on social media is to define specific goals, create valuable posts that align with those goals, and distribute content on the right and relevant channels.
Lastly, you must measure your results and optimise your strategy over time, according to the algorithm’s latest fluctuation.
Remember, testing and learning are a part of a solid social media strategy. Social media is more than just an avenue to tell your brand’s story. Use storytelling and a bit of humour to boost your marketing strategy and business success. After all, we are human beings, not chatbots.
