In Tuesday’s social media class, we learned about who is on social media and the reasons they have for being there. As one might imagine, the numbers of users are large and new platforms are constantly emerging. Facebook sits at the top of the social media chain, with the largest percentage of user engagement. However, as even Mark Zuckerberg knows, Facebook’s reign will not be eternal. People like Bobby Murphy and Evan Spiegel, co-founders of Snapchat, know that some moments aren’t supposed to last forever. Granted, you can deviously take a screenshot of that picture you received in trust, however, most users don’t abuse the power.
Integrated within social is a growing use of visual media. YouTube claims the number one spot in the race of “online services most used,” with sites like Pinterest and Instagram also in the race. And don’t count Tumblr out. The social media site claims a large portion of users’ browsing time, even when they don’t have any time to spare.
It’s not just individuals on these sites. More than 90 percent of brands surveyed for the Technorati Media Digital Influence Report stated they have a presence on Facebook. It’s nearly as high for Twitter(85%) and YouTube (73%). But why do people follow these brands?
56% of Pinterest users follow brands to learn about a product or service. YouTube claims the lead with 61% of its users turning to its platform to learn about products and services.
A large percentage of users tune into brands on Facebook and Twitter when they aren’t happy, as well. 18% of Facebook users follow a brand to complain about a product/service and 19% of brand followers on Twitter claim that reasoning.
Additionally, 57% of users turn to Twitter to keep up with activities compared to 52% of Facebook users. If you are not updating your content and providing activities to keep up with, you aren’t staying relevant. If you are not relevant, consider yourself unfollowed.
So what’s some good content? How about your new products! Engage consumers in your latest campaign, asking what their thoughts are. Do you have any promos going on? Remind users about it. Give us photos. We have become “scrollers.” If I can’t get your info quick, I’m going to someone else who will give it to me fast. I adore infographics and they’re so easy to use. At the end of the day, make sure all of this is search engine optimized. If it’s great content, don’t you want the maximum number of consumers to view it?
Do you agree? What other tips do you have?
It’s really interesting that we’re learning about this in social media when we’re talking about this in PR writing, too. We scan web pages in a F-shape and if there isn’t anything in that line of sight – we ignore it or click somewhere else.
I think that it is important for professionals to post often on their social media sites, however, there can be a point of too many “tweets” or Facebook posts. I think the best way to reach consumers without bothering them (and making them unfollow you) is to post information about 3-4 times a day.