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We're over halfway through 2023 and the social media landscape continues evolving rapidly. With increasing competition for user attention and more sophisticated algorithms, simply posting content is no longer enough to engage audiences and grow your brand's presence.
In today's oversaturated digital environment, attention is the most valuable currency. People's time and consideration are finite resources. To connect authentically and drive results, brands must become masters at sparking interest and intrigue to stand out.
This requires rethinking your social strategy with creativity and audience-centricity. Rather than hard-selling or talking solely about yourself, think like a media company - crafting entertaining and educational content people actively want to consume and share.
Adopting an "attention-first" mindset and content style paves the way for branding success on social in 2023. Here are my top tips:
Hook With Compelling Creative
Great creative remains the cornerstone of any social strategy. With billions of pieces of content competing for limited attention, yours needs to instantly capture notice and interest.
Clever, thought-provoking concepts prompt engagement and sharing. Use bold colors, striking graphics, and smart video edits to make your posts pop. Illustrations and animations also perform well to spark curiosity.
Remember - people follow brands on social for entertainment as much as information. Don't be afraid to go conceptual and tell stories vs pushing product features. Memes, humor, and trending formats (like How To videos) work when effectively branded.
Getting creative with TikTok and Instagram Reels is now essential. These short-form, immersive video formats demand imagination. Join viral challenges, leverage effects and text/voice overlays, and remix trends with your unique brand flair.
Partner With Influencers
Influencer marketing is more vital than ever, providing expanded reach and authentic storytelling. But choose partners strategically based on audience fit, engagement levels, and content style.
Nano and micro-influencers are cost-efficient options offering engaged niche communities and genuine passion for collaborating with brands like yours. Look beyond follower counts to engagement rates and personality fit.
Larger influencers boast extensive reach yet may lack relevance. Ensure their audience and channel style aligns with your brand before pursuing paid placements. Avoid shoehorning products into contexts where they don't belong.
Take an educational approach to influencer partnerships. Enable creators to tell honest stories about how your product actually fits into their lifestyle. Provide them with hands-on experience and give creative freedom to showcase authentic use cases.
Sparking Attention Through Hashtags
Strategic hashtag usage remains critical for discovery and tapping into specific conversations. Regularly identify relevant trending hashtags and community hashtags to expand your reach.
But avoid overusing popular tags unrelated to your niche - this usually backfires. Instead, focus on branded hashtags unique to your company and campaigns. Promote these frequently across channels and encourage customers to incorporate them in user generated content.
Create shareable hashtag challenges that incentivize audience participation and user created content. Challenges that spark fun, sharable stories perform well. Include branded hashtags but focus mainly on providing value for your community over self-promotion.
Curate content and repost user generated posts related to your branded hashtags. This amplifies your campaign reach while showcasing authentic experiences with your brand.
Thoughtful Social Listening
Active listening is crucial for understanding your audiences, identifying opportunities, and fueling attention-grabbing content.
Monitor keywords and branded hashtags for real customer perspectives. Use social listening tools to identify discussions and questions around your industry at large. Stay on top of trends and viral moments you can chime in on.
Integrate insights into developing creative concepts and timely responses. Add value to conversations by addressing customer feedback and providing helpful resources.
Curate user generated content for resharing. Reposting reviews, stories, and photos builds relationships with happy customers while showcasing real-world use cases. Ensure you have permission and give credit.
Listening enables you to join discussions in an authentic way rather than talking about yourself in isolation. Paying attention fosters engagement.
Rethink Team Collaboration
An agile, collaborative approach to content creation is required to sustain attention and stay top of mind.
Bring creative, analytics, community management, and influencer teams together for "attention brainstorms." Provide prompts to generate fresh angles and formats. Appoint idea ambassadors to spearhead experiments.
Enable open communication and transparency into performance data. This fosters constructive discussions about what's resonating vs falling flat. Encourage taking smart creative risks over recycled content formulas.
Schedule regular check-ins for emotions-focused feedback vs rigid reporting. How is the team feeling about the creative direction? What's sparking enthusiasm or frustration?
Working cross-functionally results in diverse, vibrant social content. Break down silos to tap your organization's full creative potential.
Stay Light and Mobile-First
With the massive shift toward mobile, vertical-first formats are now table stakes. Adopt TikTok's micro-content approach across channels: Keep videos under 60 seconds and postssnackable with minimal text.
Leverage ephemeral content that only lives 24 hours like Instagram and Snapchat Stories. These fleeting moments prompt urgency to pay attention now.
Keep visuals and captions succinct yet impactful. Mobile users' attention spans are fractured. Ensure content works on mute and can be fully consumed within 3 seconds.
Review analytics to identify where viewers drop off in your videos. Trim unnecessary segments and strengthen hooks to optimize attention from the first frame.
A mobile-first mindset instills brevity and experimentation that aids shareability and retention.
Innovation Requires Agility
As platforms and algorithms rapidly evolve, continually test and optimize your approach. Avoid formulaic schedules and evergreen content.
Regularly trial new formats - interactive polls, AR effects, multiformat sequences. Evaluating their performance helps determine your next viral hit.
Grant teams autonomy to remix trends and pop culture moments that audiences are engaging with. Capitalize on timely opportunities in an agile way.
Keep top performers easily accessible. Repurpose elements that grab attention as new templates to build consistency while maintaining novelty.
Analyze data like scroll stoppers and completion rates to pinpoint captivating moments. Systems like TapScore can provide second-by-second insights.
An agile workflow fuels consistent innovation, amplifying your odds of earning attention amidst stiff competition.
The Power of Shoppable Moments
Shoppable posts and live shopping events transform passive content consumption into direct monetization.
Insert shoppable tags seamlessly into lifestyle content - product unveilings, gift guides, routine roundups. Lowering friction keeps audiences engaged while offering a clear call-to-action.
In live shopping streams, incorporate special perks like discounts, early access, and giveaways. Limited offers prompt urgency and purchases.
Collaborating with creators on shoppable content expands your e-commerce reach. Ensure financial arrangements incentivize authentic integration aligned with their audience.
As you build anticipation and demand through social, shoppable moments fully capitalize by giving viewers a direct path to purchase.
The Future Is Attention-Centric
While tactics will continue evolving, social media's role in engaging audiences through attention and connection endures. The brands that thrive will put people first - creating for their needs and interests vs self-serving promotion.
Adopt an audience-centric mindset. Analyze how your community actually feels about your social presence and content. Talk to them directly and listen to conversations.
Build relationships beyond transactions. Showcase user stories, respond to feedback, and foster your community's passion. Authenticity earns attention and ultimately drives business growth.
As consumer demands increase, creative tests are required to capture notice and engagement. Take inspiration from entertainment and media brands.
Attention is now your chief commodity. To grasp its full power, get creative, get scrappy, and get connected. The future favors brands who can master the art of earning audience attention.
I hope these insights help guide your social strategy in our attention-driven era! I have some times available this week to meet with select business owners to help and guide them through their social media journey, so click this link below to schedule a call and let's see if we are a good fit to work together!
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