Content Creators: 3 Recommendations for Better Promotion through Social Media

As social media continues to develop and grow, new businesses and influencers are taking to social media every day to promote their brand and their ideas in order influence others to follow and support them. As an Radio Television Film major at Northwestern University, with an interest in the world of social media and what can be done to stay relevant and on top in an ever-changing landscape, I have found two articles that delve into the best practices to improve on one's social media presence.

Digital marketer and social media influencer Kim Garst addresses on her website's article, Facebook Live vs. Instagram Live: Differences & Best Practices, the pros and cons of each site's features and the best time to use those features. She reminds us that while both can increase followers and their online engagement, they must be used uniquely and properly to render success. Both sites share many of the same basic features for when a user goes live that help drive organic traffic and engagement. However, Facebook has much more permanence, allowing the user to keep their live video up to be watched later and continuously engaged with and repurposed. Instagram does not allow the video to be kept up, so it promotes a sense of urgency that will drive followers to engage with the user then and there in order to interact with them in real time.  By understanding these differences and utilizing them properly, brands can best promote themselves to their audiences in real time.

Image source linked here 

On Lilach Bullock's content marketing website, she has an article titled, Are Your Competitors Better Than You At Social Media? in which she addresses the tough competition that social media brings and the importance of analytics and competitive research in order to stay ahead of the game. Performing research by using the tools this article provides allows for better understanding of and engagement with your target audience in terms of types of content, timing of posts, and best hashtags for exposure. Bullock provides tools to compare different social media sites, different accounts within those sites, and monitoring and analyzing hashtags. By conducting this research and staying on top of it, one can better understand and identify future opportunities for growth and user engagement.

After reading these articles and utilizing the knowledge I have gained from my marketing education at Northwestern University, I recommend three courses of action for better utilization and promotion of a brand or content on social media:

•     Choose The Best – Pick the proper social media outlet(s) that will best reach your audience and promote your content.
•       Better Understand Your Competition – See where your competition is thriving/failing on social media and learn from it. 
•       Generate More Engagement – Don’t just post and leave it, engage with the audience and make the site personable. 

 
Remember these three action items to better engage with your followers and build an even better and more rewarding online presence. 

My name is Jennifer Spottz, and I am a senior at Northwestern University studying Radio/Television/Film with a minor in Japanese and an Integrated Marketing Communications certificate. Upon graduation this June, I will be moving to LA where I will be working for a production company and focused on best utilizing their media to promote both current and future content. 
You can find me on Twitter and LinkedIn. 

Brand Managers: 3 Ways To Deliver Content In The Digital World

Brand Manager are facing enormous challenges to differentiate, engage and meet the constantly changing purchase behaviors of their digitally empowered customers. As a brand passionate and graduate student within the Integrated Marketing Communications program at Medill, Northwestern University, I have found two interesting articles. What do brands need to focus on, in order to deliver the right content & engage with their customers in today’s interconnected world? Two articles that I am convinced, you will find interesting.


The article Trends Showing B2B Content Marketing Won’t Be Boring in 2017, published on business2community.com and written by Aashish Sharma underlines the importance of content marketing and describes trends brands have to focus on to engage with their customers. Due to the high content exposure,  Marketers need to use the right strategy to be recognized by their customers. According to Sharma, video content is going to be increasingly important as a form of marketing and 85% of content marketers already report a positive ROI when using videos. Influencer marketing is mentioned as a second big trend for 2017. Engaging influencers is becoming essential to be successful. They have the possibility to help brands gain trust and credibility. Furthermore they can build meaningful relationships. Therefore, it is important to identify the right influencer and understand how to use this opportunity most effectively. 

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/240099

Similar to Sharma, Lilach Bullock reports in her article 6 Predictions for Content Marketing in 2017, published on socialmediatoday.com, what content marketing is going to be like in the upcoming year. According to her content is a “great promotional tool for businesses” and video is driving more engagement then any other content. Whether it is on Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram or other social media platforms - video is king. Customers watching videos are 1.81x more likely to purchase that those who don’t. Bullock therefore advises to use video to deliver content in the digital world in order to make more conversions and sales. The second trend she is pointing out is that you should put emphasis on your mobile device optimization. We live in a world where consumers have their phones and tablets with them 24/7. Most content consumption is therefore on there mobile devices. Brands need to adjust and optimize all the information for mobile devices. If they do not, they run the risk that people will simply not engage with their content. Have a look at the two article to explorer additional trends that could be of interest for your brand!

After reading these two powerful articles and from my studies as a graduate student in the Northwestern Medill IMC program, I have identified three recommendations for you. Here is what you should do in order to deliver meaningful content to your most valuable audience:

• Engage through Video - Be ready to create video content, video content drives more engagement than any other content.

• Identify relevant Influencer - Through influencers, your brand will have the possibility to reach a much larger audience, because they can add to the importance of your messages.

• Think Mobile - Your Brand should create and optimize its social media content for mobile devices.

Anke von Hanstein

Creative Thinker. Brand Passionate. Insight-Driven.

Anke is a graduate student at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media and Integrated Marketing Communications (class of’17). She is currently pursuing her degree in Integrated Marketing Communications. Her strong interests in brand & content marketing within todays digital world motivates to become a marketing professional. Connect with her on Twitter or LinkedIn.