Marketing in our modern world of social media trends often calls for new tactics and methods that think outside of the box. Major platforms such as Facebook have given advertisers unprecedented access to high quality marketing data, empowering them to tailor promotional campaigns and adverts to hyper-specific demographics.
And while this does much to solve the problem of discoverability, it does little to circumvent the task of getting noticed.
Our social media news feeds are deliberately packed with an endless stream of content designed to grab our attention – whether that’s to attract followers, sell products or merely curate likes.
This also places advertisers on a level playing field against one another – for example, a brand as big as McDonalds will still only have 280 characters on Twitter with which to convince prospective customers to patronise them – the same as a much smaller business.
To get around this problem, cutting edge brands turn to novel content creation approaches that can be used to stand out from the crowd – below we’re going to take a look at some of the best trends in social media marketing being employed today.
Thematic Tie-Ins
One of the most effective ways to grab people’s attention is to associate your goods and services with existing media or themes that people are known to respond well to. This is a common occurrence in the modern internet landscape, not just social media.
For example, slot games are considered to be the most popular form of game online today, with players from around the world passing the time enjoying these captivating modern takes on the classic fruit machine. But with so much competition, it can be difficult to differentiate a given game from the pack.
One of the best ways to do this is to collaborate with an existing franchise – like a new movie. Another great way is to stick to themes that people associate with fun and recreation. A key example of this is Sweet Bonanza, a 6 reel, 5 payline slot developed by industry mainstays Pragmatic Play.
This game utilizes the enduring appeal of sugary-sweet treats and candy to drum up engagement and excitement about its robust and high quality gameplay. What’s more, with an RTP (return-to-player) rate of 96.51%, its themes further facilitate the fact that it sits at the more accessible end of the scale of this competitive sector.
Giveaways
Competitions, discounts and giveaways are a fantastic way to drum up organic engagement on your posts. In recent years, this has emerged as a key component of brands’ viral marketing strategies. By stipulating post re-shares as the criteria for competition entry, every entrant thus further boosts the signal of the competition, and with it your brand.
You don’t need a degree in media strategy to know that people instinctively like free stuff, and using this method can harness that impulse to massively increase your brand’s footprint on your chosen social media platform.
Sweetening the “deal” of following your page with the promise of welcome discounts can also significantly lower the bar to entry and remove any friction users may feel about choosing to follow your page.
Community Curation
One of the most effective ways for brands using social media to stand out is to focus on defining and curating a community around your USP. Modern social media users don’t need a niche brand to sell them an entire lifestyle anymore – instead, self-awareness and a narrower approach can prove extremely beneficial.
For example, a cruelty-free makeup brand needn’t try to sell their customers on a holistic vision of a lifestyle in which their product serves a pivotal role. Instead, prioritizing discussion around cruelty-free best practices, creating a conversational and informal atmosphere, and not being afraid to take yourself less seriously can all result in substantial benefits and growth for a mid size brand.
This is especially the case on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, where a more collaborative and informal tone often goes further and wins followers far and wide.