The Evolution of Social Media
Social media is in a continuous state of evolution, keeping users, brands and communicators on their toes, ready to adapt to new trends. Though it’s challenging to determine which factors trigger the point of inflection, its clear that all publics invested in the social ecosystem are interconnected. When one flexes, the others shift.
Take for example some of the recent changes in user engagement trends. As Julie Atherton notes in “Social Media Strategy: A Practical Guide to Social Media Marketing and Customer Engagement,” users have gone from fishing for compliments with their posts, like they did back in the days of Friendster and MySpace, to seeking more authentic and private engagements. We are traversing through a cultural pendulum fueled by the uncertainty of the pandemic and social unrest responding to racial injustices. So naturally users are gravitating towards more substance. Social channels, including Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, have addressed this desire by expanding their engagement capabilities with features like Stories, Messaging and Reels.
These changes have inspired social media managers to become the chameleons of the communication world in order to better adapt to the new trends. Copywriting and analytics continue to be solid skills that are essential in the industry. However, the boom of social media has compelled social media professionals to expand their proficiencies in areas like public speaking for live streams and production for videos, one of social media’s most crucial elements, according to Winner Winner Chicken Dinner founder Joe Youngblood. (Goodwin, 2020)
Social media managers have also had to refine their design skills to account for the fact that visual content yields more engagement than just text alone. And with more people intrigued to comment and post, those leading the social strategy must also be prepared to engage the community with extra customer service savvy. After all, in many instances the social media department will be the initial point of contact for audiences seeking information on the company, products or services offered.
The gate keepers of social media for brands have also changed from expensive celebrity spokespeople to influencers, with even nano influencers wielding more clout over audiences than power influencers. This all circles back to users commanding more authentic connections on social media. Consequently, these intimate engagements can incorporate a call to action by influencers on behalf of brands without coming off as superficial.
Social media has also evolved into helping brands develop a more symbiotic relationship with their audiences. It is no longer effective to just limit outreach strategies to banner ads or pay-per-clicks. On the contrary, promoting user generated content, like contests, social posts with hash tags and consistent interactions, offer the most meaningful ways to nurture this connection on social.
It’s really important to underscore that the evolution of social media has ripples that extend to how these initiatives are measured. There’s a big movement on the public relations side of social to get the metrics right by ridding the industry of the Advertising Value Equivalent, an outdated concept that uses column width in print or seconds in broadcast media to determine the value of coverage. AMEC chairman Richard Bagnall deems the AVE’s ineffective for confusing cost with value, essentially comparing apples with oranges. (Bagnall, 2017) He reinforces his points by noting the importance of The Barcelona Principles, a global movement which brought together the PR industry in 2010 to raise the standards of measurements and evaluations. Those same professional came together again five years later to revamp the standards across all communication channels, with more emphasis on qualitative methods. (Rockland, ND)
Qualitative metrics are especially crucial when it comes to gauging success on social platforms, and managers can be effective in leading on this. By helping brands determine their message pull-through, thoroughly monitoring audience mentions on social channels, and then measuring those mentions (sentiment analysis) to determine an emotional connection, social media leaders can help avert reputational damage. These same communication professionals can also help brands measure their level of engagement (share of voice) with audiences to dominate important conversations, giving organizatoins an advantage over the competition, (Carpenter, 2019) a strategy that has bolstered the sales and social advocacy of brands like Nike and Ben and Jerry’s.
We can expect the metamorphosis of social media to continue. The question for social professionals to meditate on is, how far in front will they be in leading on the changes?
Atherton, J. (2020). Social media strategy: A practical guide to social media marketing and customer engagement. London: Kogan Page Limited.
Bagnall, R. (2017, June). The Definitive Guide: Why AVES are invalid.
Carpenter, M. (2019). Definitive guide to PR measurement.
Goodwin, D. (2020, January 14). 10 Important 2020 Social Media Trends You Need to Know. Retrieved September 03, 2020, from https://www.searchenginejournal.com/2020-social-media-trends/342851/
Lua, A. (2019, May 20). Social Media Manager: 10 Important Skills and Traits You Social Media Manager Will Need. Retrieved September 03, 2020, from https://buffer.com/resources/social-media-manager-job-description/
Rockland, D. (n.d.). Introducing Barcelona Principles 2.0