This post is dedicated to anyone who falls into the category of communications/marketing people charged with the management of a brand in social media.
Every day I see people talking about data, statistics, numbers, formulas and algorithms that MUST BE implemented in the communication of the brand in order for it to be successful.
We have “specialists” explaining the theory of a page that has a certain number of likes and MUST have a certain number of engagement.
I admit it with my hands on the keyboard and the phone, that I too have fallen for this “That’s how it MUST be” because I saw that it works and because I read it somewhere from another specialist.
The idea is simple- I don’t think a professional who manages the online presence of a brand should work after certain algorithms, numbers, theorems, theories and trends.
Why?
You’ll see below why I disagree with these “magic” numbers in social media.
When a brand is starting to build a community/to communicate on social media, it should primarily focus on a well-defined strategy from the start. And then all the data, statistics and numbers it should take into account for an effective communication sit in the behavior of the consumer (fan, follower, etc.).
I’ll give two examples so that you understand it better.
1. Everything is different!
Too often I’ve heard at different events that we should post on Facebook within 9:10 – 9:40 in the morning or after 19:00 – 20:00 in the evening, because that’s when people use Facebook the most.
Now, if in the respective hall were 100 people managing the communication of at least 200 brands on Facebook (let’s say most of them were agency people or freelancers who manage at least 2 brands each) and all will be posting in the same time frame presented by the specialist, which is the percentage that the guy scrolling through Facebook sees all these posts? Exactly.
When should a brand post on Facebook? When the community asks for it.
That is, you take a look at the community’s behavior.
How do you look at the community’s behavior? By testing different posts.
From stock images, product images, images with the customer and the product up to video advertising, video tutorials, short videos, etc.
Behavior analysis is done through testing.
After all we are talking about different brands with different targets, different communities and different markets.
2. The question of quality versus quantity.
Robert Rose from CMI has an interesting theory about quality vs. quantity. I think if social media man would base his work on this theory, he will have some tangible results:
Quantity helps to learn and quality helps to grow your brand
Quantity helps you as a marketer learn about your community and learn from your community. Quantity should be measured and analyzed (see what I was saying above), not just published and left there to rot.
Then comes the quality part. Think about the fact that you own a brand that wants to be respected (d’oh! … what communicator wouldn’t want his brand to be respected in social media) but you keep publishing low quality content.
Please explain how that quality helps to grow the brand in online! Exactly!
When it comes to quality vs. quantity there is only one answer: both are important, but it depends on what you want.
Conclusion
1. There is no algorithm, theory that works for all brands in social media.
2. Quality and Quantity are equally important. It depends on the purpose of the question.
3. Test! Analyze! Measure! Then start all over again!
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