Forget festivities, the marketing silly-season* is upon us!
*Before we begin let me make something clear, the world and EVEN LinkedIn is littered with geniuses. Some people anticipate trends, create the future and know what lies ahead, and others do not.
As one year ends and another begins, marketers look up to their content calendars, knowing what to expect. It may be Christmas for the clients, but it’s clairvoyance, not Claus, that matters to marketers. As the start of a new year approaches, the guesswork begins and posts about pet-minding-Twitter-robots soon follow. Again, it is worth noting that this can be an exciting time of year, full of innovation and fresh ideas. Sometimes though, you can taste the guesswork, it’s an obligatory post and just an exercise in LinkedIn-ing. So, be warned, this is not Tomorrow’s World or Black Mirror, it’s a purge.
So, what ARE we saying?
Some innovations in social are amazing, and they make the digital world a great place to be.
But there’s a lot of social media we could do without, a lot. There are elements we don’t want to see in 2019, and we’re not alone. When we put the question out to our followers, they highlighted the same issues over and over. So here are the top 5 social media grievances (according to our Instagram ad office moaning) that should not make it to 2019.
- Driving Video | Niamh’s bugbear
The opening gambit for this blog was a simple question, what do you not like on social? Immediately the people who Ford and don’t focus came up. We’re not talking Top Gear hosts, no, we’re referring to those keeping one eye on the cam and the other on the road. The in-car videos can take sudden turns as the driver navigates the streets and a brainwave at the same time.
The in-car vid may be the mobile ‘Linked-Iners’ post of choice, but it’s become hazardous content for more than one reason.
- ‘Everyone has been asking me…’ Have they though? | A rant
A wise chap named Marcus Sheridan said the best blogs answer FAQs. It’s an effective strategy helping companies rank for common queries, but the questions are becoming… questionable. The, ‘everybody has been asking me (insert indescribably nuanced question here)…’ posts have gone a little too far.
Maybe in 2019, we could pre-fix our posts with a little more honesty. I offer you, ‘I found this cool feature and want to show it off’.
- Clickbait | The Internet of dogs
In an unusually bizarre request, Digital24’s Carolyn Henderson has requested that less dog content is posted online in 2019. Carolyn, a seasoned dog owner, has grown tired of clickbait dog content that rivals the Daily Mail sidebar of shame. In general, clickbait content has been deterring Facebook usage for more than just Carolyn; up to 20% of UK users considered leaving the platform at one point this year.
On this front, there is hope, as Facebook continues to cut down on, ‘you’ll never guess what Lassie does next…’ posts. Since Cambridge Analytica, they’ve invested in local journalists plus advertised in print promising more friends and family content.
- Copying Content | Seen it already
Sharing, retweeting, liking (for LinkedIn) are all sterling social media behaviour. Simply copying content is just plain lazy and very often it can damage your following. If you see something two or three times and then decide to copy the post it in its entirety, you’re fooling no one. As well as algorithms making your duplicate content less likely to appear, it can lead people to unfollow.
If you overdose your audience with copied viral content, stop. Please, leave the copy and pasted posts in 2018, use the share button instead.
- Time, Relevance, Frequency | Audience Erosion
So, to finish our list, we have selected the most common complaint online, irrelevant content. Irrelevant content came back as the top answer when we asked what to bin on Instagram, and it was quickly followed by, ‘repetitive’ and ‘stalking’. Make sure there is a connection between your post and audience and don’t post the same thing too often. Check that your ads are properly scheduled and the content is not Easter-themed in September. Place frequency caps on your ads, avoid grating your customers’ patience.
This year it was hard to believe the number of global brands still running World Cup ads and offers as far as October (it ended in July). Use Facebook insights to see what posts perform well and what your audience likes. Make sure you are engaging potential customers and not just amusing page for people who will never buy from you.
Honourable mentions
At this point, it is worth giving a shoutout to a few other issues people raised on social. In no particular order:
- Influencer Marketing having less influence
- Oversharing on Business Pages
- Baby Shark (Sorry)
- Jumping on trends late
- The word Hustle. See also: Side Hustle
- The LinkedIn notion that you can’t be successful without starting your day at 2:15 am
Folks, this has been our last big rant of 2018, thank you for reading. Have a great 2019, and we wish you every success. If this blog causes any distress, please let us know via LinkedIn between 3 am and 6 am from your car vlog.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,
Digital 24
