Archive for category: Community Management

Content Copyrights and Social Media Sharing

In the digital age, creating and sharing content has become a ubiquitous part of our lives – from both a personal and professional perspective. Today, content creation and sharing across social media platforms is a part of the everyday for businesses. However, it’s important to understand content copyright laws to ensure you can respect other creators while producing creative and authentic content for your success. 

How does Content Copyright work?

Copyright laws vary by country – so keep that in mind while reading, as these regulations are exclusive to the US. However, across countries, social media platforms function off of User Generated Content (UGC). While you own the copywrite to the content you produce on social media, the platform you post this content on does oftentimes require you to grant them license to use and distribute it – meaning they can display it for others within the platform. 

However, it’s important to note that, in the US, there is a legal doctrine titled Fair Use. Fair use allows use of copyrighted material without permission for certain contexts. This includes education, criticism, news reporting, or educational purposes.

Lastly, while you and other users have ownership of the content you create – and therefore legal rights over that content depending on the platform’s licensing agreements – there are still some creators who choose to share their work under licenses like Creative Commons. This makes that content open to the public domain.

In order to ensure any content is not at risk of content copyright infringement, consider the following points before posting.

1. Create Original Content 

Creating your own, completely original content is the easiest way to avoid copyright infringement across platforms. Even better, it encourages creativity and provides a way for you to build your brand uniquely – without producing repetitive content for your audience.

2. Attribute Credit Properly

When using another user’s content, it’s important to give proper credit to the creator by mentioning them in your caption. In terms of UGC, oftentimes creators will describe how to give credit in their post. Or, simply sending them a direct message is a safe way to ask permission on how to provide credits. On some platforms, like Instagram, gaining permission from the creator can be handled securely through the app.

3. Note Platform Guidelines

The copyright policies are maintained at a legal level and do not vary by platform. But, information related to copyright and intellectual property should be included in the platform’s terms of service and community guidelines. Keep this in mind when sharing or reposting content. How users may share content may differ according to the platform’s guidelines. 

4. Keep Up to Date

But remember, it’s possible for copyright laws to change overtime and according to the platform you’re using. Be sure to stay in the know about changes in these policies. 

Navigating social media copyright laws may appear intimidating. However, simply gaining a basic understanding of these laws will help you to better your online presence. For both your consumers and your own success across platforms, keeping these points in mind will ensure best practice on social media, so you can be your most creative self while respecting the work of other content creators.

Elevating your brand message is essential for having a successful brand; a great way to do this is with social media copywriting. Social media copywriting creates messages that are fit for social media posts. These messages are precise and concise to capture the attention of a brand’s target audience. 

Social media copywriting can be used for various social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and others. Followers will be more likely to engage when reading compelling content on a social media platform. If you want to make an impact with your brand message, then it is important to have good social media copywriting skills.

Some tips for elevating your brand message with social media copywriting:

1. Powerful hook words are a great way to capture the attention of your target audience. Locking in your audience’s attention can make or break all of your other strategies. This needs to work to move forward with other strategies. You do not want to choose something that is too much, but something that is just good enough to stop their scroll. The first five or six words are important and need to be used correctly to suck them in. Some examples of words that can be used to capture attention are: free, new, exclusive, limited, proven, easy, and save. These words will capture the attention of your audience and have a memorable impact on them. 
2. Being repetitive is key to make sure everyone who is seeing your brand’s content is seeing the same messages. Since there are so many platforms to post on these days, you might be followed by different people on every platform. Posting consistently on every social media platform is the best way to ensure your message is heard. Mix up the way that you are saying things occasionally so that it doesn’t seem super repetitive. Some algorithms are frustrating and hard to understand, so it is important to post multiple times to get your message across. Working with social media agencies, like Bright Age, can help brands understand the algorithm. Social media agencies have extensive knowledge on algorithms and other helpful things that will make your brand grow.

3. Using language that you would use in everyday conversation makes your brand feel more authentic. This will give your presence on social media a personality that consumers can follow along with. When the language feels very robotic, audiences will not feel a genuine pull towards the brand. Using your genuine personality in your brand’s social media will help attract your brand’s target audience. Brands have more of a distinct identity when they have specific voices on their social media pages. It is easier to recognize a brand when they have a social media presence with a strong voice. 

4. While it is good to use authentic language, it is also good to keep it simple on social media. People will be more likely to engage with your content if what you post is short and sweet. You want to be able to get to the point with what you are saying but make it concise. Social media is not the best place to include details, so it would be better to have a link with more information. Posts perform better when they are precise and concise. Making the wording simple and using the minimum number of words necessary to convey the intended meaning is the best say to get your message across.

Copywriting is the best way to show off your brand’s authentic voice on social media. Copywriting makes brands come off as more genuine, your voice will be heard. When taking all the steps to do copywriting correctly it will make your brand message come across better and clearer. Bright Age is a helpful social media agency to make copywriting easier. We have many options for different copywriting services. On the Galaxy Theatres blog there is copywriting in use, this is a good example of all the tips above being used. A team of experts worked together to create a copywriting strategy for Galaxy Theater’s social media platforms; this has made the message of their brand clearer. Overall, using a social media copywriting strategy is important for a brand to appear pronounced on social media.

Before any social media collateral goes live, it must go through multiple levels of agency-client approval. To deliver and approve aesthetic, high-performing content, individuals such as graphic designers, creative strategists, account managers and C-Suite executives must all be able to communicate easily and directly. Though multi-level communication can appear daunting at first, it can be executed seamlessly by following these steps:

1. Build a Social Media Calendar 

When working with a digital creative agency like Bright Age, we work with our clients directly to build a social media calendar. Consistent posting on social media is considered a non-negotiable for brands looking to grow engagement. Having a set posting schedule will make sure that your online presence is maximized and your brand is constantly growing. After building a timeline that works for both the agency and client, direct communication is developed to ensure both parties are satisfied with the content being generated. By having a set calendar, the agency and client both know when to approve content by and not to expect any surprises. 

2. Avoid Simple Errors 

According to a content marketing survey, 92% of marketers say that approval delays slow down the process of brand growth. Much of this agency-client approval delay is caused by lack of clear communication, theme deviation or inconsistent copywriting. These errors can be easily avoided by developing a client style guide. These client-specific documents contain all parameters for external communication and marketing. In order to expedite the agency-client approval process, it is important to proofread content and keep in mind that even small errors can slow down progress.

3. Communication is Key

When developing a company or organization’s brand identity, communication is key for both agencies and clients alike. Ideas should be shared and all collaborating voices should be heard. In order to ensure that no efforts go missing, the client approval process should be done by communicating on one platform rather than many different ones. There’s nothing worse than an agency or client email getting lost! Whether that be a management platform like Sprout Social, Sprinklr, email or a shared drive, it is vital that the approval process be done in an organized manner. 

It is also important to understand that just because your client is busy, they still may want to be involved in the content development process. Instead of barraging your client for their thoughts, sharing a document with them where they can add ideas or inspirational photos can be beneficial. Having a client’s insight present while designing or brainstorming could expedite the approval process by keeping the content relevant. 

4. Build Strong Relationships

Though it is a mutually collaborative process, agencies should delegate direct roles for direct communication with clients. Clients should know who they are working with. Clients should feel comfortable. Additionally, clients should have agency contacts that they can communicate with if something comes up. According to a survey conducted in 2021, 67% of digital marketing agencies said that the reason clients chose them was because they established themselves as strategic partners. Clients want to feel as though the agency they choose to work with is as invested in their brand as they are. A quote from a Marketing Agency COO once said that “client work is a trust-based business. After performance, everything comes down to relationships”. We here at Bright Age couldn’t agree more. Building successful relationships is integral when developing a fruitful client-agency approval process. 

5. Patience is a Virtue

Last but not least, it is important to mention that when working with a new agency, there always tends to be an adjustment period. While getting to know a new client and bouncing off ideas, it is not common for it to take a little bit of time to get acclimated to the brand’s messaging. Hence, the client-agency approval process may not always be seamless in the beginning. This is normal! Through patience, dedication and strategic partnership development, there is no doubt that a harmonious client-agency approval process is in reach.