Color, theme, and quality are all essential ideas when it comes to social media, as they give your feed consistency and your brand direction. These design attributes can also assist in targeting potential customers. When it comes to digital content creation, consistency is key. On image-based platforms, such as Instagram, having an aesthetically pleasing and high-quality feed is essential for brand growth. Read on to discover the importance of having consistent social media themes and styles for your brand.
Color
Color can set the tone for the entirety of your social media. If done consistently and correctly, it can immensely increase attention and interest in your brand. The color scheme of your feed can tell a viewer a lot about how you portray yourself. For example, themes of white and light colors can suggest minimalism, modernity, and organization. When posting, looking for images with your specific color palette within them will amplify the cohesiveness of your social media. Filtering your pictures with a consistent filter can also add to the color regulation in your feed. When choosing a filter, look for one that represents your brand and highlights the colors that showcase you best. With a color palette reflected in your feed, branding yourself and standing out is simple.
Theme
Creating a theme for your social media is essential for establishing consistency. When creating a theme, you should assess what you are trying to communicate with potential clients. Your social media theme should reflect your services, ideas, and who YOU are. A theme is a tool that can be used to show what your brand is all about at a glance, and an effective theme will translate what your brand is from a quick look at your page. The color scheme of your social media is to draw the viewer into your page, but the theme tells them what they are looking at. Implementing consistency on social media can offer many benefits for your brand including building trust, improving reach, and strengthening your brand image.
Quality
Posting images unrelated to the rest of your feed and of bad quality can confuse potential followers and customers. Having clear, cohesive images appears professional and gives your brand a sense of credibility. A customer is likelier to trust a brand whose social media is clean and high quality than a brand whose social media is low-resolution and sporadic. Sloppiness is never a good look. Having high-quality, consistent social media can also assist in guiding your customers to the conclusions you desire. Using social media, you can highlight specific aspects of your brand to customers and more effectively promote yourself. Color and theme can draw a customer to your page; however, it is the quality of your feed that will keep them on your page.
Maintaining an Aesthetic
Maintaining the look of your social media can take time and effort. Only some have copious amounts of time to curate the perfect feed or have a deeper understanding of digital content creation. However, as difficult as it may seem, this process does not have to be rocket science. Having a set filter for your images is a fantastic way to maintain a specific color theme. By implementing this, you can worry less about photos looking inconsistent in your feed; the filter will make every image uniform. Additionally, your theme can simply be what your brand is; It does not need to be incredibly complicated. In fact, focusing solely on portraying your brand is highly effective because it showcases exactly what you can do for your customers. A content creation agency can also assist in creating and maintaining the aesthetic of your social media.
Taking pride in your social media is just as important as meeting someone in real life. First impressions are critical to the expansion of your brand, and more so than ever, these initial impressions are occurring on social media. Your social media is a reflection of YOU. Like you would “dress to impress,” so should your social media. By implementing the above ideas, your image-based social media accounts can become increasingly consistent and beautiful. A content creation agency such as Bright Age can also assist you in these endeavors.
https://brightage.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/digital-content-creation-featured-image.jpg10801080Bright Agehttps://brightage.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/BRIGHT-AGE-LOGO-header.pngBright Age2022-01-13 14:49:002023-10-31 13:53:40The Importance of Having Consistent Social Media Themes and Styles
Social media can be a powerful tool for your business once you know how to use it. Understanding what will grow your social media presence will help you build an effective social strategy. As a social media agency, we’re experts in creating successful social strategies, and will help break down some of the best practices for you to grow your social media presence.
Create Goals For Yourself
The first step to creating a successful social media presence is coming up with measurable goals to track your success. These goals should be narrowed down to a specific performance indicator, easy to measure, achievable, and time-bound. For example, a goal could be to increase Instagram reach by 20% in 3 months. Having a goal in mind is not only rewarding once you reach it, but gives you a focus to create a purposeful strategy to achieve it. If you’re not sure what goals are achievable for your business, reading up on what your industry benchmarks are on social media is an excellent place to start.
Be Human
It’s as simple as that. People want to follow accounts that build authentic relationships and transparency with their followers. For example, businesses that post the people working behind-the-scenes to build the brand makes their content more relatable and real.
Another way to bring life to your account is to give it a voice that doesn’t sound automated. Hen’s Nest Cafe is an excellent example of a business that uses a warm, friendly tone to engage with its community on social media. Responses like these feel personable and as a result, gives your audience a more positive impression of your business.
Readily engage with your audience, create authentic relationships with your followers, and simply be human!
Creating Content That Performs
Understanding what types of content performs best on social media can help you create a content strategy with growth in mind. Here are some tips to increase engagement and help your social reach a larger audience:
Create more video content. Lately, video content has gotten more exposure and engagement. With the success of TikTok, short, eye-catching video content has caused competing social platforms to release similar features for accounts to post these types of videos.
In general, video content usually performs well with algorithms because it captures the user’s attention for a longer period of time, making it an excellent way for businesses to utilize them for their growth. Start making videos and watch the engagements roll in!
Use stories. Stories are another feature that has been rolled out on many different social platforms these past few years. No matter what platform you may be using, stories are generally placed front-and-center on a user’s screen, making it an excellent way for a business to “skip the line” of the algorithm. Additionally, stories are quick to create and don’t have to be too scripted, making it the perfect way to show off the human side of your business that your audience wants to see.
Publish user-generated content. A majority of consumers believe that user-generated content holds more power in their purchase-making decision than email promotions and search engine results. Reposting content of people using your product in the real world gives your audience more trust in your product and helps them visualize how they can use the product in their own life.
Reposting this content also shows that your business acknowledges their customers and encourages future buyers to share more photos of them using your product. Customers who love your product will spread the word of your business and essentially create content for you, creating a win-win for all parties involved.
Using these tips will help your account grow its presence and create a more engaged following. As your account grows, it’s important to track it’s growth through analytics so that you can assess your performance, monitor progress on your goals, and fine-tune your social strategy.
Creating a social media with content that performs successfully and tracking its performance can be a tricky task. As a social media agency, Bright Age specializes in helping businesses like yours grow through social media. Contact us to find out how we can help you grow your social media presence!
https://brightage.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Best-Practices-To-Grow-Your-Social-Media-Presence.jpg12001200Bright Agehttps://brightage.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/BRIGHT-AGE-LOGO-header.pngBright Age2021-08-01 12:10:472021-08-03 12:12:04Best Practices to Grow Your Social Media Presence
2020 was a challenging year. There were many unexpected events that changed how the entire world operated. Despite all the bad that happened this year, 2020 was a huge year for social media. With the rise of the use of technology, due to everyone being stuck in their homes, this was a great opportunity for social media to expand their normal uses and make some change.
January
In January of this year, no one was in lockdown and everything was almost normal. People were interacting with others in person and going about their lives without a pandemic.
Meanwhile, Facebook was putting together some new tools to increase privacy settings and efficiency. Facebook created new privacy tools in order to increase the control that third parties have of a user’s data. This will give you the ability to have an “off-facebook” activity and will alert you when third parties are trying to take your information. This also connects to Facebook making ads more controllable for users. This addition will give the user the option to be in a targeted market hence either keep their information to themselves or let brands use their information. You now have an “active status” option for Facebook, meaning you can say whether you are online or not and who can see that status.
Instagram was busy as well. IGTV had an upload update, now you can upload IGTV videos from your central button. Instagram was testing the ability to check your direct messages on a desktop instead of a phone which would make it more accessible. They also added some features to their Stories which includes new stickers and new boomerang modes.
Twitter made strides to reduce harassment on the platform by adding restrictions in replies to tweets. Twitter was also testing the ability to pay users for viral or popular tweets or accounts. Twitter promoted Trend Spotlight ads which would let brands place their ads in the explore section to boost engagement. These ads could be videos, GIFs, or static images. Sadly, Twitter’s audience insight tab is now gone.
LinkedIn has a new feature where you can invite your first degree potential connections to follow your page, thus gaining connections easier. This is optional to avoid spamming. There is a function to stop the invites at 50 per day, but even then it might be spam-like. LinkedIn has also started to roll out a streaming feature where you can stream from third party websites such as Restream, Wirecast, and Socialive. This would make it easier for those to expand their connections which may lead to more job opportunities. This would also help businesses who are looking to expand their network.
TikTok had an explosion of popularity in the fall of 2019. Since then, they have quickly adapted to the standards of Facebook and Instagram. During January, they created a new search page which will give you more control over your feed. These pages include beauty, gaming, and pop culture. They also created a dark mode.
Some new social media networks that emerged in January were Byte, somewhat like TikTok but only includes 6-second video uploads, and YourStand, a social media platform that is centered around products and sharing people’s passions about products.
February
During the month of February, the pandemic had not quite hit the US. People were still going about their normal lives.
Facebook had a huge February with many changes to the platform. They created a Creator Studio App which makes life easier for those that manage business pages on multiple platforms. Using this app will allow you to: manage multiple pages at once, view/edit posts, respond to fans, receive notifications, and see insights on their posts. This will be life-changing for those that post similar content on different social media platforms. For example, if you managed two different companies on Facebook, Creator Studio would allow you to view both pages easily without having to have one login. This is more efficient especially for those who manage more than a couple pages on Facebook. They also created a one-time notification API. This will make it easier for businesses to send a one-time notification to their customers when they want to be notified. This will limit spamming. In efforts to better protect a user’s privacy, Facebook partnered with Reuters to identify misinformation in posts. This will give Reuters the ability to fact-check posts on both Facebook and Instagram. Therefore, more data will be given to other parties but there will be more regulation for posting, especially political posting. There is also a new stories discovery page, new color highlight for tags, and new feed sorting options.
Instagram also took on many changes to their platform. They added a new way to manage followers by adding a most and least interacted with when going through followers. They also added a new option for simpler communication for business accounts. There is a button on your profile that is labeled “Messages”. By clicking on this, users can be directed to messenger, WhatsApp, or direct messages.
Twitter introduced two new exciting features. First is Chroma Labs, which enables you to edit your stories with templates and frames. In addition to this, they created labels for manipulated videos and pictures. This label which will read, “manipulated media” on a post will show you whether the picture or video is real or not.
TikTok decided to add direct website links on profiles in the biography section and created a profile that is similar to Instagram.
Snapchat had a unique addition in February which was a swipe up feature for their ads. This means that if you saw an ad, by swiping up on the ad you would be directly taken to a website or an information center about what the ad was for. For example, if you see an advertisement for sunglasses, when you swipe up on the ad it will take you right to the product. This will help customers find the products they are looking for and help companies sell the products they are advertising.
March
The pandemic hit the US in March of this year. Almost every social media created a response to Coronavirus in their own way.
Starting off with Facebook, they had an information take on their COVID response. They increased their fact-checking function on posts regarding the pandemic and also banned ads that were exploiting the pandemic as well. They also made a COVID information panel at the top of all users’ feeds in order to efficiently spread reliable information. They gave the World Health Organization free ads to increase awareness on the platform. In addition to changes on the Facebook page, Facebook announced a $100 million grant program that would be used to support 30,000 small businesses that were affected by the virus. New features in Facebook that were not centered around COVID included Facebook Live tool, an updated dashboard for managing live broadcasts that includes new settings for efficiency, and mood mode for stories.
Instagram made their app COVID friendly as well. They added informational prompts at the top of the feed section as well as launched new stickers promoting users to stay at home. When these stickers were clicked on, the user would be taken to informational pages like the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control. Another feature that was influenced by COVID was the new co-watching feature to bring people together when they were quarantined in isolation. This would let a group of people watch content with each other even if they were miles away.
Twitter contributed to the COVID response by supporting and verifying informed voices, such as health experts, on the app. This way, users could see who was verified to give out information regarding the pandemic. Twitter announced a $1 million pledge to two organizations, the Committee to Protect Journalists and International Women’s Media, during COVID. Twitter is one of the last of the big social media platforms to add some sort of stories function to a profile.
LinkedIn created free Working From Home courses to continue educating those that needed jobs. They also created a news section that featured news from reliable sources about the pandemic.
TikTok was becoming a very popular app when people were forced to quarantine. Since they had this booming platform, TikTok did everything they could to inform people about the pandemic. They created an informational page about the pandemic. They also united with the World Health Organization (WHO) to make this page and do livestreams with experts from WHO that answered user’s questions and gave advice. TikTok then donated $10 million to the WHO’s response fund. In addition to this, TikTok created a new analytics tool that would measure engagement statistics for creators.
April
During April, people were quarantined and in many parts of the world. Platforms had to start to think of how to keep users interested and engaged.
Facebook created the Facebook Gaming App for users to play, stream and engage with others playing a game. They also included a function called Quiet Mode, made to help people control their time online. Quiet mode gives you a break from your technology. It mutes your notifications and will not let you back into the app before your time limit goes away.
Instagram shifted their accessibility to a desktop with livestreams and direct messages now accessible through those devices. IGTV was also updated with new features such as a section on the explore page for popular IGTV creators, ability to share an IGTV on your story, and the ability to record IGTV using a new hands-free mode.
Twitter updated their explore section to be based more on location rather than popularity. For example, instead of seeing generic advertisements for events or services that are not close to you, you will see advertisements that will be more centered around where you are. They also updated their data sharing policy by limiting the data Twitter uses to only ads that you have seen on the app or on your device. This data will be shared with other platforms in order to see what ads are being looked at and how to improve them.
TikTok also extended their device accessibility by making it possible to log into the platform via desktop. They also created a donation sticker that is being used to boost or donate to TikTok creators.
Snapchat made a new ad format as well as a new story sharing integration between multiple platforms. This will let those exchange photos or videos between Snapchat and other platforms. A new addition to Snapchat is it’s vertical video conversion tool which will let you change a horizontal video into a vertical one.
May
Facebook was very busy in May. A new AR studio was released, Sparks AR studio with more tools. This studio gives anyone with the skills necessary to create effects for their own stories. These effects could be saved and used by other users. There was also a music section of the studio that will allow you to make effects that change depending on the music you were using in your stories. Facebook also released 15 new Blueprint courses, which are educational courses for social media marketers, which will continue to teach people about marketing. Facebook also released ‘Shops’ that will give businesses the opportunity to create an online store through Facebook.
Instagram has now incorporated IGTV advertisements up to 15 seconds long. They also have included a new way to tip during live streams. Viewers can now simply press the newly added badge icons to tip the creators they are watching. The platform also added a messenger room for group chats which will allow you to start video chats with people as well. Additionally, Instagram expanded on their features by adding a ‘Guides’ tab to certain profiles which highlight recommendations or tips toward more business related content.
Twitter did not incorporate new features but was in the spotlight when Trump attacked Twitter. In simple terms, Twitter started flagging some of Trump’s tweets and he accused Twitter of being against conservative speech. This was a legal battle regarding Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. This act protects social media platforms from their users. Trump wanted to remove this act but its removal would negatively impact social media networks. As of now, nothing has been removed.
LinkedIn launched a polls feature for posts and merged live streams with events pages in order to host events through the platform to keep people safe yet engaged online. For example, instead of having to be invited to a livestream, you can enter the livestream through the homepage. This will make it easier for bigger businesses to host live events.
TikTok has now launched music rules and now can only use royalty-free commercial music for videos.
June
June was a slow month for social media with only new updates from Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Facebook launched the ability to switch between personal and business accounts on messenger. This will make it easier for business owners to switch between their professional and informal lives. In preparation for the upcoming election, they also launched a voting information center and the option to opt out of political ads.
Instagram now has ads that are not connected with Facebook. This will reach different audiences more effectively. For example, a company can create specific advertisements that will be more suitable for their different audiences on different platforms. Instagram also created pride month effects for Stories.
Twitter launched audio tweets which will change the way tweets are received and given.
July
Facebook created a new algorithm that will make original content, this meaning posts from friends, be prioritized in your feed. They also created a Touch ID and Face ID security feature for messenger that makes your chats more private.
Instagram created brand deals for TikTok creators for their launch of Reels, which launched in August. Instagram also created a feature that lets you pin a comment on a post.
Twitter launched the ability to have direct messages on a desktop. This will increase accessibility to your messages.
LinkedIn created a new career opportunities hub that was centered around the pandemic. This would give free access to skills training to help those get a job. For example, LinkedIn offers skills and educational tests that add to your profile that give you badges. When you go into the hub to find a possible new job, these free skills training badges will stand out to employers that are hiring.
TikTok was under consideration for being banned in the USA due to low privacy features.
Pinterest created a new feed algorithm that would highlight videos, new features, and content from diverse backgrounds.
August
Facebook released a whole new look for their homepage. This was a Horizon Virtual platform that gave people that ability to have an avatar and create new experiences while online. Facebook also expanded their analytics to group administrators. This would give those users the information about their posts within the group.
Instagram launched Reels, a 15 second video that is a new section of content on Instagram. This is similar to TikTok. Instagram also added suggested posts to your feed, these posts are of people that are similar to the accounts that you follow. There was another addition that gave users the ability to merge messenger and direct messenger.
Snapchat has new sharing options that would let the user share snapchats with those that are not on the platform via a shareable link.
TikTok worked this month to not be banned. They also had Microsoft and Oracle interested in buying the app which would save it from being banned.
September
Facebook launched a Facebook Business Suite which will combine your business profiles from Facebook and Instagram into one space that is available on desktop or through an app. This tool will increase efficiency when you manage an account on multiple platforms. For example, a company that has pages on Facebook and Instagram will be able to work both profiles in one studio so that it is easier to monitor the activity as well as interact with clients.
Instagram created a Rights Manager which helps find copyright infringement on both Facebook and Instagram posts. This will alert sensity content to users and creators.
TikTok made an official deal to sell to Oracle, but Oracle must develop a new feed algorithm in order to seal the deal.
LinkedIn now has a Stories feature that is globally used. This is one of the last platforms that has added a Stories feature to their platform.
October
Facebook created a new messenger look to change it up. It is more customizable and gives the users backdrops and themes to choose from. For the Facebook Groups section, new features were added to the page. This includes an administrator assistant, group topics, groups added to brand collaboration manager, realtime chats, Q&A tools, and public group discussions in the feed. This will change how the Groups page is used.
Instagram created new resources for small businesses in a site called ‘The Season for Shops’ in order to showcase smaller businesses that need help during the crisis.
TikTok became unbanned in the US and launched a partnership with Shopify, a tool to help users shop on the app.
November
Since we have just exited November, there have not been too many updates about social media apps from this month.
Facebook created a vanish mode for messenger that would imitate the ability to delete messages like Snapchat. This would be set by the user and messages would automatically vanish after the message is seen and the chat is closed.
Instagram redesigned their Homepage and gave easier access to Reels and Shop sections by creating their own tabs on the explore page.
Twitter officially launched Reels, similar to an Instagram story, where users can add content on their profile page for a limited amount of time.
This year was a very eventful time for social media. Although our world was turned upside down from this pandemic, social media platforms took it upon themselves to make the internet more accessible and user friendly.
https://brightage.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/What-Happened-in-Social-Media-in-2020-1.jpg12001200Bright Agehttps://brightage.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/BRIGHT-AGE-LOGO-header.pngBright Age2021-01-04 16:26:432021-01-26 14:10:08What Happened on Social Media in 2020
Social media has become an outlet for news, business branding, and above all, entertainment. Social media itself has the ability to entertain us for hours. Whether it be scrolling through Tik Tok videos or looking at pictures of friends on Instagram. Due to work schedules, cost of travel, or unforeseen circumstances, many companies have turned to the internet to keep their business alive. Social media for entertainment can include live streaming, interactive entertainment, and virtual events.
Live Streaming
The most common and practical way to keep audience engagement high is through live streaming on social media. For example, a yoga studio can livestream a class to Instagram, Youtube, and even Twitter. Social media for entertainment has given us a new way to keep up with events that may be compromised in certain situations. Entertainment industries that relied on in person experiences, such as concerts, festivals, and events, didn’t have to just cancel their events for the year. These businesses were able to take advantage of social media and use it to stream their events. Even after the pandemic is over, live streaming may become a cost effective way to get content out to consumers in the comfort of their own home. Using social media to market and stream these events can be used to grow a following on a different platform. For example, a notification of an event on Facebook that is being streamed on Youtube can draw in more subscribers to that account. Concert live streams are one of the most popular adaptations of the entertainment industry to social media. Using social media for entertainment, the concert is able to be advertised as well as performed on different platforms. This virtual interaction keeps your audience entertained and engaged while at home. Being online also makes the experience customized to the viewer. Some examples of this would be an interactive poll of the views cast to choose the last song the performer sings or the ability to send messages to the performer which are cast behind them as they are performing.
Social media can be used for more than just concerts. Live events such as Comic-con or even a graduation ceremony were able to be put online. The use of social media for entertainment does not only make the viewer feel like they are there, but also makes them feel like they are a part of it. It keeps them connected to annual events or occasional happenings that they would be attending if they were able to. We are so lucky to be in a time where technology can keep us connected even when we are miles apart.
Other Programs
Programs that are not considered social media are creating more ways to engage audiences through a device. Zoom, a communication program that is used for school, office meetings, family gatherings and even weddings, has special additions like a virtual background to keep people interested. Television shows are still operating but with less or no audience. This includes talk shows, such as Jimmy Kimmel and The Ellen DeGeneres Show, are continuing to do a live broadcast with an audience watching from home. Sports have limited seating or fill the stands with cardboard cutouts to fill the stadium. Simple engagements such as adding a virtual background or filling a stadium with cardboard cutouts, are ways to keep audiences engaged when they are not able to be there.
Rather than just streaming a specific event, OTT (over-the-top media service) Television subscriptions can connect you to all kinds of shows that you may be interested in. This platform service bypasses the need for cable or satellite connection and gives its subscribers a number of shows to watch via the internet. This will connect the younger generation, who is always on the internet, to shows that are normally strictly broadcasted through a cable or satellite broadcast. OTT can be accessed on smart tvs, phones, or laptops. By using OTT, you have a connection to shows that may not be able to be livestreamed such as news channels, reality tv, and many more.
Social media for entertainment is a great tool to use to keep the industry fresh in the minds of the people. Engaging an audience through live streams and online interactions can keep them excited and entertained even if they are not there. If you are having trouble boosting your entertainment engagement through social media, contact Bright Age for social media consulting.
https://brightage.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/How-to-Keep-the-Entertainment-Industry-Engaging-on-Social-Media.jpg12001200Bright Agehttps://brightage.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/BRIGHT-AGE-LOGO-header.pngBright Age2020-12-22 11:17:072023-12-06 15:32:36How to Keep the Entertainment Industry Engaging on Social Media
Due to what is happening in the world, many in-person activities have been suspended. Some activities, such as going to the store, museums, and going to school have all been able to be moved online. Although it is not the same, people have still been able to get the experiences of seeing art or learning a lesson via their computers. However, one essential part of American lifestyle has been compromised: sports. Being in an arena for a sports game is just not able to happen. Although people understand the severity of the situation, they still miss seeing their favorite sports teams play live. Not having sports in general has caused a disruption in the amount of ads usually spent on sports games. Due to the increased use of social media for entertainment, popular platforms such as Twitter and Youtube have been used to stream these games so that fans are still connected.
While the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB are up and running, a great percentage of their ads are not running. AdWeek says, “…only $100 million has been spent on sports advertising as of August 2020. But by this time last year, advertisers had already spent $1 billion.” Although their ad spending is way down, page views have been extremely high. It seems as though people have been turning toward the internet to get their sports updates instead of watching television. According to AdWeek, sports fans are the types of people advertisers should be targeting. Sports fans seem to also look at finance, technology, and automobiles, specifically luxury cars. Using this information, those that advertise in those 3 sections should pay more attention to sports fans. Since sports are not dishing out ads for their events, they are an open target for advertising markets.
Although fans are not able to be there in the stands, they have found a new way to connect with their favorite sports. Twitter has become the place to go for sports updates, sports conversations and even sports clips. Maybe it is because of the pandemic, but AdAge says that, “70 percent of the general population say they would engage with sports that they never would have followed before COVID-19. This number jumps to 83 percent of people on Twitter, giving brands even more of a reason to connect to the sports conversation where it’s happening.” The number of fans have jumped an incredible amount possibly due to the convenience of just having to open an app on their phone or because of all this spare time they have due to the pandemic. Because there are more fans joining the fanbase, and different fans for that matter, brands have some pressure to learn how to connect everyone together. People have found a new sports home on Twitter. Almost 75% of surveyed Twitter users admit that being on Twitter has been able to be that social connection that they have been missing watching sports online. Using Twitter during games keeps fans connected as well as informed.
With Twitter heading the campaign for connection online for sports fans, brands have to understand that they need a new game plan for connecting their new fanbase and old fanbase. Using social media for entertainment is an opportunity for brands to show their support of sports fans during this crazy time and join the fans in their new technological movement of the sports community. Branding and advertising is not always the easiest thing. Bright Age Digital Creative Agency can not only assist your company in marketing your brand, but can pave the way for your brand to be an essential part of the online entertainment and sports community.
https://brightage.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/The-Engagement-Between-Social-Media-and-Sports.jpg12001200Bright Agehttps://brightage.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/BRIGHT-AGE-LOGO-header.pngBright Age2020-12-14 11:04:082023-12-06 15:26:54The Engagement Between Social Media and Sports
Social media has grown into a powerhouse for businesses all around the world. Social media around the world and its reach is at an all-time high. This is all thanks to technology advancements that have happened within the past decade. Brands now use social media as their main source for customer service, digital marketing, boosting brand awareness, and engagement. Satisfying customer needs is an essential part in maintaining a brand’s image, which is why social media customer care is so important.
Customer service now is a lot different than it used to be. Although the same goal exists, which is to satisfy customer needs, it is now much more approachable and efficient due to the advancements in social technology. In fact, 67% of consumers have engaged a brand’s social media for customer needs, which is obviously a lot of exposure for a brand. Ultimately, the main objective is to develop an inclusive community via social media. One of the key elements to achieve excellent social media customer care is making sure to reply to followers as quickly as possible.
Traditional forms of customer service, such as telephone and email, and even more outdated, by mail, are not always available 24/7. However, social media is not only a lot more efficient, but in certain way it is a lot more user friendly for customers to get their questions answered. As a result, 42% of customers expect a response on social media within 60 minutes. Of course, for a growing brand this seems like an impossible task. At Bright Age, our team of marketing specialists see this task as an opportunity to help maintain your brand image. Word-of-mouth is one of the simplest ways of marketing online. As a result of good customer service, the community will feel more obliged to give positive feedback online, which others see and often make a decision to go with your brand over a competitor. For example, GoodRx, a client of Bright Age, showcased a positive review on their Instagram, which thousands of other potential customers can see.
This is an excellent way of promoting social media customer care in a way that is refreshing for the community to see. It also forms a sense of reliability for the brand in a subtle way.
Another key element in providing social media customer care is making sure each and every person in the community is being heard. All forms of feedback, questions, and comments need acknowledgement. Just as no business would leave a customer unattended to in a store, it should be the same on social media. When responding to customers online, it should sound personable, not like a robot. If you can, always greet them with their name. This is an easy, personable way to reassure customers that they are talking to an actual person. If they are simply asking for more information or asking where they can find your other social media pages, providing links is a great way to help direct customers in the direction they are trying to go.
As with everything, there is a line to draw when it comes to customer care online. Knowing what to post is crucial, considering people may interpret things differently. Of course, the hope for any business is that every review, comment, and remark is a positive one. However, some negativity is inevitable. The key is knowing how to combat negativity with positivity. For example, when a negative comment is posted, many businesses may feel inclined to defend themselves. However, this may not come off well to the community. The saying “the customer is always right” is certainly applicable for social media customer care. If someone posts a negative comment or review, it is possible that hundreds, even thousands of other customers will see this. An example of a positive response to a negative comment would start with a sincere apology, and end with a phone number to assist the customer better. Going back to the line to draw when knowing what to respond with, it is always better to leave the ball in the customer’s court, which is why giving a reachable phone number is a good idea when resolving a conflict.
When consumers need to ask a question or solve a problem, they turn to the digital world to get help, which is why social media in customer service plays a huge role in the success of a brand’s advocacy. Monitoring customer service can be tricky and hard to manage with a growing business. That is why digital marketing agencies such as Bright Age exist to help you manage every aspect of your business. Our specialists use social media management tools to assure the customer care needs are organized and settled efficiently.
https://brightage.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/social-media-customer-care-agency-blog.jpg12001200Bright Agehttps://brightage.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/BRIGHT-AGE-LOGO-header.pngBright Age2020-04-20 12:53:322020-04-23 13:05:22The Key Elements for Providing Social Media Customer Care
Let’s say you have a killer business idea. All the market research, investments and official legal aspects are done, and you are fortunate enough to have a valuable team by your side. Don’t cut the blue ribbon just yet. No business plan is complete without a clear branding vision for your company.
From B2B organizations to startups, great companies have brilliant branding style guides. Serving as the foundation for the face of your company, branding style guides should be an integral part of your marketing and content strategy.
A Brief History
Style guides are not a revolutionary concept, even though technology today makes us believe they are. With the invention of the printing press, suddenly more people could access information. Early printing publications created branding style guides relative to their businesses to create cohesiveness through layout and art as well as speech and prose. No kidding! This is why we use branding style guides today.
What Are Branding Style Guides?
A style guide, in essence, is a document that provides insight and scaffolding for the way your brand should be presented to the world from a graphic and language angle. It creates a coherent, overarching perspective of 3 key concepts:
Design: How will the logo look? What sort of color palette and themes will be used? How about font choice? What kinds of photography do you deem acceptable?
We can see that they clearly show what is acceptable from their wordmark to their logo. They allow for examples of what NOT to do to make sure that they are completely transparent.
Language: Limitations of names, pairing of brands, terminology, authorizations, endorsements, and use of content—all these things need to be disclosed. Language can also overlap with design choices – what is it that viewers should feel from a selected photograph? What kind of communication style does your brand give? Is it simple and straight to the point or is it more thoughtful and open to interpretation?
Their title page immediately introduces us to the theme of their brand. Large, block letters against a passionate photograph of players in the background invokes their bold and shameless message. Inside we find more of the same, rather instead of calling it “identity guide” or “design rules,” they have “DESIGN COMMANDMENTS,” paralleling their motto, “BE BIG, EXPRESSIVE, UNAPOLOGETIC.”
Character: What sort of personality does your brand have? Is it fun and witty or quiet and subdued?
Chipotle wants to interact with their customers on a personal level by showcasing memes about their food as well as their team. While it’s important to be relatable and approachable to customers, it is also important to highlight your products and brand as well at the same time as being in line with your mission statement.
Consistency is Key!
As discussed in our previous blog post, “The Importance of Having Consistent Social Media Themes and Styles,” consistency gives your brand a clear direction, a higher accuracy in targeting potential customers, and is necessary for brand growth. Having an aesthetically pleasing look and a clear communication style across all parts of your business is the goal here.
Not to mention, branding style guides also allow companies to tell a dynamic story about who they are and what direction they are going. With technology advancements today, businesses are fortunate to have an opportunity to tell their story on many new platforms and to an even bigger audience than ever before. It is crucial for an upcoming business to be as homogenous as possible across all areas, especially social media.
Today, social media serves as a first impression to many people about your company. Take pride in that! Building brand style guides can be overwhelming to one person, so share it with a content creation agency. Bright Age can help you with your branding and graphic design needs as well as your social media look. They can help guide you through the process and conduct the market research needed to help your company reach its potential. For more information on our services, please follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
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The number of users on social media has been increasing steadily, with a statistic from 2017 citing 1 million new users per day on average. It’s no surprise that consumers will continue to engage in social media as we enter the new decade, and it’s important that brands keep up with the newest trends in order to best coordinate their marketing strategies for the social media age. We’ve taken it upon us to compile a list of the top types of social content to try in the new year. With the help of a content creation company, you can take advantage of these new social trends for the betterment of your brand.
Conversational Marketing
It is now an expectation for brands to not only be responsive in a timely manner, but also engaging in a way that is authentic and fosters a friendly and approachable environment. This type of marketing can also be effective on the opposite end: you can learn a lot about your consumer’s needs and expectations by conversing with them one-on-one. Consider refreshing your existing social media community management strategy by working with a content creation company. Additionally, you could take advantage of a new trend that helps to meet the demands of consumers – utilizing the power of AI and chatbots to respond to customer inquiries. However, make sure that not everything you do is automated: a human voice and authenticity are important to maintain an effective conversational marketing strategy.
Product Discovery through Voice and Image Search
Multiple sources predict voice search will make up half of all search queries in the coming year, due to it being accessible as well as easy-to-use for consumers who may have lower levels of reading literacy. Image search will continue to thrive for the same reasons. In that regard, make sure your content is tailored to the voice and image search experience, and consider curating your content in a way that will allow you to gain traction on these types of search queries. Perhaps take advantage of Pinterest for your digital marketing strategy, and thoughtfully word your content so that it is easily findable for those using voice searches.
Video
More than ever, consumers are passively browsing the web, meaning more people are browsing social media without direct engagement. In the same way that image search is beneficial, video—if done in a way that is engaging and informative in a short format—can be a great tool. Partner with a content creation company to create short-form, interesting video content, or take advantage of the live video functionalities of social media platforms. The latter can also help with increasing your one-to-one communication with your audience!
Although we’re able to predict consumer behaviors on social media into the next year, the new decade still holds many questions for the future of social media marketing. New features and changes arise on a near-daily basis, and it can understandably be difficult to keep track of all the new trends. Bright Age can help you create engaging content personalized for your brand’s goals and needs, while keeping in mind the ever-changing social media trends.
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With an online presence, people will always have an opinion about what is presented. Whether the reactions are positive or negative, it’s important to have a trained customer service team ready to take action in responding. When it comes to dealing with tricky situations, using a community management agency like Bright Age can help control the situation in order to appease any upset customers.
Be Proactive
It’s likely that at some point someone may write a negative comment on your social media platforms. When a harsh statement is commented on your page, it’s important to be proactive with responding. Address the comment with an empathetic and apologetic tone, and make sure you validate the customer’s statement. Although at times there may be no perfect solution to the complaint, a timely and sincere response can help calm the customer and turn the situation around. Clients often want to feel heard, so by responding within a punctual time frame and offering a solution will help retain those customers. According to Super Office, 68% of customers leave a company because they believe the company does not care about them. This loss is avoidable by taking the necessary measures to ensure each of your followers feels recognized and valued, especially when they’re upset.
Genuinely Engage
One could make the argument that without followers or customers, a brand would cease to exist. Therefore, businesses should make it a point to show customers they are not only appreciated, but also acknowledged and heard. Interacting with followers via any social platform can be the reason a brand retains or loses its customers. Whether someone comments a simple “Love this photo!”, a question, or a harsh remark, people want to feel acknowledged. While some generic comments do not call for a response, most other comments deserve a modified response. Rather than sounding like a computer-generated response, put a little personality into the comment in order to show sincerity! By taking the time to create an original response that imbeds the brand’s identity, followers will know your brand to be one of the few who truly care.
Recognize Your Followers
Everyone wants to feel as if they are a part of something bigger, which is why it is key to make your audience feel included. Reposting their photos of them using your product gives your item more credibility since it shows regular, everyday people using and enjoying it, whereas commercial posts do not come across as authentic. Creating a sense of trust in the consumer-producer relationship retains customers. In addition to proving validity, reposting followers’ photos makes them feel respected and esteemed. It goes beyond simply liking or responding “Thank you” to comment– it shows true appreciation for their loyalty to your brand. Further, it may incite other followers to post in attempts to be reposted as well!
In this day and age, it’s hard to find authenticity online. However, by taking these listed steps, your brand will be recognized as one that nurtures their relationships with their clients. With the help of a community management agency like Bright Age, we’ll not only retain your current customers but continue to draw in others through our customer service strategies.
https://brightage.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/article-cover-photo.jpg12001200Bright Agehttps://brightage.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/BRIGHT-AGE-LOGO-header.pngBright Age2019-07-16 11:52:512023-12-06 15:22:27Importance of Community Management in a Social Media Strategy
One of the most effective ways to promote an upcoming event is through social media advertising. With the rise of social media over the last 15 years, it has become easier than ever to expand the reach of an advertisement and target it towards a specific audience, thus increasing the ad’s overall effectiveness and success in the long run. Many event promoters and large corporations have begun to capitalize on the wide reach and audience targeting tools that these platforms offer as a means of increasing their ticket sales. Utilizing a social media advertising agency to assist you in this process will help you achieve visible results and grow your ticket sales dramatically.
When advertising an event on social media, it is important to keep in mind that potential consumers already see dozens of ads a day when scrolling through their feed – yours needs to stand out. Incorporating a call to action is an easy yet surefire way to hook a user’s attention and peak their initial interest in your advertisement. Phrases such as “don’t miss out!” and “get your ticket now before it’s too late!” create a sense of urgency and scarcity, incentivizing users to want to take action quickly. According to recent studies, the average attention span is only eight seconds – successful ads capture the user’s attention, gauge their interest with information about the upcoming event, and cause them to think and act fast in regard to purchasing ticket – all within an eight-second window. Social media users don’t have time to read long stretches of copy – they’ll just scroll right past it. Using shorter phrases that successfully captivate your audience is a much more effective way to reach consumers and subsequently grow your ticket sales.
Additionally, the frequency at which these ads appear on a user’s timeline is key – a user is more likely to take action on an ad if they see it repeatedly during the time leading up to the event. As a result, many event promoters take the liberty to advertise an event multiple times in the days and weeks prior to build excitement among users. This is when user-generated content comes in handy as it saves time on content creation and highlights fan experiences as well.
Another advantage of advertising an event on social media is that it is now possible for users to purchase tickets within that social platform without exiting the app. This feature is accessible by clicking a link on the event promoter’s profile or by clicking on an ad within the user’s feed. You can even add the link to an Instagram Story, in which users can swipe up on their screen and the landing page for the purchasing site will appear. Allowing users to purchase tickets in this manner makes the ticket buying process convenient and efficient. Since over half of all online purchases are made from a mobile device, time management is crucial in navigating consumers from the ad to the relevant landing page. Subsequently, an invaluable investment for your company would be to work with a social media advertising agency to develop a successful mobile strategy to promote your event and ultimately see growth in ticket sales.
Utilizing social media is the most convenient, cost-effective, and efficient way to engage with your target audience and see growth in ticket sales for your events. It can be easy to feel overwhelmed by such an important task, but outsourcing the work to a social media advertising agency is the most effective way to successfully advertise your events and ultimately achieve your desired results.
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