The days of traditional social media engagement are dwindling, according to Greg Consiglio of Connectt. He provides advice on how to make social work through owned networks.
Remember when it was all about organic reach?
We all remember the golden days of Facebook. Originally a student directory focused on the university community, it evolved to connect everyone – family, friends, colleagues, and the brands, influencers and organisations we were interested in. We enjoyed the
updates filling our feed
, the content was relevant to what we had chosen to engage with and it was overall a much more personal experience.
The change to the advertising-first model
As Facebook continued to evolve this all started to change. More features were included and algorithms were altered to prioritise paid-for content. Personalised updates were eschewed in favour of ads for brands you didn’t necessarily care about. Community updates were also out, with reams of memes, fake news, and click-bait content taking their place.
While the initial sparkle of being able to target users with advertising was a huge drawcard for brands, it came at the cost of organic reach. No longer were your biggest fans and followers seeing your content out of genuine interest. You now had to pay to play, otherwise, you were out of the game. Not only did you have to compete with other advertisers but you were also playing in a seriously cluttered newsfeed.
Brands moving to owned channels
We’ve all seen the recent controversial decision from Lush Cosmetics, who, during an audit, found that on average only 6% of their social media followers were serviced with their content (other studies have estimated this can be around 1-2%). As a company, they refused to comply with Facebook’s requirements for additional reach – of paying to boost their posts.
On their website, the company explained the thinking behind the decision:
“As a business, we don’t pay for advertising. The same applies when it comes to social media. Over the years we have created, published and cross-promoted organic content and conversation with the Lush community across multiple platforms and accounts. However, it has become more and more apparent that these genuine conversations with the Lush Community cannot grow without us paying for the reach and engagement. We are proud of what we have built organically using borrowed platforms, but it is time for a change”.
In place of mainstream channels, Lush decided to invest in and focus on their own platforms, such as the Lush Labs app and Lush Player, where they report they have seen stronger engagement. Some may consider this to be a bold move, but it is likely to be one that becomes the norm for many brands. When you bring it back to basics, the key motivator of this is a desire to drive engagement and to reach out and connect with those who are interested in your brand – be it a personal brand or business.
The switch to owned social networks
With brands like
Lush Cosmetics showcasing higher engagement levels
across owned platforms, there is a strong case for brands to make the switch from third-party networks to their own private social networks. While there are many reasons to make this change, the following four are compelling reasons on their own:
- Direct connections with users. By redirecting advertising dollars into building and promoting your own branded social network, users are directly plugged into your brand, opting to be involved and partake in a community with a common interest.
- Organic reach. No more pay-to-play. You can reach your engaged users, fans and followers through organic reach in your own network. Your content is a key feature in all feeds and channels.
-
Advertising revenue / social selling
. For influencers or services, being able to monetise your own social network provides a strong opportunity. For brands, showcasing your products and services directly to engaged consumers will drive up conversion, and ultimately revenue. - First-hand data and insights. All data on how users interact with you is yours to understand. Alternatively, polls or surveys can be run through the platform to understand user needs and preferences. This is a golden nugget for businesses wanting more information on how best to connect with end users.
These are just the starting points – there’s a range of other reasons to remove the “middle network” and create your own space to engage directly with fans and followers. The future of social lies in creating your own community, the way you want it, free from the noise.
What B2B marketers need to know about social selling
Social selling is terribly misnamed. It actually has very little to do with selling, and everything to do with marketing. And it just won’t work without marketing’s support and involvement. And almost two-thirds of senior marketers believe marketing should own social selling.
