Social Media Marketing That Leads To Conversions
There are many factors at play when it comes to social media marketing and paid advertising. With video consumption at an all-time high, brands and influencers vying for attention online, all while consumer’s attention spans are dwindling, and iOS updates presenting new marketing challenges – it’s a lot for marketers to stay abreast of.
Fractional CMO & a marketing mentor for brands, Sam Ogborn shares her advice for social media marketing that converts in today’s digital landscape.
“The quest for a quick dopamine hit has never been as severe as it is now with the surge of video content across social platforms,” says Ogborn. She emphasizes that brands have two factors working against them when it comes to paid social media marketing. “First is the sponsored icon on paid content, which viewers are now conditioned to seeing and swiping, and second, the thirsty overdone three-second hook, which makes brands look desperate for attention.”
“It's clear that brands are starting to pick up on the fact that longer watch time increases reach, but it doesn't necessarily equate to clicks or conversions. This means that brands must be focused on creating clever content that clearly speaks to consumers' behaviors, habits, and motivations quickly and authentically without just trying to optimize for viewership. This goes beyond stopping the scroll and getting the click. Brands should be asking themselves, ‘why should a viewer buy, and buy right now?’ In 2023, viewers should be able to figure this out easily and quickly – and if they can't, then brands need to re-evaluate their content quickly.”
Maintain A Library Of Content
Ogborn advises to have a large content library that features both high production as well as user-generated content (UGC) so brands are ready to plug and play.
“Brands should have content that tests different copy, sounds, and hooks to figure out the sweet spot for viewers that drives action. Many brands have always lumped content management and creation into a community manager or social strategist's job, but it's becoming more common for this to be a full-time job in and of itself, as this space is moving far too quickly for this to be part of another role.”
Spearhead Partnerships With Creators
It’s important to develop longer-term partnerships with content creators, and not just one-off contracts that can fall flat and not end up achieving the end goal.
“So many brands view content creation through a short-term lens. This creates lots of one-off partnerships with creators that can feel purely transactional and surface-level. While the goal is to create content that sells in ads, seeking a true partnership with UGC creators actually get the best content. Partnerships can be in a campaign format or by outsourcing creation to a part-time creator who develops ongoing video content for your brand, which is becoming a very popular way for brands to manage the creation of their video content,” says Ogborn.
Partnerships that go beyond the transactional exchange will convey a better, more genuine message to potential customers.
“By educating creators about the ‘why’, and problems that need to be solved for viewers, the creator then has an opportunity to think more strategically about how the content they create can satisfy the bottom line. Brand partnerships span beyond paid content creation. Think about how creators can become advocates for your brand outside of paid ads. This is where relationship-building can be so effective that when it comes time for more tactical ad content creation, creators are excited and motivated to participate. Additionally, it never hurts to have some kind of affiliate program offered as part of a partnership, so that creators are more incentivized to create content that converts.”
The Quest For Higher Conversions And Better Attribution Beyond Meta
With the latest iOS updates, tracking the success of any marketing campaign is becoming more difficult. This is because the update gives users a privacy enabling option that blocks their IP address, turns off pixel tracking, and hides email so click throughs cannot be tracked in email marketing campaigns. All of this can prevent brands from seeing attribution statistics such as email open rates, conversions, and measuring the success of Facebook ads.
“iOS changes have become Meta's worst nightmare. I see many brands being more open to testing new platforms where they can get a clearer picture of their attribution from paid advertising, as well as just better performance overall. As a result, I think we'll see much higher CPMs on platforms like TikTok as brands start to shift their ad dollars from Meta, and we'll also see brands branch out to test ads on platforms like Pinterest, where shopping has become a bigger priority.”
She points out that even Google sees an opportunity to take a share of the paid market with its latest announcements around more visual search and shopping.
Attribution is the name of the game right now, and every platform wants the credit.
