By Hauwa Abubakar
When it comes to social media, the dynamics are ever changing. Today, it is the adjustment to the way Company page posts are served to users in their Newsfeed on Facebook. Tomorrow it would be something else.
I have read so many articles about how to manage these trends in order to not affect a company’s social media ranking and marketing effort and many people have suggested to keep up with a compelling content strategy. Fair as it sounds, my only concern about it is that, often times, creating content is not the problem. In fact, it may be one of the lesser problems. A bigger challenge in content marketing is amplifying content to reach a target audience or customer. However, how do you amplify well-created content on a platform that subdues the visibility of your content, no matter how good it may be?
Is content really king, if it doesn’t get to be seen by your target audience? Indeed Facebook reminds us that it is not just enough to create impeccable content anymore or sharing as many as possible contents daily. Because it appears it is almost dead on arrival anyway. So, content may be King, only when it is making the right impact.
Therefore, it would be good to think of these questions before you even begin creating your content.
How do I amplify it outside social media channels like Facebook?
What is the cost of amplifying content?
Measure the cost vs the result.
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| If content is King, amplifying it is the Kingmaker. Image: Marketing Land |
How do I amplify content outside social media?
As a startup or small business owner, you’re probably thinking of how best to use social media to amplify or promote your brand without spending too much money. But with the changes on Facebook, you might have to spend more on adverts or go home empty-handed.
So, before you create that powerful content, identify first the social media that has yielded proper conversions/results for you so far. You may realise that Facebook has not yielded any useful sale or impact and you might have to concern yourself less about it and use the ones that work better for you. For instance, I found from working for a client that LinkedIn converted for them better than Facebook and Twitter-even though it was a business to consumer company not Business to Business. (LinkedIn is renowned for B2B marketing).
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So, I actually didn’t sweat about the whole Facebook Algorithm change for that client. Not that I didn’t continue using Facebook, but we invested more in a channel that gave them better conversions and value for their money.
Then there are forums and social media groups with hundreds and thousands of your target customers as members. Including other social media types. It would do you good to start identifying such classified forums and groups either in your industry or your target market, and either join or follow them or identify affiliate marketers who do. They are good platforms to promote or amplify your content, product or service. (Make sure to read their rules. Some forums/groups do not entertain selling of any kind.) You can do this by searching for say “Flower lovers forums” on Google if you sell flowers or “flower lovers groups” on Facebook.
You can also do some search marketing and advertising to enhance your online visibility and amplify your brand or content.
And then, try ads, for they sometimes convert for some people. Consider online and offline ads on online and traditional media.
The most important factor to consider is to identify the places to find your target and believe it or not, some target customers are not on Facebook so, why sweat about the whole algorithm change if you find your target isn’t using Facebook well?
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| Are ads even worth it? Image credit: Websell Solutions |
What is the cost of amplifying content?
You see, this all depends on your budget but most importantly, it is best to take it one step at a time. Before you invest so much in promotions, you need to take it slow and identify the channels that convert better. For instance, Facebook ads may not fetch you as many subscribers as a google ad and vice versa. We always tell businesses to test the waters, try different channels while making small investments (within budget) and when you identify the channel that works better, stick to that and save yourself unnecessary expenses on Social media ads.
