Back in 2016 when I started my online business, there were very few other online businesses. Moreover, the ROI was very high and even with the organic campaign, I was getting good enough reach. Fast forward to 2018, I noticed Facebook pushing for paid campaigns, leaving organic posting somewhere stuck in limbo. Now, matters are getting out of hand, as paid posting is the only way you can reach your audience, and that too is getting expensive. There is no doubt that 2018 was the golden era of Golden Era of Social Media Marketing and almost all businesses were shifting online.
Eventually, good and affordable internet connections like Spectrum played a very important role; moreover, users were able to seek guidance technical online without any issue, thanks to the 24/7 available Spectrum customer service number. Thanks to all these things, more businesses opted for online marketing as compared to other types.
New Reports about Social Media Marketing Performance
It seems that the golden days are over and the new report by Rivaliq about social media performance explains it very well. In light of this report Just a few years ago, marketing experts who were preaching the shift from traditional marketing styles to Golden Era of Social Media Marketing are now bewildered by the slow output and low ROI.
In case you own a business or you feel like your social media marketing strategy is not offering the output that you expected, here is what you can learn from the annual social media performance report:
Drop-In Organic Engagement
Organic engagement was always low but right now, it has reached its lowest. This is pushing social media strategists into doubt as they are questioning the budget of the strategy.
Currently, social media sites are cutting down on the overall organic reach, which is also putting strain on overall engagement.
Milking Holiday Hashtags
Hashtags have always been one of the easiest ways to reach a wider audience. For the longest time, many people were opting for fun hashtags while others wanted customized company hashtags that would help their customers segregate themselves from others.
However, the report states that more companies can get better reach and engagement by using holiday hashtags. This means the days of irrelevant hashtags are here and as long as you have something to offer for the event, you can easily pitch in at any second and post something.
TikTok over Other Platforms
As the dominant social media audience is changing, the dominant social media channel is also changing. Just a few years ago, Facebook was ranked as the dominant platform, which was later replaced by Instagram. However, now TikTok is the dominant platform.
So far Experts believe that it has more to do with the shift in generation because Instagram is more famous among millennials while TikTok is all about Gen Z. As Gen Z is stepping into the workforce, their favorite platform TikTok is also taking the lead.
Posting Frequency
Most people talk about daily posting, which means to stay on top you, need to focus more on daily posting.
However, as the shelf life of content is improving, daily posting is becoming an older trend. If your content is offering value, there is a high chance that it will stay on trend, and gather more comments and views regardless of how old it is. This is common in Instagram where overall posting frequency is quite high as compared to other social media platforms.
Reels over Videos
Reels are becoming a dominant engagement style for most brands and they have replaced long-form content and videos.
As Gen Z is becoming the biggest user of social media, they are seeking content that satisfies their appetite for short-form content. This is the reason YouTube videos are now suffering while YouTube Shorts are on the lead. Similarly, Instagram reels are performing better than Instagram videos.
Most experts believe that while short-form content has something to do with the popularity of reels, others believe that it is mainly because of the scrolling ability of the content. Most of the short-form videos auto-run or auto-play with any effort and once the video is finished, the user can move to the next automatically. Since users do not have to do so much, they find it easier to watch reels and shorts.
Sports and High Ed Take Leads
While other niches are performing well, sports and high education are beating all the other categories in case of performance. This is mainly because both niches have a much better frequency of content and high value.
Since most people actively seek learning-based content in both niches, they have successfully outperformed the rest of the niches. It is yet to be explored if the content search has anything to do with the popularity of content or its success.
Bottom Line
Simply put, social media has indeed changed a lot but its popularity and effectiveness are still the same. People who are facing issues regarding the drop in reach, sales, and other domains need to readjust their strategy and reevaluate the use of the dominant platform.
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