Changes, innovations and updates are constant in the realm of tech and social media, and we’re all learning to roll with it.
I remember when Facebook was newly popular and everyone would complain loudly when the display for the newsfeed would change. Lol. Adaptation is key and everyone is getting more nimble and rolling with changes better, but as a marketer, it can still be a challenge to keep up. Here are some areas we recommend exploring with your marketing content.
Instagram Stories
In August Instagram rolled out Stories – short Snapchat-esque stills or videos that disappear after 24 hrs.
Here’s what they said “Stories lets you share multiple photos and videos, they appear together in a slideshow format: your story. With Instagram Stories, you don’t have to worry about overposting. Instead, you can share as much as you want throughout the day — with as much creativity as you want. You can bring your story to life in new ways with text and drawing tools. The photos and videos will disappear after 24 hours and won’t appear on your profile grid or in feed.”
Here are some reasons to consider using Instagram Stories as a marketing vehicle:
It’s fresh & new – users are sharing cool content. Positioning your offerings in this format can lend street cred and a cool factor. You will need to find an image or short video that’s both captivating and clearly communicates the offering. In Stories there’s no dedicated space for text to help explain the offering – only minimal text overlay. Your sales page will do the heavy lifting here. So make sure you have done a website review to ensure it is effective at converting!
This short lifespan, however improbable, engages people and makes them curious. The “get in before it’s gone” aspect is built-in.
You have to watch the story in order to receive the message. Otherwise, it will not be available. This both spurs curiosity and can prevent ad fatigue.
Get playful with Instagram Stories. Curiosity is a natural human emotion, and if you keep followers guessing, you’ll keep them watching.
Chatbots
Chatbots are providing opportunities for customers to have an interactive experience with brands and service providers through Facebook Messenger (see CNN chatbot example below).
A chatbot is a computer program which conducts a conversation via auditory or textual methods. They are designed to convincingly simulate how a human would behave as a conversational partner.
A chatbot can provide customer service, troubleshooting and FAQ’s to customers, or they can help refine and narrow down a search for items or initiate a shopping experience. They’re used to expedite a human-to-human interaction with your sales team.
It might seem odd that people would want to engage with something that is fairly obviously a bot. We get it – but early results seem to speak for themselves.
We have even learned that robot therapist Woebot has successfully provided positively rated mental health support to users. If a chatbot can successfully interface with humans to replicate one of the more intimate relationships we can have, we’re reassured it can also provide good customer service or ask for a sale!
We’re excited to see what new developments 2018 will bring!
If you’d like help integrating social media marketing in your plan, reach out.
