Instagram algorithm changes – a return to form?
In March, Instagram launched a fresh series of algorithm changes that aim to organise user feeds more chronologically. This change addresses criticism by users that feeds are regularly clogged up by old photos viewed hours ago, with new posts seemingly lost.
The shift will be a welcome change to users, who can now feel more confident that their posts will be seen by their followers in a timely fashion. However, these ‘changes’ aren’t really a huge shift, if anything they’re a return to form for the platform, who until 2016 arranged user feeds entirely chronologically.
If we had to organise social media platforms in terms of their user feeds, you could quite neatly divide most platforms into two camps. In one camp are platforms such as Facebook, who rely very heavily on algorithms to predict and arrange a user’s feed according to their activity and habits. In the other camp, real time platforms such as Twitter, who arrange their user feeds predominately chronologically and encourage news-based interaction and live tweeting.
Increasingly, Instagram isn’t very easily distinguishable into either camp. While the platform was founded on the principle of showing you and your friends’ personal snaps as they happen, the major shift in 2016 to an algorithm based feed mirrors its parent company Facebook. This latest ‘change’, best described as a ‘revision’ will hopefully strike an equilibrium by controlling what a user sees while keeping feeds fresh and timely.
The main takeaway from this latest round of changes? Expect to see more up to the minute posts, less photos from 2 days ago but a feed that is still arranged around your user habits. This minor tweaking of the Instagram feed is a timely reminder for businesses to evaluate their own social media strategies, and to explore the growing list of features Instagram now offer. At the top of the list is Instagram stories. Stories are a great way to reach users up to the minute, encouraging a series of posts throughout the day and lessening the dependence on the traditional feed to reach users.
Would you like to review your social media strategy or content plan? Get in touch today.
10 reasons why businesses need a Social Media Manager
We all know why social media is important for business. But do you think you need a social media manager for your business?
One thing we hear regularly from our clients is that while social media is a must-do and a huge part of their marketing strategy, it's more often than not the last thing on their daily to-do list. And we can understand why, when you're running a business you've got a million things on your mind, without even thinking about social media strategy, target audiences, analytics, content creation, community management - the list goes on. And yep, that all falls under the umbrella of the 'social media manager'.
But while you're ticking off your daily tasks to keep your business running, you may be neglecting the one thing that has the potential to take your business to the next level - social media.
Why is professional social media management important?
Firstly, the person managing your social media accounts is effectively the ‘voice’ of your business. If you wouldn’t put that person in front of 1000 people to promote your business on your behalf, you shouldn’t put them in charge of your social media voice - which potentially reaches a far greater audience on a daily basis.
Secondly, strategy, quality, consistency, engagement and innovation are the keys to social media success. Without these key points, your social media efforts will be in vain. By outsourcing the ongoing management of your social media channels to a dedicated strategist, you can ensure your business is not only utilising social media in a strategic manner designed to produce real results for your brand, but they're producing high quality content and distributing it a consistent, targeted manner, aimed at increasing engagement and reach for your business. (Or in other words, getting you 'seen and heard' online!)
Here are 10 reasons why businesses need a Social Media Manager:
- To develop a social media strategy. Without a great social media strategy in place, your efforts may be in vain. Your social media manager will set out a strategy for you that is geared towards achieving success online.
- To create amazing content. In 2017, your social media manager is no longer just that, (or at least at Melbourne Social Co they're not!) They are photographers, writers, stylists, publicists, community managers - you name it, the list goes on. And as part of our role, we will create and source amazing content for your brand. Because let's face it, in the crowded social media market place, you need amazing content to stand out from the crowd.
- To boost SEO (search engine optimisation): A Social Media Manager understands search engines (or knows someone who does!) and can create content that is optimised for this purpose.
- To communicate in a unified voice: A Social Media Manager will get to know your brand, define your audience and create a unified social media message to appeal to your target market.
- To manage the online community: The Social Media Manager acts as a 'brand ambassador' by listening to your customers on social media and responding in a timely manner. Social Media Managers can also be excellent PR agents, by reaching out to news outlets and bloggers who can help your business grow.
- To save time: Social Media Management takes time. Having people contribute to the process without a defined schedule or strategy won't help your marketing efforts and is often an afterthought. A Social Media Manager is dedicated to managing the digital marketing of your business - it's his/her job.
- To handle social media automation/scheduling: A Social Media Manager knows how to get the most out of social media by using a variety of tools and techniques. These methods can help grow the business and save money in the process. Do you know what is the best time of day to post particular content online? Your Social Media Manager does and can schedule posts accordingly.
- To have someone with business knowledge: Social Media Managers not only know social media, they also understand all facets of your business. They know what's important and which trends to follow because they interact with the various departments. They can confidently act as the 'voice' of your business as they are on top of what's going on.
- To track campaigns: A Social Media Manager can measure and track campaigns to see what works and what doesn't, and then adjust as necessary.
- To stay abreast of trends and technology: People who know the basics of social media may not be as informed as a person who works in social media marketing day in and day out. Just because you post on Instagram daily and love to use Pinterest doesn't necessarily mean you will be able to strategically manage your businesses online profiles.
So, now you know why a Social Media Manager is important, what should you do?
If you're looking to outsource your social media management, we can help.
We'd love to chat to you about your digital marketing needs, so that we can put together a custom full-service solution for you.
Please contact us for more information: [email protected]
Social Media Terminology 101
Sometimes the world of digital marketing and social media can seem hard to understand, that’s why we thought we’d share with you some of the most commonly used terms in social media so you can start to get your head around this essential marketing tool.
Common social media marketing terminology:
SEO: Perhaps one of the most important terms for all businesses to know is SEO – which stands for Search Engine Optimisation. Search Engine Optimisation refers to implementing strategies and techniques to improve the quality of unpaid traffic to a website from search engines.
Hashtag: A hashtag is used to categorise content on social media platforms and make it searchable for consumers and audiences. An example could be #fashion.
Engagement Rate: Here at Melbourne Social Co we are big believers in measuring the engagement rate of your social media marketing content. But what does it mean? Engagement rate refers to the amount of times people have clicked, liked and shared your content on any given platform.
Facebook Advertising: Advertising on Facebook has quickly become a huge part of any business marketing strategy. It refers to paying to “boost” posts on Facebook so more people can see the content and engage, or to create banners or posts with varying objectives to target your consumer. Facebook advertising can be tailored to a range of demographic variables from location, age, gender and interests.
Re-tweet: This term comes from Twitter and happens when another account shares the tweet you have posted so that their followers can also see the content regardless if they are following you or not. Re-tweeting is a great way to make your twitter account and content visible.
Snapchat: Loved by millennials, Snapchat is a social media platform where you can send pictures or videos of your day-to-day life with a 10-second time limit to your choice of friends. You can send “stories”, which means all your friends can view the 10-second media for the next day or so, or send images directly to a person for a one-time only viewing.
Instagram: One of the most on-trend social media marketing platforms right now is Instagram, a great way to share images to your followers in a visual, creative and engaging way.
Pinterest: Commonly referred to as the new ‘Google’ of image searching, Pinterest is a way to create visual boards of images on various topics that have link backs to your business or personal website or other sites of interest.
GIF: GIF is an acronym for Graphics Interchange Format, which means small-animated images that consumers love!
Handle: This term refers to the name of someone’s social media account. For example, our Instagram handle is @melbournesocialco.
Need help figuring out other social media lingo or social media in general? We have a range of packages and services available for your business, including content creation and distribution and social media 101 training.
Contact us: e: [email protected]
Why is Social Media important for small business?
Because your customers are already using it.
Consider these statistics of Australian Social Media users from August 2014:
Social Media Statistics Australia – August 2014 - source socialmedianews.com.au
1. Facebook – 13,400,000 users (steady)
2. YouTube – 13,000,000 UAVs
3. WordPress.com – 6,100,000
4. Tumblr – 4,600,000
5. LinkedIn – 3,900,000
6. Blogspot – 3,050,000
7. Twitter – 2,791,300 Active Australian Users (see calculation)
8. Instagram – 2,060,000 Active Australian Users (see calculation)
9. TripAdvisor – 1,550,000
10. Yelp – 1,300,000
11. Snapchat - 1,070,000 Active Australian Users (see calculation).
12. Tinder – 1,000,000 Australian users
13. Flickr – 740,000
14. Pinterest – 380,000
15. Reddit – 160,000
The chances are that much of your target market is already using social media. If you want to reach clients and prospects, you need to be where they are – by using social media you’ll increase the odds that your marketing message will get through to a significant number of them.
It will help you connect with your customers/clients.
Most marketing channels are one-way in nature – a business sends out its marketing message, and the consumer receives it. With Social Media, you can actually have a conversation with your audience. Social Media helps to create a community of fans and followers that see you as more than just a business entity.
They’ll view you as someone they trust, and people use the services of those they trust.
Not sure where to start in the crazy world of Social Media? Melbourne Social Co offer a range of packages for businesses looking to begin, expand on or capitalise on the ‘noise’ their brand is making in the digital world.
Contact us for more information - [email protected]