ScLoHo Insider Extra: Social Media Marketing Trends

What’s a ScLoHo Insider Extra?

It’s an extra article that I (ScLoHo) published that is not going to be available on the Genuine ScLoHo Media and Marketing Podcast. That’s the Extra part. You as a follower, are an Insider.  Before I began the podcast in 2017, I would publish at least once a week, but sometimes more often.  I still will write these Extra stories on occasion, so let’s dig in.

Awhile ago, I wrote about knowing the difference between Marketing Trends and Marketing Fads.  Trends are long-term sustainable and even though they may go out of style, they are worth consideration.  Fads on the other hand are dangerous and you need to be cautious if you are thinking of investing time or money in them.

Social Media has been filled with both Fads and Trends and marketing people are always attempting to be on top of both. I went to a Social Media & Marketing Breakfast in Fort Wayne last year that was devoted to Snapchat.  I had mixed thoughts on Snapchat as a marketing platform before and after the event.

Granted, I’m not in the target demo for using Snapchat, but never-the-less, I’m a marketing dude who understands the big picture and the human relationship principles of marketing and advertising.

Turns out that Snapchat is falling out of favor with Social Media Marketers.

This is from Mediaposts Marketing Charts:

What’s trending in social media marketing? The latest annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report from Social Media Examiner, based on a survey of more than 5,700 participants around the world, offers some insights into marketers’ preferences surrounding social media platforms and content.

It’s worth noting at the outset that the majority of respondents are from small businesses (1-10 employees), so this report is likely not a reflection of the activities of larger enterprise businesses.

(I work with small and medium sized businesses for the most part.)

The first chart is shows where Social Media Marketers are going to spend their time with organic posts. This next chart shows where they plan on spending their marketing money:

Facebook and Instagram (which is owned by Facebook) are winners in both organic and paid activity. By the way, think of Organic as an investment in time and Paid as an investment in money.  Having been a full time Social Media Marketing Manager in my previous full-time employment, I have the credentials to speak from experience.

When I had a budget for Twitter and Pinterest, I actually moved those funds to Facebook paid promotion instead.  Also I personally don’t use Pinterest, but 5 years ago it outperformed Facebook for trackable sales for the B2C internet retailer I worked for.

I found the better use for Twitter was for customer service and turned our account over to that department to use.

Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram all require someone to run your marketing campaign that really knows what they are doing and are staying on top of the changes that are going on.  None of this social media marketing should be left in the hands of amateurs if you really want to use social media to market your business.

Reach out to me if you have questions or want recommendations.