2022 Social Media Trends

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Last year had been a major year for social media platforms, with more and more businesses making most of the popular social media sites to boost their brand engagement and revenue.

In 2021, the users on social media platforms drastically increased to 3.7 billion globally, forcing brands to come up with innovative strategies to keep their target audience engaged. As we enter the new year, many companies are revamping their social media strategies to evolve with the rapidly changing trends.

Before you make the changes, it is crucial for social media marketing agencies to determine the trends that will start on top in 2022. Let’s have a look at the social media trends to follow this year:

Rise of the Influencers

The advancement and easier accessibility of creative tools has resulted in the emergence of creative influencers. While the traditional influencers are still going strong, businesses should look into creative influencers who are skilled in utilising these tools to create original content.

These influencers have a unique vision that allows them to flourish and gain a massive following. The pandemic has shifted the way influencers worked with limited options due to the options.

These creative influencers have emerged by providing one-of-a-kind content using limited resources. Marketers need to invest more on collaborations with these creative influencers to give their brands a unique perception.

Streamlined Social Commerce

Social commerce has emerged as a subset of e-commerce websites, where everything related to the products occurs on social media – from product promotion to post-purchase support.

Majority of consumers prefer Instagram to find new products and brands to purchase and more businesses are realising the power of social commerce. Particularly, in the past two years, when people were forced to stay at home, more people started relying on social media platforms to make their buying decisions.

Social media has now revolutionised into a virtual mall. People can easily browse through multiple products, watch tutorials, and find inspiration, leading to quick purchases. This is the reason why social media platforms have introduced commerce tools for businesses:

  • Instagram Shops and Instagram Checkout has made it easier for brands to create online stores where customers can directly purchase.
  • Pinterest has launched a Shop Tab to help consumers browse products and shop through their pinned products.
  • TikTok has been testing a shopping feature in collaboration with Shopify.

This trend will become increasingly popular this year as more social media platforms provide better commerce options for businesses and users.

Short-Form Vertical Video

Videos has been dominating social media platforms for the past few years now, but short-form vertical videos have now taken the lead after the popularity of Instagram Reels and TikTok.

There is no doubt that video content offers a more engaging way of storytelling and has proven to drive higher sales. Marketers realise that videos are a significant growth hack. Instagram videos and reels drive higher engagement than any other posts. Video Tweets get 10X more engagement.

Within a year, there has been a boom in video content from multiple creators and brands in the effort to connect more with the audience. It has helped in forming a deeper connection with the target audience and increasing awareness about a product or cause.

In 2022, more creative video content is expected from influencers, creators, and brands to improve engagement. Moreover, most of the videos now are included captions or subtitles to increase their accessibility and reach a wider audience.

TikTok Becoming Increasingly Popular

While Instagram has been popular for social media marketing in the past few years due to its high return on investment and growth rate, TikTok is quickly taking centre stage and is expected to grow more in 2022.

The recently launched TikTok quickly surpassed one billion users in September last year, making it the 7th popular social media site in the world. Due to its video format, this platform gained rapid popularity with a 45% increase in its users only in a year alone.

The demand for this social media platform continues to increase and it is estimated to become a major social media marketing site this year.

Emphasis on Burnout Prevention and Mental Health

According to a Vibely report, 71% of content creators have seriously considered quitting their social media, and 90% of content creators have experienced burnout. The lockdowns, increased time spent on social media, and the pressure of producing unique content have been major causes of this burnout.

There has been an increase in brands and creators spreading awareness about burnout effects and the importance of self-care and taking breaks. There will be a further increase in conversation around mental health and burnout prevention in 2022. It is crucial for brands and creators to produce relevant content to connect with their audience.

Instagram even launched its “Take a Break” feature that is currently being tested in a few countries, including Australia. It allows users to get notifications about taking breaks from social media after a specified duration. Instagram has also announced it will offer tips from experts to help users take breaks and prevent burnout.

More and more brands are going to step toward this direction and it is something social media marketers must consider for their strategy in 2022.

Using Paid Advertisement

Paid advertisement has already become a major thing in social media platforms. If you haven’t been using the paid ads feature, it is about time you started it.

Due to the ever-changing algorithms of social media, there is always a fluctuation in the organic reach. Many brands have seen a decrease in their reach and have increased their paid ads budget on social media platforms.

The paid advertisement on social media sites has worked well for multiple brands, indicating this should be a major part of your social media marketing campaigns.

Wrapping Up

With the increasing popularity of social media platforms and the innovative changes on these popular sites, social media marketing has become more important than ever before.

Since it is a rapidly changing sector, staying on top of the latest social media trends is important for marketers to stay ahead of their competitors. These social media trends will help you in creating a strong social media strategy and gain impressive results.

 

The Importance of LinkedIn

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LinkedIn is the largest and leading professional digital platform around the globe. It is an ideal platform for businesses to establish connections, promote their values and products, and build lasting relationships.

It is beneficial not only for individuals but for businesses as well. Creating your business page and regularly updating it helps drive traffic to your website and social media platforms. More importantly, it allows you to attract leads and the best talents for your business.

In this day and age, the significance of LinkedIn for businesses can’t be denied. Let’s have a look at why LinkedIn is important for your business.

 

Showcasing the Brand

 

LinkedIn allows you to continuously update your business page and profile to share the vision and value of your brand. It enables you to provide the most updated and accurate information about your business to your target audience and connections.

It is a platform where you can show what your brand is, what it stands for, and what your work for. It gives your potential leads, partners, and employees a brief description of your business and how it can benefit them.

Getting Targeted Reach

LinkedIn has a community of over 757 million professionals across the world. Whoever your B2B target audience is, most of them are bound to be on this platform. Through targeting and filters parameters, you can target your campaigns better. The tools offered by LinkedIn refine the scope of your message to an unparalleled capacity.

Networking Opportunities

LinkedIn allows your business to connect with potential clients, businesses, employees easily. This platform is an excellent networking tool that enables you to receive and give introductions to others and enhance your business.

Using first, second, and third connections, LinkedIn has made it easier to research businesses and prospects and build lasting relationships that would allow your business to grow.

Content Versatility

The content marketing strategies today require multiple types of materials, from videos and infographics to articles and blogs. Paid and organic reach both play a vital role and both can be easily incorporated in different styles on LinkedIn.

Visual content marketing has become even more integral for social engagement and B2B video has become a major opportunity for businesses on LinkedIn. It is crucial to share multiple types of content on LinkedIn to stay ahead of your game.

Finding New Talent

One of the best ways LinkedIn can be significant for businesses is to identify and recruit the best talent for the company. This platform is a great source to find the right potential candidates through suggested connections and advanced search tools.

People trust those companies more that are on LinkedIn and it is typically the first place candidates go to look for potential jobs and to find out more about the company before they apply. Your business can check out profiles or potential candidates, find their connections, their work history, and reach out to them.

Gaining Visibility and Attracting Users

The concept of content creation is gaining visibility for your business and attracting your target market to your brand. LinkedIn allows your business to stay active on the platform and provide relevant information to your target audience. This helps in establishing your business as a leader in your industry.

It allows prospective clients and businesses to find you, particularly if you regularly provide helpful content and discuss relevant subjects on the platform. The company page on LinkedIn is an integral factor in gaining more visibility as it can help you appear at the top of searches.

Staying Updated About Industry Trends and Innovations

LinkedIn was created to be a professional and business networking platform, making it ansy to stay on top of industry and business news. You can get all the updates on your homepage, including the latest news and activities of the professionals and businesses you are connected to.

Similarly, it also gives your business a way to share the latest updates, new products, services or projects, and any other content you want to share with your connections.

Building Relationships

Content marketing strategy focuses on long-term results. Of course, implementing one-off campaigns and ads can add value to your business. But there is nothing compared to the significance of establishing strong and authentic professional relationships. LinkedIn offers the perfect platform for that.

It gives you an opportunity to build relationships with business leaders, influencers, peers, and prospects from all over the world. You can stay connected with them by following their activities, sharing useful content, and reaching out if you have a business proposal.

Highlighting Accomplishments

Another major way of building trust among your target audience, including other businesses, clients, and potential employees, is to highlight the achievements of your business on LinkedIn. Include ways your business has benefited business partnerships, clients, and employees in the past to show your commitment and dedication.

It helps in giving your target audience an overview of what your business has to offer and how collaboration with your business can benefit them.

Finding Leads

Everyone has gone digital in today’s world and LinkedIn is one of the leading professional digital platforms that allow you to find your next lead quickly. People who are on LinkedIn are posting about jobs, trying to find jobs, looking for business assistance, researching businesses to collaborate with, and so much more.

It is a perfect way for your business to attract potential clients by researching your target audience and promoting your content and businesses to them. LinkedIn gives you all the tools and information you need to find and convert leads.

 

Technology is continuously changing, and as a result, so is the way businesses market and establish brand awareness. While there has been an increase in social media platforms where you can interact with and attract customers directly, LinkedIn allows you to attract and network with other businesses, potential employees and leads.

One of the best things LinkedIn has to offer is creating company pages, where you can define your brand and promote your business to your target audience and enhance your revenue.

How To Use Social Media To Grow Your Business

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Every business needs a presence on social media – this is now a fact.

The size of the business doesn’t matter. You can own a multinational company or a home based shop, but you still need to establish an online presence for your business. Social media marketing should be one of the most significant factors in your overall business marketing strategy.

Social media platforms allow you to connect and interact with your consumers, improve brand awareness, and enhance your sales and leads. With billions of people all over the world using social media every day, the engagement and users on the leading platforms continue to increase.

If you are wondering how to use social media to grow your business, then here are some useful tips that will get you started:

Setting Goals and Objectives
You first need to establish clear goals and objectives to create a strong social media strategy. It is ideal to follow the SMART goals framework to create specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timely goals.

Your goals should be based on the factors that would have a major impact on the business. For instance, you want to increase your sales instead of just getting more likes on the posts. Use a social media calendar to create a proper content strategy by creating the right content for the right platform.

Using the 80-20 rule can prove effective, where 80% of the content would be used to entertain, educate, and inform your audience and the remaining 20% would be used for brand promotion and selling your products or services.

Identifying the Right Platforms
Don’t just assume about which platforms your target audience spends the most time on. You need to first understand who you are targeting and find the latest data about where that target audience is spending more time.

If you are targeting Gen Z, you might focus more on TikTok and Instagram instead of Facebook. However, data has highlighted that around a quarter of users on Facebook are between the ages of 18 to 24 years.

Remember, selecting the platforms doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing approach. You can still use the leading social media platforms and focus more on one or two to meet your business goals.

Staying on Top of Your Competitors

Believe it or not, social media is an excellent means of keeping an eye on all your competitors. It allows you to get some inspiration from their performance and monitor their progress. While what works for them might not necessarily work for you, your business can still identify the trends in your industry and use them to your advantage.

It is a great way to learn from other businesses and determine what makes their performance better than you. Never copy their posts and idea. Instead, get inspiration from them and make them your own. There are various tools that can provide you with a competitive analysis on social media.
It is crucial to self-analyse and monitor your performance and where you stand in the industry.

Keeping Up To Date on Trends
Keeping up with social media trends is a great way to stay relevant and get the chance to go viral. However, it is essential to understand that not every trend or viral meme would be right for your business. Therefore, keep an eye out for the ones that would work well with your business strategy and your brand image.

However, it is still a great idea to stay updated about all trends to determine what content your target audience likes and interacts with more. It will help you in creating more relevant content for them to attract them toward your business.

Establishing Brand Recognition
Raising brand awareness is usually a top goal for many small to medium businesses. It is due to the fact that customers prefer to purchase from the businesses that they recognise. Social media can help you in building brand recognition for your business.

Compared to other media, social media platforms place your brand front and centre easily and faster. With every post, your target audience views your logo and brand name, which increases your brand recognition.

You must invest your efforts and time in coming up with relevant content and posting it with relevant images. Be sure to have the business logo as the display picture and also add your business name or logo strategically in the content and images.

Remember to avoid putting your logowhere it could be overwhelming or distracting. Do focus on the visual elements of the brand.

Quality Over Quantity
With countless social media marketing strategies available for businesses, it can get overwhelming. The good thing is that you don’t have to use all of them. Just find a few strategies that work well for your business.

The important thing to remember is to produce more quality over more quantity on leading social media platforms to make an impact. Make sure all your posts offer some kind of value to your target audience and followers. If you only try to sell, people might not want to follow your brand.

Provide them with something useful, like how-to posts, tutorials, tips, and other motivation posts. It is more about building a lasting relationship with your audience. Social media platforms even allow you to ask your target audience what they want to see through pools and questions. Use them to your advantage.

Monitoring and Refining Performance

When you implement the social media strategy, the work doesn’t stop here. It is crucial to monitor the performance of your campaign to determine what is working and what isn’t working for your business. This will help you in finetuning your strategy and enhancing the results.

Use the analytical tools available on social media platforms to monitor the progress and the results. These tools will help you in tracking the performance and modifying your strategy accordingly.

 

Social media platforms, when used in the right way, can drastically improve the performance of your business. It can enhance your brand recognition, help you build lasting relationships with your audience, and keep you in control of your marketing strategy. If you are looking for assistance with developing your social media, get in touch with us today [email protected].

Why is Social Media Important For Your Business?

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It is no longer a question whether a business should use social media.

There are currently 4.2 billion active users across social media platforms, who habitually rely on social media for entertainment, news, education and inspiration.

With this explosive growth of social media, your target audience is bound to be reachable on a platform. This makes it an invaluable tool to instantly access your customers in a fast, effective and inexpensive way.

Here are three ways why social media is essential.

  1. Build brand awareness

The increased use of social media globally has prompted users to rely on social media platforms to discover new products or services. On Instagram alone, 83%of users say they discover new products of the platform. This presents a valuable opportunity to leverage social media to build brand awareness and sell your products or services.

  1. Demonstrate your expertise

Social media presents a platform for you and your brand to demonstrate your expertise and knowledge. Sharing educational information to your target audience can establish your authority and provide added value for your customer.

  1. Engage with your audience

Social media presents the opportunity to make meaningful connections with your audience. You can interact with your customers, start conversations, answer their questions and get to know more about them. This shows authenticity and can easily build your reputation as a brand.

When optimised, social media can be incredibly effective for growing your brand and aiding the success of your business.

If you need help in establishing your brand’s social media, our team are always happy to help. At Savvy Creations we specialise in helping businesses grow through establishing a strong digital presence.

How to Generate Content Ideas for Social Media

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Are you feeling stuck with what to post on your social media?

Keeping a creative and fresh feed for your brand can be tiring, especially if you feel uninspired.

We have a strategy that can help you to consistently produce high-quality, engaging content that serves your audience.

This strategy is simple and involves using content pillars. Content pillars are topics or ideas that are the foundation of your social media strategy. Each pillar should represent relevant topics designed for your target audience. The pillars can be used to create a variety of content such as blog posts, videos and photos. Generally, the four pillars should entertain, inspire, educate and sell.

Content pillars ensure that the content you are producing is holistic and adds value for your audience, but they also provide clarity and direction with posting relevant content.

Once you have created content pillars that are able to sell, educate, inspire and entertain, you can start generating content ideas for each pillar.

Here are some examples:

Entertain:

  • Run a contest or giveaway
  • Take advantage of trending topics

Inspire

  • Repost User Generated Content (USG)
  • Post Behind-The-Scenes content of your business

Sell

  • Share customer reviews
  • Share accomplishments of your business

Educate:

  • Answer FAQ about your industry or expertise
  • Post a question box or allow your audience to ask you questions

It is important as a brand to post a variety of content in different formats. Written content such as blog posts allow you to be more technical and detailed, whereas photos and videos allow you to be more creative.

If you are still struggling with your social media strategy or content ideas, contact Savvy Creations. As social media management specialists, we provide services that generate valuable results to ensure you are optimising your digital presence.

Managing Your Online Reputation

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Your online reputation is increasingly becoming just as, if not more important than your offline reputation. We live within a world where we are quick to discover one’s online presence before anything else.

Has your friend ever recommended a really great restaurant to you, so you quickly jump online and Google their menu, photos of the restaurant and read the reviews. Suddenly, you have formulated an opinion about this place before even visiting them, and have probably decided whether or not you will try it.

It is something that we do subconsciously in today’s world. So now, more than ever it is crucial to ensure that your own online reputation is managed to make sure that people, and potential customers get a great first impression of your business!

We have created a few helpful tips to assist in managing your own online reputation.

  1. Maintain credible, well developed and accessible online platforms.

Websites are the most beneficial way to build your professional online reputation. They help to establish credibility within your industry. A website will be one of the main sources that a customer will discover when searching for your business.

It is important to ensure that your website is well developed. There are a number of templates and tools available to you to develop a website that looks good and can promote your business well. We are naturally drawn to aesthetics that we like, so ensure that you have developed a website that adequately displays your branding and promotes the messages that your brand values.

Social media has become one of the most important marketing tools within the past few years. It can increase your reach, communication and growth with your audience immensely. Using a social media strategy that aligns with your business goals, will allow you to present yourself online in a way that effectively sells your brand and will overall assist in managing your online reputation.

  1. Use quality images and content.

We now use more visual content than before to help us to make decisions about a product or service! Images and videos are what we are attracted to. Ensuring that you are using quality images on your website and social media will help boost your reputation. It displays a level of professionalism and consideration for your branding!

According to Skyword research, captivating photos are 94% more likely to get views than basic compositions!

  1. Manage Customer Reviews, both positive and negative.

 It is important to pay attention to the reviews that customers will leave on your businesses online pages. They can provide you with information on how satisfied customers are with your products or services. Give thanks to those who have taken the time to share their positive experiences with your business, it helps to build a progressive relationship with them and promotes communication.

Forbes conducted a study that determined that a customer is 270% more likely to purchase a service after a business has received five positive reviews!

It is also valuable to remember to respond to negative reviews, and to monitor the occurrences of any negative experiences. It may be an issue that you can easily rectify and will result in a win-win for both you and the customer. Managing reviews professionally and kindly can benefit your reputation with prospective customers.

Overall, managing your online reputation is beneficial in assisting your business growth and attracting new customers. Our online presence provides a public portfolio that gives potential customers a first impression of your business. It is important to manage this reputation to allow your business to flourish!

Our team of professionals work to help you build a valuable reputation to achieve your business goals. If you are looking for guidance and assistance on managing your online reputation, contact us, [email protected].

Social Media Monitoring and Social Media Listening. What is it and how can you use it to benefit your business?

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Wouldn’t it be nice to be a fly on the wall for all the conversations happening about your business?

There are many ways that you can gain extra intel on what people are discussing in relation to your business online! Understanding how people are talking about your business in the public sphere can be immensely beneficial in advancing your business prosperously.

Social Media Monitoring

Social media monitoring is a process that includes the analysis of metrics and conversations about your brand on social media. This may include the evaluation of mentions, hashtags, competitors and industry trends for your business. Monitoring these aspects online, will allow for investigation into the messages related to your business and in turn, allowing for a rapid and appropriate response to occur, to prevent any further implications to your brand and your customer.

How do we do it?

A number of key phrases and terms are determined in relation to your business and these terms are then observed to develop a strategy that will help you access the important messages for your brand. The strategy is further developed to provide responses to messages, both positive and negative to allow for a rapid two-way communication between your business and the customer. Which in turn enhances your brand reputability and sentiment.

By failing to monitor social media, there leaves an opportunity for potential issues and crises to occur. Social media monitoring is used as a preventative strategy to avoid PR disasters and allow your customers to feel valued within the business-customer relationship.

Social Media Listening

Social listening differs from social monitoring in that it refers to the analysis of conversations about your brand on social media. This technique requires not only investigating the metrics and information that analytics present; it requires an understanding of the overall attitudes, mood and themes surrounding discussions of your brand.

Social media listening allows for stronger decisions to be made in your business. Understanding the theme of the discourse surrounding your business will assist in knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your business. For example, if there is a theme surrounding negative discussions of customer service for your business online, social media listening will allow for this to be brought to your attention and will allow for the issue to be rectified.

5 Key Benefits of Social Media Monitoring and Social Media Listening:

  1. Issue and Crisis Management

The faster an issue is brought to our attention, the quicker we are able to work towards resolving the issue and preventing it from turning into a crisis! Monitoring social media will allow for a rapid response to any concerns online and resolving the issues in a manner that remains out of the public sphere can be beneficial.

  1. Engage with Your Customers

There is nothing customers love more than feeling valued by a business they are engaging with. Social monitoring and listening allows for your business to be prepared to respond to your customers with any inquiries, issues and providing them with what they are wanting to gain from your business.

  1. Track Your Competitors

Knowing your competitors is one crucial aspect of effective business management. Being able to track and be aware of the happenings of your competitors will assist in your own learning and growth. Every business is going to make mistakes at times, however, tracking your competitors will help you to learn from their mistakes and endeavour to not make the same ones.

  1. Discover New Opportunities

You never know what will spark inspiration for your next big project. It might even be a post that someone shared on social media last week. Discovering what people are saying about your business may help you discover the next opportunity for your business.

  1. Improve Marketing and Development Decisions

Social listening allows you to further understand your target market. Understanding exactly who and where to find your potential customers is a crucial skill. Listening to the discourse on social media surrounding your brand and brand goals will assist in enhancing your marketing strategies to ensure that you are executing your business in the right places. You will also be able to discover areas for improvement and development. Customers provide valuable information on social media, so using it to your advantage is a must!

At Savvy Creations, we provide services to maintain effective management of your social presence and social discourse to enhance your communication with your consumers which will inevitably provide valuable results for your business. Social media monitoring and social media listening deliver insight into your customer base and will help grow your vision to turn it into reality.

How COVID-19 has impacted digital transformation in today’s business world.

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It comes as no surprise that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the world we live in, in more ways than we ever expected. Overnight, we began relying heavily on digital technology to allow us to continue our lives as best and as ‘normal’ as we could.

Digital marketing has become the saving grace for many businesses throughout this time. Consumers are trusting the use of digital platforms to gain information about products and services, more than ever before. From online shopping to business networking, the use of online platforms have allowed businesses to continue to flourish despite the unprecedented changes that occurred and continue to occur.

It has become a crucial element for your business to enhance your digital strategy. In a time where focusing on the digital elements of your business may have been an area lower on your priority list. It suddenly became the most important step in assisting in your businesses survival. However, the implementation of these strategies will develop long-term benefits for your business.

Interacting with your clients and customer base has reached a whole new level through this digital transformation. With more people becoming well-versed in the digital space, there are new opportunities for you to reach, network and grow your audience and business. A number of studies have shown that the business world has digitised far more rapidly than previously projected due to COVID-19 and it has raised the bar for the development of a digitally inclusive future.

A survey conducted by Mckinsey and Company determined that businesses are three times more likely to say that at least 80 percent of their customer interactions are conducted within a digital landscape. Research has also displayed that on a global scale business digitisation has accelerated by approximately 7 years.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have all become well acquainted with online shopping, (it’s just a little too easy isn’t it!). In fact, in Australia since the outset of COVID-19, total online sales saw a rise of 67.1% throughout 2020.

The transition to enhancing the use of the digital space has required businesses to invest heavily in specific strategies whilst managing the security of the business. With the processes and investments that are required to do so, businesses have chosen to invest in this area for the long term.

It is now, more than ever an extremely beneficial opportunity to invest in the digital world of your business. This space has grown rapidly in the past two years and will continue to rise in importance and value.

Here at Savvy Creations, we provide the services to assist your business growth in the digital world. Feel free to reach out to our team of specialists to help you ensure you are getting the most out of your digital presence!

SOCIAL MEDIA AND MENTAL HEALTH IN 2021

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Do you have a love/hate relationship with social media? Finding the right balance is key to ensuring today’s digital societies have a positive influence on your life.

We’re all doing it

Well, maybe not everyone. But it seems more members of the global community are choosing to log into a growing array of social media options, with an increase in the average time online.

The Digital 2020 October Global Statshot Report showed social media adoption had grown more than 12 percent in the previous year, with roughly 15% of a social media users’ waking life spent on social platforms.

But it’s work

There are a multitude of positives that make maintaining a digital presence on social media platforms arguably integral to your business. But social media is more than just a marketing tool.

An online community of billions constantly expanding and evolving, social media opens up lines of communication—which can have positive and negative repercussions, if not managed carefully.

The 2019 BBC Future article, “Is social media bad for you? The evidence and the unknowns” considered the science. Despite verified pros and cons, it was difficult to draw many strong conclusions. What was clear, is that each of us are affected differently.

Quality of content

A New York University Department of Psychology study looking at how emotion shapes the diffusion of moralized content in social networks, found the presence of moral-emotional words in messages increased their diffusion by a factor of 20% for each additional word.

Meaning more shares, and therefore exposure, for emotive content. Over time it can be argued this prevalence for emotionally-effecting material likely impacts mental health, especially for those suffering from anxiety or depression.

Validation and stress

The impact of social media is a complicated issue. While it can lift loneliness, grow business, increase confidence, and be a source of inspiration and clarity—the opposite can also happen.

The risk of self-worth becoming entwined with public validation is ever-present. Relying on the approval of strangers in digital societies could leave users vulnerable and anxious, especially when attention falls short.

Have you become dependent on digital affirmation? If the answer is yes, it might be a good idea to moderate your social media habits. Mindful social media use is essential, and should be practiced by everyone.

How long have you been scrolling?

Is social media submerging your thoughts in an information overload? The Oxford Dictionary defines technostress as stress or psychosomatic illness caused by working with computer technology on a daily basis.

Consider turning off or limiting notifications. Often a notification splits your focus and impacts productivity. Behavioural intervention, such as strict social media windows in your schedule, might help.

App limits are a popular way to make yourself aware of time slipping away while browsing social media. Set an app limit, and your phone, iPad or tablet informs you when the time is up.

The New York Times ran a Smarter Living piece in 2019 titled, “How to Make Your Phone Limit Your Screen Time for You” that offers a variety of helpful hints and recommendations to curb that SM quota.

Surviving social media

For many, real world behaviour and online behaviour have different parameters. Online, people indulging in behaviour unacceptable in real life. Digital abuse has become increasingly problematic, making self-care paramount.

The ReachOut Australia website offers 5 tips for dealing with trolls:

  1. Starve Them
  2. Record It
  3. Stand Up for Yourself
  4. Log Off
  5. Tell Someone You Trust

A social media rule to keep in mind: mental health comes first. Block abusive users when necessary. You’re not obligated to engage. If minimising platform visits makes you more comfortable, use tools to schedule posts in advance.

Altering your SM feed

Curate your social media experience, by exploring possibilities. Choose keywords, hashtags, and topics to follow, or block upsetting topics and keywords. While it’s great to support a friend’s business, make sure to also follow accounts that interest you.

Certain platforms offer the option of limiting a post’s audience, regulating who can reply/comment/share, or restricting a person’s posts from your feed. Don’t hesitate to take steps that make social media more positive and engaging.

Prioritise yourself

Social media is a personal experience and how it effects an individual depends on a lot of factors. Always remember social media is a valuable tool a person or business wields for positive results.

If the experience is stressful, time-consuming, or invalidates self-worth, step back. With a focus on digital wellbeing, reshape how you use social media platforms. Stay aware, and adjust practices to prioritise mental health.

Give the People What They Want — A Good Story

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Author’s and copywriters are different. Journalists are in their own lane again, as are screenwriters.

Each artform has its own individual requirements and specialties.

But what ties them all together is how the artists must construct a story for their readers. It may be obvious how journalists, authors and screenwriters write stories as their craft is centered around recounting real or fictional events in compelling ways with compelling characters. Copywriting may look like the odd-man-out as the role focuses on writing text for advertisements or promotion; but there is (or should be) a story behind every heading, caption, website page, blog or advert.

It’s just a little less obvious.

But why do you need a story to sell something?

Stories are often looked upon as forms of entertainment. This is true, they have been entertainment since people shared stories around campfires and painted them as images on stone walls. But they are also ways of connecting with people, delving into shared experiences, dreams and emotions. With that being said, why wouldn’t you use a story to sell? Having both entertainment and connection woven into copy intended to sell a business, product or service heightens the engagement and interest that people will have with whatever is being sold.

In copywriting, there can be a complete story being told or simply characteristics of storytelling being used.

An example of storytelling characteristics being utilised can be seen in a Rolls-Royce advert written by David Ogilvy. After extensive research into the car he crafted this headline:

“At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock.”

Ogilvy could have simply said “it’s the quietest car you’ll ever drive” or “new innovations have made the noise levels of the Rolls-Royce lower than any other car at 60 miles an hour”. But NO. He chose to create a story by including small details that show and don’t tell. You get a sense of the car’s luxury whilst subtly becoming aware of how quiet it is. It’s genius.

Another element of storytelling that appears in copy is a voice—a clear, personable voice of a storyteller. In novel’s, this is referred to as the narrator, but in copywriting it’s the voice that surges out of the words and expands the idea readers have of the brand personality. How something is expressed on paper (or the web) can create playfulness, intensity, urgency and a million other kinds of voices. A strong narrative voice is a weapon every copywriter should have in their arsenal.

In terms of writing a complete story, finding a story to tell is usually the hardest part. However, most people don’t realise that if they have a product or service, there is already a great story waiting to be told. How did your business come to be? What problem did you see in the world that you wanted to help overcome? This story allows you to connect with your audience as you show them that you have resonated with their pain and have worked tirelessly to take that pain away, which builds a relationship and trust. This story will build empathy and hopefully conjure feelings of hope and inspiration.

Your big take away from this blog should be that EVERYONE LOVES A GOOD STORY. When writing for your business, don’t forget to look for the narrative that is hiding in the mundane. Find a way to weave the wonderfully creative techniques of storytelling into your copy to add interest, intrigue and investment.

Gather people around your campfire to have them listen and care about the story you have to tell.