by Amadeus Finlay
The world of social media is complex, multi-dimensional and ever changing. Within such unpredictable waters, a little calm and dependability is a welcome respite for the weary digital marketer. In this edition of Exhibit City News, enjoy a bitesize A to Z of social media terms that can help navigate these tumultuous straits.
A: Audience. If there is one mantra any social media manager should adhere to, its “know thy audience.” Understand what makes your followers tick, when they are active and what is likely to gain new ones. Keep an eye on data points to determine behaviors and patterns.
B: Boosts. Boosted content, promoted content; anything supported by financial investment is known as a boost. Use this tool to push content beyond a conventional audience and make an impact on the broader world. And in this age of social media, boosted content is essential to rise above the noise.
C: Content curation. While many social media campaigns produce beautifully crafted original content, unless you share relevant information from external sources, it will fall flat. While the ideal ratio will vary by industry and organization, a good rule of thumb is a ratio of 40 percent created and 60 percent curated content.
D: Demographics. Similar to audience… but also, different. While audiences focus on “affinities,” namely interests and passions, demographic targeting is concerned with age and gender-focused advertising. Understand the distinction, mix them together and create magic.
E: Engagement. The main purpose of social media is to actively engage with customers and potential customers. Engagement is the interaction between people and brands on social networks. On Facebook, for example, engagement is defined by likes, comments and shares.
F: Facebook. Obviously. The world’s leading platform, no matter what Instagram tells you. Get the low down at: https://exhibitcitynews.com/social-media-strategies-social-media-focus-facebook/
G: Geo… tagging, targeting, filtering. Anything preceded by “geo” in the social media is the art of effectively addressing audiences based upon their location.
H: Hootsuite. While it still has its bugs, Hootsuite is the best scheduling and data processing platform for managing and timetabling content.
I: Instagram. It may have attracted the tag, Insta-spam, but this pioneer of visual social media is a must for businesses in the image-rich exhibit and convention space. Read more at: https://exhibitcitynews.com/social-media-strategies-instagram-the-social-silver-bullet-of-the-industry/
J: Join.Me. Nothing is done in a vacuum, and social media provides myriad opportunities to converse. Join.Me is a platform for facilitating remote video conferences, wherever you are in the world.
K: Kred. Seeking a way to keep track of your campaign? Kred provides a visual history of social media influence.
L: Livestream. Video is all the rage. Take advantage of the popularity of the medium by livestreaming content at events. Platforms that support livestreaming include Twitch and Periscope.
M: Mention. A simple one. Mentions are the act of tagging another handle in a social post.
O: Ow.ly. A URL shortening service to condense website addresses.
P: Pinning. The act of placing a post at the top of a business page and keeping it at the top of the feed. A great way of featuring an important announcement.
Q: Quora. When Google isn’t enough, questions-and-answer site Quora might be the solution. Complete with subject and topic guides, Quora is perfect for research and development.
R: Reach. The projected number of people that an advertising campaign could target. It also signifies how many people have seen—but not engaged with—a particular post.
S: Share. When a user reposts your content on an independent page, it is known as a share. The more shares, the better (unless it’s being done for controversial reasons).
T: Twitter. The noisy one, the political one. Learn more at: https://exhibitcitynews.com/social-media-strategies-the-little-blue-bird-tweeting-twitter/
U: Unfollow. Not desirable, but worth knowing about. An unfollow is exactly how it sounds; when an engaged user actively chooses to stop seeing branded content.
V: Viral. And now for one that is. If a post goes viral, it is rapidly and frequently shared by an exponential number of individuals.
W: WhatsApp. Now owned by the machine that is Facebook, WhatsApp facilitates social conversation with users anywhere in the world. If you have each other’s phone number and WiFi, WhatsApp allows for free calls, texting and transfer of files.
X: XXX. Adult rated content… avoid at all costs in a business setting.
Y: #YOLO. You only live once. Use this hashtag to encourage engagement with an event or idea slightly out of the ordinary.
Z: Zoom. And back to video. Zoom is a video conference tool, most often used for teaching.sw
Having worked with Groupon, IBM, Nordea, and others, Amadeus Finlay is a global connector of people and brands. He has extensive experience in professional copywriting, social media and script-to-screen video production, including on-camera hosting. A graduate of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, he holds a Master’s degree in American History. Connect with him at https://www.linkedin.com/in/amadeusfinlay/
This story originally appeared in the March/April issue of Exhibit City News, p. 18. For original layout, visit https://issuu.com/exhibitcitynews/docs/exhibitcitynews_marapr_digital_2020
