What are social media users engaging with?

In the second part of her series looking at golf clubs and social media, marketing expert Lily Hymes explores the type of activity from brands that social network users have been engaging with in 2020.

Social media isn’t the same as it was five years ago, or even two years ago – both consumers and trends continue to change and keeping up is key.

Forty-five percent of consumers will unfollow brands that publish irrelevant content on social media, while 75 percent of consumers will increase their spending with brands they follow. So… What is relevant in 2020 I hear you ask? Let’s find out…

User generated content

User generated content is among the top social media trends of 2020. Many of your visitors could be fabulous amateur photographers, so take a look through your tagged images, mentions and location check-ins to find the perfect story-telling images. Don’t forget to ask the user’s permission in order to use their image!

Need more? It’s important to establish connections with your audience via customer-centric content. Doing so not only builds relationships but also encourages a constant stream of content from your followers. So, don’t be afraid to tell your customers what to post… You could encourage your customers to share photos by setting up a monthly photo competition, with a small prize on offer, or set up an experiential hashtag, communicated at check in, to encourage customers to share their experiences, for example #MyXGCRound, #OnCourseAtXGC and so on.

Sharing knowledge

‘To be educated’ is one of the top reasons that consumers are following brands in 2020, so sharing knowledge, tips and advice is the perfect content for these consumers. If you have a blog, it’s worth linking this in, as well as taking advantage of educational trend hashtags to create weekly features such as #TipTuesday or #WednesdayWisdom. You could offer a variety of advice from different team members, such as how to add 20 yards to your drive, how to make the perfect Margarita cocktail, how to spice up your favourite burger, wedding planning advice and more.

Video content

Although images currently remain the most popular type of content, video content is booming and expected to account for more than 82 percent of consumer internet traffic by 2022. Stay ahead of the curve by creating short, snappy videos (less than 60 seconds in length for Instagram) which showcase your venue, your team members or perhaps some ‘behind the scenes’ insights.

Inspiring your followers

Inspiration and positivity are so important at the moment – customers want and need to feel motivated. In fact, a huge 70 percent of consumers would like brands to boost positivity and share positive stories. You can do this by sharing great member, guest or employee stories, motivational quotes, or simply stunning imagery. Think about what makes you smile and feel good, and so long as it’s relevant to your brand, share the positivity with your followers.

Showing you care

Even prior to the current pandemic, statistics showed that people trust businesses, much more so than perhaps the government or the media. In the wake of this, business owners have started showing their commitment to supporting customers, employees, local communities and society in general. The current pandemic has only added to the importance of this, with 77 percent of consumers agreeing they feel more positively about brands making an effort to support society at the moment.

It’s important to ensure that you have acted before talking about your activities on social media, but sharing information on what you’re doing to keep your employees safe, what you’re doing to support local suppliers and the local community, and even sharing content that highlights your employees and their achievements or good deeds – these things are particularly welcomed in 2020.

Great customer service

A huge 49 percent of consumers will unfollow your brand due to poor customer service through the channels. Customers getting in touch via social media will often expect a much faster response than those who get in touch via email or similar, and slow responses could really damage your brand. Check your social channels every day for comments, mentions and direct messages, and be sure to respond even if it’s just to let them know you need to look into the question further.

Working with micro-influencers

There is, rightfully so, an increasing focus on building meaningful connections with targeted groups, rather than anybody and everybody. Fostering communities is imperative and more and more brands are therefore connecting with micro-influencers, with around 2,000 to 50,000 followers. These influencers have smaller audiences, which are more meaningful and engaged with the content, so the effect will be greater. If you’re interested in working with influencers but unsure how to go about it, don’t hesitate to get in touch!

Stay ahead of the curve and give the latest trends a go! In my next article, I’ll be sharing how to reach more potential customers using social media.

If you have a social media related question, please don’t hesitate to drop Lily a note at lily@19social.net and she’ll try to answer any questions in upcoming articles.

In the meantime, if you’d like more advice on 2020’s social media trends, you can download her latest ebook here for FREE

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