Tik Tok is surging in popularity as it captures the zeitgeist of the Covid-19 global pandemic and puts the “social” back into social media. 

Want to know what it’s like on the frontlines of the fight against Covid-19? Hop onto Tik Tok and you’ll see protective gear-clad healthcare workers sharing first-hand accounts of their experiences: insights about their job, coronavirus facts, tears, pleas for supplies— and, yes, even whacky dances too.  

@icu.nurseashtonPeople are out here dying. You can stay at home to help stop that. ##TheSongOfUs ##happyathome ##nursesoftiktok ##coronavirus ##healthcare ##stayhome♬ original sound – flighthouse

@aecolburnCorona outbreaks got us nurses like…##nurselife ##nurseprobs ##nurseproblems ##nursesbelike ##nursesoftiktok ##nurses ##scrublife ##nurse ##PPE ##morph♬ original sound – cidcurry

Want to experience quarantine? Watch everyday people share the trials and tribulations of working from home and eating their way through their pandemic pantry hoard. 

@iampaynday 3 in quarantine and all the clubs are closed so i gotta make my own party! ##paynp ##coronavirus ##quarantine♬ Satisfaction – DJ Tokeo

This is, perhaps, the first social platform that makes millennials feel “old.” With more than 800 million active users globally, the Chinese-owned platform initially grew in popularity amongst Gen Z (roughly ages seven to 22). At first, no one could understand the appeal—not even millennials. Wasn’t it just a silly app for lip synching and dance-offs? Isn’t it kind of what Twitter’s Vine used to be? As it turns out, that’s exactly what it is, and everyone loves it. 

In recent months, there has been an influx of celebrities and brands jumping onto Tik Tok to join the conversation. Everyone from the Jenner clan to J Lo is hopping on the platform to reach a younger demographic. During Fall 2019, leader of the NDP political party Jagmeet Singh joined Tik Tok in his race for Prime Minister of Canada. Even the World Health Organization has a new account to share important updates about “Rona” as it is now affectionately called.

@thejagmeetsinghPractice social distancing my friends. Stay safe! ##covid19 ##covidー19 ##coronavirus ##foryou ##fyp ##foryoupage @gurkirankaur_♬ original sound – tiktokh0e

Multi-generational appeal

But, it’s not just young people who are joining Tik Tok in droves. Hold the phone, the soccer moms are here. And, so are the grandparents and realtors too. The multi-generational appeal in the platform is apparent as families enjoy the dance challenges and memes that make this platform so fun. While the majority of the globe goes into some level of self isolation for the foreseeable future, Tik Tok has become a fun and engaging way to both spend time with the ones you love and see how other households are spending their time together. 

Music Discovery

Though it’s a video platform, audio is actually the backbone of Tik Tok. The “rinse and repeat’ nature of the platform means that movie clips or sound bytes from songs become memes and spread like wildfire. From foot tapping to hand clapping to shuffle dance routines, it’s a whole new way to discover music and rift off trending content. Somehow, in all of this, the Macarena has even made a come-back. 

There are entire YouTube and Spotify playlists dedicated to curating the most popular Tik Tok songs. At the time of writing, Blinding Lights by The Weeknd is a viral hit, inspiring everyone from nurses to grannies, to try a new catchy 80s-jazzercise-inspired dance routine. Justin Bieber (often an early-adopter of emerging social platforms) recently launched his new single “Yummy” on Tik Tok and more musicians are sure to follow suit.

@theweekndMusic can bring joy during dark times. Thank you to the doctors and nurses risking their health and safety everyday for us. XO @nursesavyrose♬ The Weeknd – Blinding Lights – gregdahl7

Putting the “social” back in social media

When’s the last time you literally LOL’ed scrolling through Twitter? How many Facebook ads do you see before you can even find your friends’ updates on the platform? There has been a feeling amongst social media users (and even social media professionals) that many platforms have lost their social nature and become nothing but ad channels.  

Tik Tok has become a refreshing sanctuary for many. As its revenue model is still evolving, the platform still feels very real and intimate. We users are still experiencing the sweet golden hour before pay-to-play swoops in to ruin the party and fill the feed with branded content. 

Tik Tok’s all about getting people to interact with one another, have a laugh and share a moment of humanity with the world. The engaging and addictive “For You” tab serves up content from complete strangers, customized to your taste. And, the “Duet” feature allows you to challenge people to a dance off.

During these incredibly trying times, we are a captive audience, craving social connection and joy. With social distancing and physical isolation fast becoming a part of our new reality, it’s refreshing to have a window into the lives of others—a friendly reminder that we aren’t so different from one another after all. Nor are we alone. 

 As I reflect back on my decade of working in this space, I have seen the fads, the innovations, and the flops. What initially began as a means of connection and communication has evolved into a powerful marketing and advertising tool that has been embraced wholeheartedly by the masses – not to mention brands, influencers and media.

Have a read through my 6 tips for navigating the social media universe today, tomorrow and into the future.

Don’t go chasing algorithms. Trust me on this one. They change so frequently, it’s becoming nearly impossible to keep up, let alone game the system. While we can have a surface-level understanding of the intent behind algorithm changes, the truth is that the sophistication of algorithms is beyond human comprehension. Strategies that work today may not work tomorrow, as machine learning analyzes thousands of data points and optimizes against them. Instead, focus on producing insight-driven content that resonates. Know your audience, understand their interests, behaviours and pain-points and you will be far more successful than if you were to spend your time dissecting how algorithms work.

Remember MySpace, Foursquare, Ello, Peach, or Google Plus? Their rise to stardom seems so long ago now. Change is the only thing guaranteed in the social media space. Social networks have risen and fallen, just like the ancient civilizations of our past. Every social network prides itself on continuous innovation, though new and flashy features have flourished and failed over the years. Always allocate at least 10% of your resourcing to innovation and testing. However, being flexible and agile is key. It won’t serve you to be rigid with your strategy, so don’t chase your tail. Fail quickly and move on.

If you can do just one thing, spend your efforts on creating quality content, versus quantity. The social media audience of today is fickle and discerning. You are competing against thousands of other brands and content creators who are vying for shortened attention spans. Put yourself in the position of others and ask yourself the honest question: “Would I share this?”  Spend time on your creative and really think it through. There are plenty of turnkey, budget friendly tools available to help you up your production game.

Please, whatever you do, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. All it takes is an ousted tech CEO, a drop in shares for one of the big giants, or a disastrous data breach, to leave a Silicon Valley business hanging by a thread. Remember the list of social channels above? At one time they seemed like steadfast investments, but have now become irrelevant. While Facebook is currently THE best place to reach a broad range of customers, it may not always be the case. Keep your options open and be prepared to shift your approach or you could be left in the dust.

Every customer counts. Having a social response strategy will help you ensure that every customer comment (whether good or bad) is addressed. Of course, there are the trolls who stop at nothing to try and discredit and harm a company. However, the majority of customers just want to be heard. Approaching social media response with humanity, humility and even a little humour can do wonders for building your brand reputation.

Storytelling approaches are as diverse as the companies that employ them. But, education and emotion-driven stories should be the tenets of every social media strategy. It’s been said many times that content is king. But context and insight are equally as important. Teaching people something they didn’t know – or stirring up an emotional connection with your audience is the trick to holding their attention – and building loyalty over time.

Every day, I’m inspired, humbled – and even a little astounded – by the speed at which social media is changing. There’s no question that online communication has brought out both the good and evil of the human race. But, I’m still hopeful that connecting our global community through the power of technology and storytelling brings people together in new and unexpected ways. Ideas are exchanged with every Livestream, every Tweet, and every inspiring image. And even if a small fraction of those ideas bubble to the surface to make the world a better place, then that’s just fine by me.  

Do you have a social media challenge for us to solve? Get in touch and let’s chat! 

The world has been abuzz in recent weeks amidst the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica data scandal. This is, perhaps, the most damaging and far-reaching revelation in the company’s 14-year history. Rally cries to #DeleteFacebook have been trending for weeks – and many individuals, including large brands like Tesla – have followed through on this threat.

Mark Zuckerberg’s scrutinized testimony at the congressional hearing, was followed by Facebook and Instagram’s sweeping API changes to crack down on how advertisers and third parties can access and use customer data. This has created a ripple effect across the digital marketing industry, as third-party developers and software companies play catch up.

But, I’m not going to write a blog post today about how marketers can adapt their privacy, data usage policies and overall social media advertising approach to the new era of social media marketing. There is plenty of coverage on that. Today, I’d like to share my thoughts how we must create healthier boundaries around social media.  

Admittedly, I am in deep conflict about the state of affairs of the digital media landscape. Having worked in the social media space for over a decade now, I’ve helped some of Canada’s top brands capture the hearts, minds and attention of their customers. On a personal level, I have met and connected with amazing friends and colleagues, and have access to a flood of helpful information on a daily basis that helps me stay on the cutting edge of this industry. That said, I have also had my fair share of burn outs from staying connected to the firehose day in and day out.

The utopian vision of universal connection on which social media was founded upon has been crumbling for years now. Left in its place, there is a darker, more dystopian landscape, where social media has become a tool powered by algorithms, populated by marketers and, in some cases, manipulated by “bad actors”.

The #DeleteFacebook movement isn’t directly caused by the data scandal – this sentiment has  been simmering below the surface for a while. It’s as if we know our social media usage isn’t sustainable, but we want to find a reason to cut the cord. The Cambridge Analytica scandal is just the latest reason, but it won’t be the last.

We all know that the platforms on which we’re spending increasing amounts of time are creating damaging dopamine-fed behavioural loops, where we keep checking for Likes and RTs like Pavlov’s dog and bell experiment.

Thanks to machine learning designed to personalize the experience, our feeds have become information echo chambers where our values, news sources and ideals are reinforcing existing views versus exposing us to diversity of thought. There are countless studies that speak to the direct correlation between an increase in social media usage and self esteem issues, anxiety and depression. To put it plainly, our current-day usage of social media is unhealthy and it’s making society worse off.  

But, it’s not as simple as turning off our social media is it? We’re tied to social media for many reasons, whether it be work, social lives, extracurricular activities, committees or family.

Creating Mindful Habits

In my view, we don’t have to look at social media usage as all or nothing. There are still many positive benefits to using these tools – in moderation. We can create boundaries around how, when and why we use social media to enhance our lives – and when we need to put the phone away.

It’s not just about locking down our privacy settings and being more aware of third-party apps. It’s about creating mindful habits to allow moderate usage and give us the freedom to experience life outside of the addictive sandbox that has been carefully crafted for us.

I work in the digital space, so spend some days completely glued to one social channel or another for my clients. But, I’m working to create boundaries in my personal life by:

• Setting specific hours for when I check my social feeds and private messages
• Being mindful each time I pick my phone up to check my feeds. I ask myself: “Is this out of habit or are you checking for a specific reason?”
• Thinking before I post: “Am I just posting to get likes?”
• Creating digital detox days where I turn my phone off or leave it home
• Opening the virtual door at a reasonable time, not while I’m still in bed

The Advertising Model

The largest digital platforms, Facebook (and Instagram), Twitter, Google (and YouTube), have all been built around a business model whereby the tool is free for users and paid for by advertisers. On the surface, it’s going well. Facebook’s meteoric rise since it went public in 2012 has meant great financial gains for its shareholders as its ad platforms continue to rake in obscene amounts of cash. In 2017, for example, Facebook reported earnings of $39.94 billion USD in ad revenue.  

The problem is that to sustain their advertising model, these digital giants need to keep enhancing their habit forming technology to keep users coming back for more.  What if there was another way to sustain these platforms, ad free? For example, if Facebook charged its 2 billion users just $20 per year for an ad-free platform, that would cover off last year’s ad earnings.

Scientist and technology watcher, Jaron Lanier, explained more about shifting this paradigm on the TED stage in Vancouver this year:

 

I know I am not alone in the struggle to find balance between real life and the virtual worlds that continue to pull at my coat tails. This is going to be an ongoing challenge for our society as we fight against the dystopia.

One thing is certain though, there is a groundswell of discussion around this topic in academic, tech and digital marketing circles. Thought leaders with creative solutions are emerging and it’s only a matter of time before the landscape shifts once again. I just hope we can steer ourselves back to that utopian vision so many of us still believe in.

Last week, Facebook announced  that in order to combat “fake news” and over-crowding of its Newsfeed, it will now prioritize content produced by people versus publishers, media and brands. While organic reach has been steadily declining for years, this officially marks the final nail in the coffin.

In his official statement Mark Zuckerberg indicated that users will now “see less public content like posts from businesses, brands, and media” and more from their close connections and groups. Additionally, he said, content emphasizing “meaningful interactions between people” will be elevated in the algorithms that power Newsfeed.

So, what brought us to this place? For starters, Facebook faced heavy scrutiny in the wake of the United States presidential election, after allegations that the platform was used as a pipeline for distributing fake news with the intent of manipulating voters.

Meanwhile, due to an influx of advertisers, Facebook is facing its biggest challenge yet: supply and demand. Its pipeline of available reach (organic or paid) is at capacity, which means the user experience has declined as Newsfeed becomes cluttered with ads. Facebook is no longer a social platform – it’s a media platform. But, if it can’t keep its users, there will be no advertisers.

Exact timelines for this roll-out are still unclear, but one thing is certain: it’s time to rethink your Facebook marketing approach.

Having weathered many of Facebook’s product and algorithm storms over the years, we have some insights to share on how we think the landscape will change in 2018:

1. Pay to Play, But Spend More

Remember, it is a publicly traded company with revenue targets and investors. Facebook needs advertising dollars to exist. Your advertising spend is more important now than ever, but at what cost?

Organically posting photos and videos to generate organic engagement for your business page is no longer going to be enough. The cold, hard truth is that you have to pay to play in the Facebook landscape, and it’s essential to carve out a budget in order to reach anyone at all. Otherwise, there is no point in generating content.

In this new era, Facebook is no longer the “cheap and effective” media platform it once was. It’s still effective (incredibly so), but at a higher cost than ever before. According to a report by Adstage.io, CPM (cost per 1000 impressions) jumped by 172% in 2017, while overall impressions and reach have not increased. This demonstrates a major inventory problem and Facebook’s desperate efforts to moderate Newsfeed for its users.

Is Facebook still worth the media investment? For the time being, yes. Its powerful targeting and reporting systems are second-to-none. But, don’t be surprised if you have to pay more to achieve the same results in 2018.

2. Declining Website Referral Traffic

For a time, Facebook was on track to outperform Google in terms of web referral traffic for some industries. Media outlets in particular, were experiencing a renaissance. Now, Facebook referrals are called into question as the team has blatantly said brands and publishers will experience declining website traffic from the platform.

Does this mean that you should stop posting blogs and links on Facebook? Not completely. A reduction of link posts is definitely in order, but if your business produces thoughtful, educational, provocative content, people will still read it – and, importantly, share with their friends. All this to say that good content will be elevated by the people.

The key here is to monitor your Facebook Insights closely and evolve your content based on performance. Do more of what’s working and remove the things that aren’t delivering outcomes.

3. Less Cadence, More Quality

There was a time when posting seven days per week was essential to keeping the lights on.  However, more is not necessarily better. With the exception of targeted content (for time zones or specific demographics), businesses should aim to produce fewer, but better content – and always amplify with ad spend.

On top of that, Facebook is now focused on quantifying and prioritizing engagement versus simply counting all engagements as equal. A comment trumps a reaction. A longer-comment trumps a shorter comment. The deeper we can engage our audience, the more relevant we will be in this new world.

The Facebook algorithms will elevate content that fuels conversation between people. It’s more important than ever to truly understand your audience and what matters to them, so you may generate the most engaging content possible. Leveraging your insights to get a deeper understanding of keywords, pain points, FAQ, and human truths will ensure you’re on track to keep your tribe talking.

4. More Strategic Use of Video

For several years, we’ve been harping on video as the next frontier in social media marketing. But, does Facebook think we’ve gone to far with it? As video has exploded, quality and quantity of interactions on the platform have declined, due to the passive nature of the medium.

Facebook VP, Adam Mosseri, recently told Wired that not all video is created equal with the algorithm shift. Videos that don’t spark interaction with the audience in some shape or form may be deprioritized.

Facebook LIVE, while not a blanket solution, will be an important tactic in the content mix. Not only do fans receive a notification with a brand page is live streaming, but engagement mechanisms and prompts are naturally built into the user experience.

5. Influencers With Engagement Focus Will Reign

Brands are already scrambling to reach new audiences by any earned or paid means necessary, and the new algorithm shifts bode well for influencers. Even now, the “influencer outreach” checkmark is a staple on most marketing plans.

While we don’t know exactly how the Facebook changes will impact influencer brand pages yet, the speculation is that they will have even more skin in the social media game. This could spark exponential growth in what is already a multi-billion dollar industry.

Identifying and partnering with micro and macro influencers who resonate with your target audience is a winning strategy for the simple fact that personal and curated stories are more relevant and engaging to customers.

Influencers who value audience engagement above reach are most likely to benefit from the halo effect, while those with mass following and little community might suffer. The challenge for this group will be to maintain credibility and sustain engagement in a world where almost everything they publish is sponsored by brands.

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