Social media (SM) has grown into a powerful force in digital communications and today’s platforms are a primary source for content creation and consumption. However, with the seemingly dizzying pace of change, it can be hard, even for the social media savvy to keep up with what’s new; and, for others, the likes of Facebook may be familiar, for personal rather than business use.
The major objectives for SM are reach, engagement and traffic generation for owned properties, but it can be leveraged for broader objectives such as audience/industry research, monetization, lead generation, and user generated content. A successful social media strategy capitalizes on the strength of each platform and creates platform-specific content to attract and engage the audience.
Following is a breakdown of some popular channels – consider it a quick social media primer – but then be sure to tune in each Thursday over the next couple of months in Travel Industry Today for the rest of the series, which takes a deeper dive into each of the important platforms mentioned below:
Facebook: Among the largest social media platforms, Facebook initially started as a photo sharing network. While it can deliver on many fronts, its preferred use is to increase brand reach, grow engagement and generate leads.
Twitter: The only microblogging platform on social media, Twitter’s character limit challenges communication teams to create content that’s easy to consume and interact with. Use Twitter to create or ride a hashtag, engage with influencers and Key Opinion Leaders (KOL), broadcast messages, push news, and increase direct brand awareness with consumers.
LinkedIn: This is a professional SM network. LinkedIn’s content sharing capabilities are similar to Facebook, and platform-specific functions such as InMail and Articles are great resources to grow business. Use LinkedIn for increasing business awareness, creating B2B connections, promoting thought leadership and recruiting.
TikTok: Known for its innovative content creation capabilities and endless content library, this is the newest player in the SM space. TikTok is a great platform to increase brand reach, create word-of-mouth buzz, ride a trend, run an influencer campaign, and create easy-to-consume content preferred by Gen Z.
Instagram: Instagram is probably the “best looking” of all SM platforms. It’s the social gallery of the social media community and is a winner when it comes to short content, stories, and pictures. It offers high reach and shares the advertising platform with Facebook. Use IG for brand engagement, influencer campaigns, photos, short video content and hashtag campaigns.
YouTube: YouTube is the best platform for long-form video content and offers great content creation functions. The platform was recently overtaken by TikTok in average user watch time, but YouTube watch time for long-form content is still powerful. Use YouTube for long-form videos, creating a brand collateral library, engagement, and monetization.
(Content for this and future articles in the series is provided courtesy of the MPE Caribbean Report, which offers travel and tourism news weekly. It is published by US-based integrated marketing agency Marketplace Excellence, which has an office in Richmond Hill, Ont. www.marketplaceexcellence.com)