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Social media is changing…
And it’s not an unexpected change. In fact, we are surprised it took this long to happen. Social media has been cluttering up for some time now, and it was made worse by the introduction of AI generated content.
Not only did AI make it easier to produce better quality content, but it also made it possible to create it a lot faster. You can generate images, generate scripts, convert scripts into videos, and even use AI to edit out the silent gaps/pauses from the video afterwards.
The result was a flood of new content rushing onto social media platforms.
So how did social media change?
It stands to reason that if say, you were scrolling on Instagram, and had to scroll through twenty posts each from someone you follow…
You would probably unfollow that person if their behavior persists.
Just a few months ago, Instagram coaches recommended that you post up to eight times per day. Now they recommend posting twice per day.
Less than a year ago, Pinterest marketing was best done by posting around twenty five pins per day, with twenty of those being re-pins from other users in your niche, and five being your own pins, regardless of whether they were new or just re-posted to different boards. In fact, for fast growth it was recommended to go up to fifty pins per day.
Today…
The recommended daily number is three to five, with as little as possible of that being from other people. Of course, if you are just running a personal profile, you can do whatever you like, but if you want to do it for business, apparently this is what works best at the moment.
Where does this leave your social media marketing?
Well, there are three things you need to keep in mind:
1. Quality is more important now than ever.
Note that when we say quality, we don’t necessarily refer to the quality of the photography, videography or graphic design, although those can also matter, depending on your niche.
We are talking about the quality of the CONTENT of your social media posts. Is it worth watching or viewing? Will it interest your followers, and those who see your content for the first time? Do you have a good hook in place, with interesting content to keep viewers engaged?
This change has raised the bar – you may have seen your engagement rates and view counts slow down (if you are still posting the same quality content as you did a year ago).
Of course, the quality required to stand out will depend on your niche and the content your competitors put out. In some niches the expected quality will be higher than others, and in some areas the quality of content – for the same niche – will be higher than others.
Keep an eye on your competitors, and see what they come up with. In some areas and industries, it may take a while for small business owners to catch on, giving you the opportunity to get ahead.
However, if your competition does raise the bar, you will need to follow suit. Keep in mind that you may not need to produce better quality videos or graphics, but you will need to do something to be noticed – whether it is by doing something unique or quirky, or by simply picking better topics and using better hooks on your videos.
2. Consistency is more important now than ever.
With fewer opportunities to be seen, it is more important than ever to use each of these opportunities to be seen. You can only build your brand – and people’s trust in it – if they remember you. The only way to be remembered in the current cluttered state of social media is to be seen regularly.
In fact, we would argue that consistency is – especially now – more important than the quality, even if not by much. Even if you do not improve the quality of your content, and you are seen by fewer people at a time, at least some people will see you regularly, and be more likely to remember you.
Of course, the ideal is to combine both, and not only post regularly, but also post content which is of higher quality.
3. Consistent branding is more important now than ever.
It goes without saying that your content should be easy to recognize, even if you just add your logo to the end screen. With fewer opportunities to promote your brand, each piece of content that you put out becomes more and more valuable – it’s your choice whether you will utilize the value, or ignore it.
In conclusion:
The bottom line is that – at last – social media has become so cluttered that people want to see less (from each person they follow).
However, it is unlikely to mean that you can spend less time on creating content for social media. It just means that you will be spending your time differently, and focus on quality rather than quantity.
While, of course, trying to be as consistent as humanly possible.