Branding and Consumer Engagement in Today’s Social Media-Savvy World  

I recently attended a professional conference commonly referred to as “nerd spring break”, an appropriate term for this inspiring festival. From a marketer’s perspective, SXSW was a content marketing nerd’s dream, since hundreds of speakers, panelists, and celebrities discussed everything from “modern brand love” to “content consumption” in a “mobile-first world.” The variety and number of sessions seemed endless, and with each passing session you leave empowered with out-of-the box ideas and off-the-wall tactics to apply to not only your brand or company, but everyday life.

With marketing and brand saturation apparent in almost everything we encounter in the modern world, it can sometimes pose a challenge – even to a millennial like myself – to truly understand what consumers, and the younger generation, want to see, from a content perspective.

Some insights and takeaways:

Modern Brand Love: Co-Create & Have a POV

Consumers want to see original, epic content via social platforms. They do not want content that’s 100%  branded. It’s important as content marketers to develop a “feeling” towards your brand – a positive sentiment that will remain in the consumer’s mind – either consciously or subconsciously. With all of the content that millennials are exposed to today, they are wanting it to exude authenticity and uniqueness.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when thinking about co-creation:

• Consider co-creation projects in the video space – particularly with a social media influencer.
• When co-creating, especially with a YouTube or social media influencer, it’s important to trust in the overall process and end goal.
• Know and accept that what you’re doing may be “out there” in regards to what your brand is used to – and that’s perfectly fine. Own it.
• The content that you are considering developing should not be about pushing branded elements 24/7. Your focus should be about creating an experience that your users will enjoy watching, that also still embodies the authenticity of the co-creator and their fan base as well.
• Above all, remember that it’s important to push the envelope and co-create because it’s what today’s generation wants to see in the social content space.
• The world of casual, social content is here to stay – and promotional content, while still present, is becoming less desired by the everyday millennial consumer. 

Improving Engagement in Today’s Mobile & Social World 

Next, here are four crucial questions to ask when your goal is to improve engagement:

How are You Building for Today?
It’s now all about being “mobile-first.” You need to create content with the mobile user experience at the forefront of your design process. Users now demand instant access to content. Make your content fast to load, easy to absorb, and always be consistent.

How are You Going to Engage your Users?
Spark engagement through unique, high-quality visual content. Users tend to share four types of content:

• • • Content that sparks emotion (“When we care, we share”)
    • Social proof (“We’ll share what makes us seem cool”)
    • Content that provides practical value (people share useful content)
    • Stories (people do not share information, they share stories that spark a sentiment)

How are you Planning to Drive Traffic?
How many of your social channels with shareable content also share links back to your website? While this is important to do, it’s also just as critical to analyze when it make sense to connect your social channels to your website. Again, consumers don’t want to feel like they’re being sold a product, they want to feel like they’re being engaged with a certain feeling.

How are you Building your Content that Will, in Turn, Unlock Revenue?
Be consistent and thoughtful in what and when you are posting. With a regular schedule, users will come to expect your posts and will know that new content is coming.  This is a good thing, and not something to shy away from, since it sparks loyal readers and consumers. And always analyze your data – but also don’t let data become the all-consuming decision maker.

In summary, continually analyze your strategy – because it can always continue to evolve – and keep these four things in mind:

• • • Think mobile first
    • Make unique content
    • Leverage social to drive more traffic
    • Unlock revenue

While my notebook is overflowing with (other) insightful, inspiring, and engaging one-liners such as these, I hope that the info provided above helps inspire growth in your career, new applications in your workplace, and evolving ideas in your own life. No matter your age or level of experience, the truth is that change is inevitable and it will either fly by us or we can choose to join this ever-changing world. Embracing change is never a bad thing, and utilizing the knowledge that we acquire through being open to what is going on in the global society, can empower us as women in the workplace.