What Every Marketer Should Watch in 2022

1. Social media marketing
2. Emerging social media platforms
  1. Snapchat
  2. TikTok
  3. WhatsApp
  4. Twitter
3. New social media that are worth watching
  1. Clubhouse
  2. Tapereal
  3. Houseparty
  4. Nextdoor
4. Future of social media

Social media marketing - shaping customer communications and promotion

Most of us have a love-hate relationship with social media platforms. Despite that, we can’t imagine life without them. In Australia in August 2021:

64% of Australians were active users of Facebook
9m users were active on Instagram every month
YouTube had 16.5m unique visitors every month
LinkedIn had 6.5m, active users, monthly

New social media apps are emerging all the time. Some of them are growing rapidly. We need to watch and understand these emerging apps as existing social media sites become more crowded. New social media channels can offer us a way to stand out from the crowd and talk to a more select group of customers. Our messages will stand out on these new social media platforms because there are fewer users and advertisers. The new social media sites are less saturated. Our messaging can be better targeted because users can be defined more narrowly.

What’s new - emerging social media channels in Australia

Emerging social media platforms you might want to include right now

Snapchat:

Snapchat reports a reachable audience of 7.5m people in Australia. The bulk of people using Snapchat are less than 35 years old. A huge percentage of these Snapchat users are using this platform every single day. Snapchat is more authentic. Fewer ads are shown than on more popular social media platforms. This can be a huge benefit to marketers, as Snapchat ads are used in a more platform native way, meaning they are inserted between stories. This messaging often seems more real.

Include Snapchat as part of your marketing efforts by:

Posting images and stories which include links to websites and other promotional content
Snapchat can be used to run competitions with links to entry pages
Snapchat advertising featuring pics or videos
Submitting your product for others to use in Snapchat stories
Customer communication system

TikTok:

TikTok has only been around since 2018, and since then active users in Australia have grown to 2.5m. TikTok is skewed towards a younger audience with most users aged between 16 and 24 years. TikTok consists of 15 and 60-second user recorded videos created for sharing. Businesses connect with users by posting engaging video clips. If you can create videos that appeal to TikTok users, it can be a great marketing tool for your business. As TikTok is relatively new it isn’t as saturated as other social media sites. It is also cheaper to advertise there.

Brands can use TikTok to market their business by:

Create your channel and upload relevant content on your channel
Manage and share user-generated content
Paid influencer created content
TikTok advertising

WhatsApp:

More than 8m Australians use WhatsApp. It’s one of the most popular messaging apps in the world. While companies may now use it to stay in touch with customers, fewer businesses use it to market their products. The WhatsApp Business App could be what you need to get more value from your WhatsApp contacts. Build a full business profile so customers can easily find your name, address, email and website. The business app can be used to create a catalogue to showcase your products and services. It also features special tools to automate, sort and quickly respond to messages.

You can also use WhatsApp to promote your business through:

Updating your Whatsapp status to share content and display products
Using Whatsapp Broadcast messages to send a promotional message to up to 256 people at a time
Engaging with WhatsApp Groupchat to share ideas, promotions and feedback within a target group

Twitter:

Twitter tends to be used by men in their thirties. Even though there are more than 5.8m Twitter users in Australia it is not widely used by smaller businesses. With a 280 character limit keeping things short, it can be well worth including Twitter in a business marketing plan.

Build your business using Twitter by:

Having a well thought out and complete Twitter profile
Posting engaging content to share, but keep it short
Optimising your content using keywords and hashtags
Telling readers what to do next with a call to action
Being visual - using pics, GIFS and video to create attention and engagement
Starting conversations - responding to comments, asking questions or setting up a Twitter Chat
Retweeting posts from your followers or accounts relevant to your brand
Being consistent in tone and personality

You can pay to boost your Twitter effect with paid Twitter ads, promoted tweets and influencer marketing promotions

What’s coming - new social media that are worth watching

Clubhouse:

Clubhouse is an audio-based app and has been hailed as 'the next big thing' in the world of social media. The app is distributed by invitation and is only available for iPhone. Clubhouse is a site where celebrities and regular people share opinions, talents and stories without permanent recordings being made. As yet no marketing potential has been identified, but if it continues to grow there is bound to be an angle.

Tapereal:

Tapereal is a new version of Snapchat and Facebook. Users can communicate using audio and video but without filters and manipulation. If authenticity or transparency is key to your business then watch this space.

Houseparty:

The Houseparty app creates a virtual chatroom where users can play games with friends in a private setting. For business, it may become a great way to bring customers together. Houseparty could be the new social network for special events, such as VIP launches or new product announcements.

Nextdoor:

Nextdoor is a new social media app that connects people within a neighbourhood. It’s often used for sharing local recommendations and acting as a local marketplace. For businesses interested in enhancing their local marketing strategy, it’s worth keeping an eye on Nextdoor. Your business can participate and use Nextdoor to respond to user comments and reviews within the app.

Future of social media

New social media sites are emerging all the time. Every business should identify and consider those new social media apps that align with their marketing plans. They might align because of the types of users of the app. They may align because of shared interests. When you find a new social platform, try it out. Work out who it’s aimed at and how it works. Businesses need to stay current and be ready to adopt new social media apps, just like their customers. It might just be an ideal way to grow your business. Whether you’ve used social media for your business before or are completely new to the practice, Webcentral can make things simpler. We’ve been working with Australian small-medium businesses for decades and understand how to help them reach their full potential. With expert teams in social media marketing – we have all the experience you need for a successful online business. To get started, call us on 1300 638 734 or submit a message online.

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