Digital PR insights on mastering social media: from imitation to strategy

Transitioning from Stories to Reels and even the short-lived Fleets on Twitter, social media companies have spent a significant portion of the last decade stumbling over themselves to mimic the successful features of their rivals.

Numerous popular social media applications have shamelessly adopted features from other equally popular platforms, resembling a tech adaptation of Capture the Flag– as described by Gizmodo’s walkthrough of the copy-cat nature and evolution of social media platforms. 

However, this imitation game hasn’t just compromised user experience; it has also taken a toll on the sanity of social media marketers. We now find ourselves entwined in a perpetual cycle of adjusting strategies to new formats, repurposing content, and anticipating the next disruptive change in network dynamics that could upheave their carefully organised campaigns.

Experienced marketers acknowledge that strategy outweighs tactics in importance. With the increasing homogeneity of social networks, it’s unsurprising that 52% of Hootsuite’s Marketing Survey respondents admitted to cross-posting content across various platforms with minimal modifications. In stark contrast, a mere 18% of marketers craft distinct posts tailored for each platform. 

However, while numerous social media platforms might share common features, it’s crucial to recognize that each platform retains its distinct purpose. Users engage with each platform for specific reasons. Read our Social Media Breakdown post to understand how to best navigate 11 of the most popular social media platforms. However, to truly understand which platform is best for your business, a good place to start is with a social media audit. 

What is a social media audit?

Consider a social media audit like a report card evaluating your social strategy’s performance. It gauges the effectiveness of your social content across various accounts and networks. This assessment pinpoints your strengths, areas requiring enhancement, and offers recommendations for advancing.

If you’re already active on social media, ask yourself these questions: What’s working, and what’s not? Which networks does your target audience use? How does your social media presence stack up against your competitors? 

At TDC, we use Brandwatch for our clients and own channels. This is a social media tool that enables us to oversee content and campaigns seamlessly across various social media channels. This allows us to understand: 

• Your most effective platforms,
• What your audience wants to see on each network,
• Who your audience is (demographics and more),
• What’s helping grow your audience (and what’s not),
• How each platform contributes to your goals,
• Which new ideas will help you grow,
• And where to focus your attention next

Armed with this information, you can create an effective content strategy– create content to fit for each platform and provide experiences that are in line with your audience’s reasons for being there!

Email [email protected] for more information on how to strengthen your social media presence!