1.5 BILLION.
That is a huge number. That’s how many loops (views) Vine was seeing every day last year. Despite its size, that number couldn’t save Vine and couldn’t revive Twitter’s falling revenue. The recent news of Vine’s discontinuation is a stark reminder that in the world of social media, nothing is permanent. Influencers were still making upwards of six figures for their six second spots. Unfortunately, that success didn’t translate for Twitter.
Social media platforms come and go. Remember when Myspace was king? Or those five minutes we thought Peach might matter? As generations age and technology continues to transform our day to day lives, social media platforms, and the marketers using them, are going to have to adapt faster than ever. Ninety percent of marketers use social media for their brands. Keeping up with best practices isn’t always easy when you’re on multiple platforms and have other job responsibilities. Here are a few ways to make staying up-to-date on social media easier:
- Add publications that cover social media into your news purview. Looking at sites that cover social media best practices, case studies, and general news will help you up your game and know when changes might occur. Social Times, Entrepreneur’s marketing section, and Forbes’ social media section are great resources for this.
- Check out blogs posts from the platforms themselves. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and other platforms are some of your best resources to understand recent updates and changes. Visit their company blogs to see how you might be able to better utilize their advertising options or how to use their newest feature.
- Visit the platforms organically. If you do all your scheduling and reporting, you may be missing subtle updates on the apps themselves like Twitter’s recent font change. Be sure to log in to through your business accounts as well so you can see any differences for personal and business accounts. Make sure you have the most recent versions of their apps!
- Engage with other marketers. Whether through in-person networking or virtual, talking with other marketers can give you insight on platform uses and best practices you may not have discovered on your own. It’s a great way to build your professional network while helping your brand grow. Twitter chats like #AdWeekChat, #SproutChat, and #HootChat are a great way to virtually expand your knowledge.
- Actively seek out learning opportunities. Attend conferences and meet ups with other marketers where social media will be discussed. If you can’t do that, there are plenty of webinars and e-learning sites like Lynda and take quick courses on social media, SEO, and other relevant marketing practices.
Keeping up with social media doesn’t have to be a complicated or time consuming endeavor. Taking advantage of a few or even one of these tips can help you stay on top of the changes in social media and keep your content and business on top.
–Katherine Faulk