Author: Egline Samoei

Here is a Look at Social Media Universe in 2020

Imagine the social media world as a universe and social media platforms as the planets? How many social media platforms will that be in that universe today? Well, that is how Visual capitalist has visualized the Social Media Universe in a fantastic infographic. Today, there are many social media platforms, and they keep evolving year by year. In 2020 we saw the rise of the Chinese Byte dance TikTok TikTok cross 2 billion downloads globally, more than any app ever on the App Store and Google Play. Moreover, the Covid-19 Pandemic has steered more engagements to social media platforms than ever before. When Visual Capitalists posted the social media universe infographic, they reported that there were 3.8 billion social media users worldwide, representing 50% of the global population.  Note that, Globally, 4.5 billion people use the Internet. The infographic also visualizes Monthly Active Users (MAU) of each social media platform.  The top 5 social media platforms are Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, Messenger, and WeChat.

Here is a look at the Social Media Universe in 2020

This social media universe has been clustered to different categories. They include Zuckerberg cluster, Asian Cluster  Tencent Cluster and Rakuten Cluster. To read more about Visualizing the Social Media Universe in 2020 click here

What is Content Marketing and its Importance to Brands

Do you know what content marketing means? Probably not because you have clicked on this article. It is a buzz word for digital marketers and marketers that pops up in their conversations.  This article explains what content marketing, types of content marketing, and its benefits. Let us get started with its definition

What is Content Marketing?

One of the popular definitions is “It is a strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action” according to CMI The takeaway from that definition is creating and distributing valuable, relevant content to attract and retain an audience.  In one way or another, you may have engaged in some of these contents unknowingly. In simple terms, it is a type of digital marketing that enables brands to connect with their customers and audience without selling them their products or services. It is a way to tell brand stories through different content forms like blog posts, social media posts, emails, gated content, and video. To add on, content Marketing is not something very new since.  A brand like John Deere has used it since 1895. John Deere is OG’s of content marketing. They revolutionized marketing by introducing Furrow Magazine.

 “Furrow magazine provides the reader a mix of current issues in farming with both local and international background, and best practice examples as well as exclusive news and facts on John Deere products and company strategy.” Sriram Sankar

See that! John Deere is providing value to its customers who are farmers through the Magazine.

Types of Content Marketing

By now, you have an idea and glimpse of the types of content you should use.  Let us just list some popular types of content marketing used by modern marketers.

• Articles
• Audio-Podcasts, Voice tweets
• Blog posts
• Case studies
• E-books
• E-Courses
• Infographics
• How to guides
• Newsletters
• Press Release
• Presentations
• Photos
• Social Media content
• Videos
• Whitelists
• Webinars
• Website Content
• User-generated content

Now, if you want to get started with content marketing and want articles, blog posts or website content, contact Samodigital Agency.  They will help with content creation and writing since they specialize in content writing for brands.

Importance of Content Marketing

There many benefits that come with deploying content marketing as one of your digital strategies. Here are some benefits:

• Increased sales: Great content creates awareness of your brand to potential customers; build relations, and they will eventually consider your product or service over your competitor.
• Increased audience retention:  With compelling content, you will keep your audience hooked, and they will come back for more.
• Cost savings: It is cheaper compared to other forms of marketing strategies. A study by DemandMetric revealed that content marketing costs about 62% less than traditional marketing tactics, and it generates about 3 times as many leads!
• Better customers who have more loyalty:  Other than retaining customers, you will get loyal customers.
• Higher Search Engine Ranking:  Since Google loves good content, you will get high page rank hence high website traffic.
•  Building Email list: Content like newsletters, website forms, webinars enables brands to get relevant email lists from potential customers and loyal customers.
• Create brand credibility: When you create compelling content that is valuable, consistent and educational, customers will use it as a credible source of information. As a result, your brand will become credible.
• Generate Leads: Valuable content will make customers more interested in your brand. Therefore, when creating content, always add Call to Actions (CTA.)
• Social Media Growth: When the target audience engage with your relevant content, they will go ahead and follow your brand on social media. Others will even share your social media content or web content.

Conclusion

To conclude, content marketing is a powerful strategy that you need to use to build authority, increase sales, create brand awareness and create value for your audience. Samodigital Agency is a content creation agency that you can contact and help you get started.

Facebook Promotes the Use of Hashtags on Posts with a promise of Wider Reach

Do Hashtags Work on Facebook 2020?

Yes, using Facebook hashtags in 2020 work! When you login to Facebook today you will notice posts, photos, and ads with different hashtags like #FirstBornChallenge #hotmomchallenge  #JerusalemaDance among others. Why? Because Facebook is now promoting use of hashtags with a promise of wider reach.   Facebook introduced hashtags in 2013 and updated them in 2016. However, the use of Facebook hashtags in posts had not really been effective not until 2020.  According to a screenshot shared  Facebook Marketing Mari Smith, taken by a Heather Coy Moonka some of the users had reported seeing a notification by Facebook that said you could increase reach by using hashtags. “You may have seen a notification on Facebook like this prompting you to add hashtags to your posts to improve your reach? LOVE that! Thank you, Facebook. Many members of my Social Scoop Facebook group are starting to report seeing a slight increase in reach with the use of hashtags now.” Wrote Mari Smith a Facebook Marketing Expert The use of hashtags is now available for users and page admins.  You might have scrolled through your Facebook feeds, and you may have come across trending hashtags such #Jerusalemachallenge, #Firstbornchallenge, #Hotmomchallenge. Below those hashtags, you will notice that Facebook is prompting you try them. Moreover, with the hashtags on Facebook in 2020 it has gone an extra mile to show hashtag count preview as noted by Social media commentator and leaker Matt Navarra

New? Facebook shows a hashtag count preview when creating a new post pic.twitter.com/3Agg33iD6W

— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) September 4, 2020

  By knowing the popularity of the Facebook hashtags is helpful for brands to know which hashtags to use when posting photos, posts and ads. Read: How Social Media Consumption in Kenya looks Like in 2020

How are Facebook Hashtags effective?

But what do we mean when we say Facebook hashtags work?  When you use hashtags in Facebook posts, you will get several benefits as a brand mentioned below.

• You will get a wider reach
• Your posts will be searchable and clickable
• It encourages engagements
• Users can find you using branded hashtags
• Allows you to monitor trending topics

Tips for using hashtags on Facebook in 2020

As you have seen, hashtags are now effective on Facebook, and you should start using them. So, what are some of the tips you need to know when using Facebook hashtags?

• Participate in the challenges. Just click on “Try it” on a relevant challenge and be creative. Many brands have tried out the #jerusalemadancechallenge
• Just like Twitter and Instagram, you can compose or discover hashtags on Facebook by typing in the hashtags
• Use Instagram to discover trending hashtags, although Facebook has now allowed users to see the hashtag count.
• Don’t go overboard with hashtags on your post. It is recommended that you use 3-5 hashtags per posts
• You can create your branded hashtags that you will be using on your posts.
• When scheduling posts on creator studio, remember to add hashtags.

Conclusion We hope that you will start using hashtags in Facebook posts and searching topics articles and posts using hashtags. If you have used hashtags in 2020, what is your experience? Kindly share with us your experience.