Content is the most important factor for success on social media. Unlike traditional advertising, social media gives people power to choose what content is worth sharing based on likes, shares, and retweets. Earned media through user sharing becomes the biggest driver of brand messages. Regularly responding to user interactions, appreciating active user contributions, and listening to user feedback to improve products are key strategies for building strong social media engagement. Analyzing metrics like response rates and content popularity helps evaluate strategy effectiveness and identify new opportunities. Maintaining the right balance of content types like products, contests, company news, and social responsibility keeps users entertained while achieving marketing goals.

2. Rule # 1: Content is king
Content is everything. Unlike
traditional advertising, social media
gave power to people.
They vote with their likes, shares,
retweets etc. if something is worth
seeing or not.
“Earned media” took on a
totally different meaning in this new
era of social media marketing
when people became the biggest
distributors of brands’
advertising messages.

3. Rule # 1: Content is king

4. Rule # 2: Respond when spoken to
In the “old advertising times” (about 10 years ago) companies would talk to consumers,
but seldom heard back. Now this two-way
of all marketing efforts!
conversation is the primary goal
The amount of responses to each interaction is counted in the Engagement
Rate and brands are fighting who will be talked to more!
Brands which invest effort into conversations with their fans, have a higher Engagement
Rate and thus reach more potential consumers.

5. Rule # 2: Respond when spoken to

6. Rule # 3: Be a true friend
There are millions of conversations every day involving your brand. Usually most
of fans are divided into three categories : creators,
joiners and
inactives.
It is worth rewarding your most devoted and active creators as
well as your fans in general.
If people spend their free time commenting on your posts, praising your
products or helping other fans resolve their questions or problems, it is worth
showing some appreciation in form of free products, thank you
notes or any other ways to show gratitude.

7. Rule # 3: Be a true friend

8. Rule # 4: Listen, listen and …listen
Social media and its interactive nature gave marketers an unbelievable opportunity
to see in real
time the response to their marketing efforts. Within hours after a
product launch on social media platforms, it is clear how the product is
being received by the public. R&D at its best.
This wealth of information is called Big
Data. It can be later analyzed and if
used wisely can be processed filtering ideas for product innovations,
existing product modifications etc. There are several social
media monitoring software available which allow for such information processing.

9. Rule # 4: Listen, listen and …listen

10. Rule # 5: Failures and Successes
You don’t know until you try! Social media requires constant,
daily
innovation. Something what was a “buzz” yesterday, today is an old story.
Thanks to the analytics tools available for every social media platform,
evaluation of content’s popularity is easy.
For example, on Facebook most of engagement is generated within first 3 hours
from posting. Constant previous campaigns analysis will help you
better understand your audience and their needs and cater content which is
relevant to them.

11. Rule # 5: Failures and Successes

12. Rule # 6: Use all there is to use
Study all functions from a point of view what will bring you more reach
/ traffic
/ interaction of fans and what would stimulate more activity among existing fans
of your brand.
Each social media platform has its features which can help you increase
organic reach of your messages. Tags to partners social media pages,
checkins at the events and many other possibilities for cross promotion and the like all
increase reach and bring you more traffic.

13. Rule # 6: Use all there is to use

14. Rule # 7: Fish and Chips
Text and image are your fish & chips of social media publishing: one perfectly
complementing the other. All social media platforms are based mainly on visual
elements with text accompanying it. 93%
of all posts have additional
textual description.
The best practice is to “mirror” the image content and in a certain way
mention what is on the picture, but add your own attitude, express opinion about it.
Make both
text and image cohesive.

15. Rule # 7: Fish and Chips

16. Rule # 8: Timing is everything
Each industry has its own “prime time” for publishing or time when majority of
fans are online and are “eager to engage” with your content. Studying
behavioral patterns of your target audience can help you
identify that time.
At work your fans are usually surrounded by colleagues and bosses who would not
appreciate them watching videos or playing a song on Spotify. As well as people are
less likely to click a link to a 4 pages article about your company’s new products on
Friday evening, but are more likely to respond positively to a recommendation of a
live concert same evening.

17. Rule # 8: Timing is everything

18. Rule # 9: “Share” and “re-” are magic words
People use social media to be
entertained. Every time they share, retweet or
re-smth else, the amount of people who see your messages is multiplied by
their friends.
It is important to remember that people use social platforms not only to look at
content, but also to create it themselves. If something appeals
to their
emotions, makes them laugh or cry, they will be more likely to share those
emotions with their friends.
Social media managers have to plan
and create such highly
“sharable” content, or content which may not necessarily be linked to your
company’s activities or products directly, but will evoke emotions.

19. Rule # 9: “Share” and “re-” are magic words

20. Rule # 10: Keep the proportions right
The final goal of all marketing efforts is to sell its product. From directly
advertising product’s features to a more subtle building an image of a brand through
Social Corporate Responsibility program. There are a lot of ways to do it.
Social media dictates its rules. Posts which are highly entertaining have higher
engagement of fans. Thus companies have to find the right proportions
between company news, product features, sponsoring of events itd.

21. Rule # 10: Keep the proportions right
IT Industry. Facebook Content. Post Focus.
4%
4% 2%
Product
8%
Contest
45%
16%
Unrelated
Company News
Events Sponshorship
Sales (promotion, shop)
21%
Social Resposibility

22. Photo Credits and Links:
https://www.facebook.com/oreo
https://www.facebook.com/SamsungMobile
https://www.facebook.com/cocacola
http://www.salesforcemarketingcloud.com/products/social-media-listening/
https://www.facebook.com/JesusGarciaSerial
https://hootsuite.com/dashboard
Questions:
j.jakubiec@yahoo.com