If you follow along on Chair 8’s Instagram page (which you totally should *wink wink*) you’ve probably seen that our Social Media Team recently took a trip to America's Finest City, a.k.a. San Diego, to attend the Social Media Marketing World 2023. Despite airport delays, questionable WiFi, and an uncharacteristically rainy week for California, we had a BLAST and are excited to bring back new techniques and creative ideas to revamp our clients’ digital marketing in the year ahead! 

But, you didn’t think we’d keep all that information to ourselves, did you? No way! So, here’s our deep dive into the teachings we will be implementing and why you should be too.

Lindsay

There’s no denying the correlation between social media and sales for businesses in today’s world. Studies show that you’re more likely to purchase from a brand that is putting out high-quality, relatable content on social. In speaker Jade Beason’s session, we discussed how to improve Instagram engagement for more leads and sales for your brand.

Beason broke down the four value points for quality content, and emphasized that you need to be hitting at least one of these in each piece of content that you publish:

• Entertainment value - evokes emotion

• Educational value - teaches people how to achieve something 

• Inspirational value - aspirational / motivational content (how their life will be improved by buying/ using your product or service?)

• Relatable value - content that your audience resonates with

When you excel at sharing valuable content, your audience will respond with engagement and ultimately, sales. But, while we are ultimately looking for sales as an end goal, it’s important to remember to nurture your audience before you start pushing sales. The best way to nurture your audience is to focus on deep-engagement tactics and quality content. Before you hit “publish,” double check that your content is meeting one of the four value points listed above!

Favorite Quote: “Our job is to consistently provide valuable content for our audience. In return, our audience provides engagement and sales.”

Delaney

It’s no surprise that I was fan-girling over analytics techniques while at the conference. After all, the intersection of data and storytelling is my *favorite* part about social media! But what I wasn’t prepared for was the new KPIs that have come to the forefront of digital marketing in just the last few months. Gone are the days of simply looking at followers and engagements. Now, we look at the value of these engagements and conversely assign numerical values to the value we are providing as a brand in the digital space. 

If you use video content in your paid advertising campaigns on Facebook and Instagram, try using a Thumbstop Ratio to determine its success. A Thumbstop Ratio can be calculated as 3-second views dividend by total impressions and used to measure the rate at which someone scrolling through their feed stops on your video for at least three seconds. A ratio of 20-30% is average, but if you are averaging at less than 10% there are techniques to improve! Try adding a stronger hook, quick movement, and getting right into the content at the beginning of the video in order to capture attention (and impressions!)

Conversely, I was also reminded by an amazing speaker, Jade Beason, that “Deep Engagement Tactics” are just as meaningful as analytic optimization. In fact, building an engaged consumer base that won’t allow you to fail is the first step in selling. She advised using something called the Triple C Funnel to nurture your audience before you present them with a purchase CTA. 

Favorite Quote: “If you want conversions, build a customer base not a follower base.”

Grace

In an age where just about everything is virtual, curated, and streamlined, there is data showing that online audiences are searching for more meaningful connections from the social accounts they follow. In my own personal social media use, I have noticed a subtle shift in the kind of accounts that I’m following – subconsciously swapping out flashy, less personal brands for accounts who prioritize social responsibility, credibility, and quality over quantity in their content. In Dana Malstaff's session, Building a Community That Won’t Allow You to Fail, she addresses this social media fatigue by outlining different ways to build an engaged community, share authentic content, and address an issue that everyone is looking for – a feeling of belonging. Here are a few of my favorite key takeaways from her session:

• As humans engaging with other humans, people want to feel valuable and they want to see something real. People are growing tired of seeing perfectly curated content that doesn’t feel authentic.

• Building community is more than just the content you share. Ask your followers questions, affirm their efforts, and remind them that you need them (your business wouldn’t exist without them!).

• Share truisms to incorporate strategic authenticity into your social strategy. This could be anything from playful memes or jokes, serious or in depth topics, informational infographics, etc.

Favorite Quote: “People don’t just want to learn from you, they want to belong, to connect, to be valuable, and to be loved. The way you nurture matters! Be the business your audience won’t allow to fail!”

Kayla

A theme throughout multiple sessions we attended was the idea that people are searching for connection. This seems pretty self-explanatory— People go to social media to connect with their friends. That’s the whole point of social media, right? But how do we create connections that lead to conversion? One of our favorite session speakers, Brooke Sellas, shared that 60% of people distrust brands and that 95% of people buy based on emotion. The odds seem stacked against us, so how can we create human experiences on digital channels? Here are some of strategies for success:

• Utilize microlearning! Statistics say that the average attention span of a person is 8-11 seconds. Breakdown topics relating to your product/service into short, stand-alone videos. These videos show viewers that you are an expert in your area. Viewers tend to watch micro videos multiple times and a CTA will cause the viewer to visit your profile for similar videos. Pro tip: Go to a competitor’s comment section and see where there is confusion that your brand can answer!

• Try product teasing! You can show how your product works without being “salesy” and directly telling your followers to buy it. Teasing your product this way makes a person feel like it was their idea to purchase and that they are not being sold to.

• Test out behind the scenes content! Try shooting content as you work…think short clips of a “day in the life”, on your computer, packing + shipping off product, etc. This creates brand awareness and curiosity. A follower may think “what’s he/she packing? Let me click on the profile.”

Favorite Quote: “People aren’t starved for content, they are starved for connection.”