Marketing and Sales - Social Media Marketing

1. Social media marketing intro: Hello, and welcome to this in our series on marketing sales, all about social media marketing. This is quite a big lesson or big course, and it goes into quite a lot of details all around topic of social media marketing. So we start off by looking exactly what we mean by social media marketing. We look at the various current platforms that are available. Obviously, as other platforms become available, I'll probably add those in as or extend the lessons to include those. We look at what makes sense in making or crafting a sort of a solid strategy for using social media marketing. And then we obviously will look at the organic marketing and the paid adverts. So we look at both sides of those, and then we take a close look at analytics and metrics and how we can leverage those to improve our social media marketing. We also look at trends and innovations and the challenges involved with social media marketing. So it's not just everything's wonderful. They have their own challenges and their own problems that we need to know how to negotiate. And lastly, we'll look at some case studies, best practices, and, of course, all through the course, there will be plenty of examples that illustrate the points that are being made. As with all skill share courses, there is a project you can do if you want. And this project is quite involved. There's quite a few steps to it, quite a few things you need to do, but don't get sort of put off by what's there. It's all explained in the course. You don't have to do all of it if you don't want to if you want to do part of it. Anyway, whatever you want to do as much or as little as you want to, if you upload it onto the platform, have a really good look at it and give you some feedback. As usual, questions, please ask, hope you find the course interesting and informative. 2. Introduction to Social Media Marketing: Welcome to this first lesson in our social media marketing course, where we give a brief overview and introduction to social media marketing. So in today's digital age, social media has become an indispensable tool for businesses of all sizes. It's revolutionized the way brands interact with their customers by offering unprecedented opportunities to increase reach, engage with audiences, and build brand loyalty. And in this lesson, we'll look at sort of the growing importance of social media marketing, we'll highlight its key benefits and the way in which it's transformed traditional business practices. However, while social media does offer many advantages, it also has a set of unique challenges that a business must navigate in order to succeed. And by understanding the role of social media in modern marketing and the potential problems involved, businesses can develop effective strategies to leverage these platforms for maximum impact. So look at the role of social media marketing in a modern business, it's really fair to say that social media has revolutionized the way that businesses approach marketing. If you think about the past, a business would have to rely on sort of traditional channels such as printed adverts in, say, magazines and newspapers, radio and TV commercials. But the problem here is these were very expensive and so it was often limited to larger companies with larger budgets. And what social media has done is it's really leveled the playing field, and even the smallest businesses can now compete on a global level. And one of the really the main differences that social media has brought about is the move away from sort of a one way communication where the business tells the consumers what they think they want to hear, and it's moved it more to a two way interaction. So whereas traditional ads sort of speak at the audiences, social media actually helps with conversations. Yeah, they speak with the audience. And this way, a business can respond to comments, they can answer questions and really create dialogue with their consumers. So what are the key benefits of social media marketing? These are increased reach and visibility, personalization and targeting, and building a community and brand loyalty. And we'll look at each of these now. So we mentioned increased reach and visibility. So platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok, they have literally billions of active users. And this huge audience really provides unparalleled opportunity for businesses to expand their reach and visibility. So whereas sort of traditional advertising methods often come with, say, geographic or budgetary constraints, a well executed social media platform can go viral and gain massive exposure even with a minimal investment. I look at some examples, Nike's use of Instagram is a standout case. And by sharing sort of visually captivating photos and videos of athletes using their products, Nike reaches millions of users organically. Organically means without adverts. And so posts featuring sort of inspirational captions and high energy visuals often receive millions of likes and s and thereby strengthening their global presence. So what about personalization and targeting? So one of social media's biggest advantages is its ability to deliver personalized content to specific audiences, and algorithms analyze user behavior that analyze their preference and the demographics and ensures that the right message reaches the right people. And this sort of level of precision targeting was unheard of in traditional media. And as an example, so Amazon will use Facebook's dynamic ad feature. So if a user browses a product on Amazon but doesn't make a purchase, they're likely to see that product advertised on Facebook later. And this is called re targeting, and this significantly increases the likelihood of conversion, thereby turning sort of casual browsers into actual customers. Building community and brand loyalty. So social media fosters sort of a sense of belonging amongst its customers by encouraging them to engage with brands and other like minded followers. And so they create dedicated spaces for interaction so that brands can really nurture their loyal communities and have them advocate for their products and services. As an example, Harley Davidson, they've mastered community building through their Facebook groups. And these groups connect Harley enthusiasts with each other. They share their riding experiences, they organize meet ups, and generally discuss their love of the brand. And this sense of camaraderie strengthens Harley Davis' identity as more than just like a manufacturer of motorbikes. It's a lifestyle. But what challenges does this bring? No, we've seen the many benefits it offers, but it also brings its challenges. So this dynamic and fast paced nature of social media demands constant adaptation and vigilance. So brands have to navigate saturated content landscapes where standing out amongst all the rest requires creativity and planning. Also, the public and transparent nature of social media means that mistakes or mishaps can be quickly amplified leading to significant reputation damage. So from keeping up with the platform changes to maintaining authenticity in messaging, marketers face a dual task of maximizing opportunities while minimizing risks. And by understanding these challenges, you can create resilient and effective social media strategies. What about content saturation? With billions of posts being shared daily, there's a massive competition for attention. In order to succeed, a business must consistently create fresh, engaging and innovative content, and standing out in this sea of information requires creativity, as well as a really deep understanding of the audience. For example, Tik Tok provides immense opportunities for virality, but it is also highly saturated. So Pepsi's attempt at a viral TikTok campaign actually flopped because the content didn't resonate with a younger audience. And this campaign serves as a reminder of the importance of authenticity and relevance when targeting specific demographics. We also have a huge risk of misstep and backlash. So social media can amplify mistakes as quickly as successes, and a poorly thought out post or campaign can lead to public backlash and can damage a brand's reputation. So here's a really infamous example, the Kendall Jenner Pepsi commercial, which attempted to capitalize on social justice movements was widely criticized for being completely tone deaf and trivializing important issues. And the social media magnified the backlash. Pepsi ended up pulling the advert and issuing a public apology. And this shows the importance of cultural sensitivity and careful planning when looking at social media marketing. So as a conclusion to this brief introduction, social media marketing is an essential component of modern business strategy that offers unmatched opportunities for growth, engagement, and brand building. But it also presents its own challenges that require thoughtful planning and execution. And with the right approach, a business of any size can harness the power of social media to achieve their goals. 3. Understanding Social Media Platforms: Welcome to this lesson on understanding social media platforms. But in order to craft sort of an effective social media strategy, you need to understand the unique features, audiences, and strengths and weaknesses of each platform. So each social media platform has a different user base and functionality. So it's essential to match your goals with the right platform and so maximize engagement and impact. And in this lesson, we'll look at several social media platforms and have a sort of a brief analysis and chat about them. Start off with Facebook. Love it or hate it. Facebook is one of the largest and most versatile platforms which has an impressive almost 3 billion active users. It caters to a broad demographic and is ideal for a business aims to engage a wide audience. And Facebook's main strength lies in the ability to support various content types, such as text, images, video, links, and even live broadcasts. The platform also offers detailed targeting options through Facebook ads, making it highly effective for businesses to reach specific demographics based on location, interests, behaviors, and more. And Facebook is really best for local businesses, community driven campaigns, event promotions, B to C interactions, business to customer and customer service. So, for example, a local coffee shop will use Facebook to host sort of events like coffee and jazz night. They'll share posts with event details that have live streaming of performances and will engage customers by asking for song requests. And this event will then receive a high engagement, resulting in increased traffic coming to the shop. We have Instagram. Again, highly visual. Is user base is mainly younger, strong following among millennials and so called Gen zi. It's ideal for industries that rely on visual contents, especially fashion, food, beauty, travel, and lifestyle. Instagram offers multiple features to engage users who have stories or reels, which are like short form videos, shopping integration, and in feed posts. The emphasis on aesthetics, I visuals, makes it a perfect platform for showcasing products, telling stories, and building a brand's identity. So Instagram is really best for fashion, beauty, lifestyle, fitness, travel, and food industries. For example, Glossier, which is a beauty brand, uses Instagram to post user generated content showing real customers using their products. And this strategy of sharing sort of real life authentic testimonials has made their feed feel personal and relatable, which has helped them to build a loyal community. Twitter or X. In the news a lot lately. Twitter or X is known for its real time communication and is the go to platform for breaking news, trending topics, and thought leadership. With a character limit for posts or tweets, Twitter is built for short, punchy updates and discussion and fast paced engagement, and brands use Twitter to create conversations, share thoughts on trending hashtags and engage directly with their audience. Twitter is best for B to B, business to business marketing, thought leadership, real time customer support, participating in trends and responding to customer feedback. So Starbucks uses Twitter to respond to customer inquiries and issues. And during a promotional campaign, the company will tweet out exclusive discount codes or create buzz among followers, which in turn drives visits to the stores. Look at Tik Tok. Tik Tok has exploded in popularity recently, especially among younger audiences and is really known for its viral short form video content. So TikTok allows users to create videos now of up to 3 minutes long. We can set to music and enhance with various effects and filters. And the algorithm on TikTok is highly adept at showing content to people based on their interests, making it easier for users to discover brands and businesses that they may not yet follow. And TikTok has become a powerful platform for brands to showcase creativity, humor and authenticity and often relies on user generated content and trends to fuel the growth. So TikTok is best for youth focused brands, lifestyle products, entertainment, fitness, food, and fashion. For example, Chipotle's TikTok challenge, where users are encouraged to create video showcasing their Chipotle orders, resulting in viral content and a 1,000% increase in engagement. And this challenge helps sort elevate the brand's connection with their Gensi audiences. Linked in. Link IN is a professional networking platform that has approaching 1 billion users. So unlike other platforms, LinkedIn is primarily focused on B to B, a business to business marketing, making it an ideal place for professionals to connect, share industry highlights and promote their services. It's perfect for thought leadership, recruitment, and establishing credibility in specific industries. And LinkedIn also offers advanced targeting for B to B advertising, which makes this really an important and essential tool for lead generation and networking. So LinkedIn is best for B to B companies, professional services, recruitment, and content marketing related to industry expertise. For example, an SAAS, AAS or software as a service company would use LinkedIn to publish articles and case studies on how their software solution has improved business productivity. This will then position the company as a thought leader would generate leads and new business partnerships. Pinterest. Pinterest is another visual discovery platform where users pin images and videos to curated boards, often focusing on specific topics like fashion, home decor, wedding planning or cooking. The users are highly engaged and use Pinterest for inspiration and discovery, making it a great platform for product based businesses, especially those in industries like home goods, fashion, beauty, and DIY. I do it yourself. Unlike other platforms, Pinterest is a search engine in its own right where users actively seek out content and products. So Pinterest is best for retail, home decor, fashion, wedding planning, and DIY businesses. As an example, home improvement brand Los will post DIY tutorials and home decor ideas on Pinterest. And these pins often include quite detailed how to guides, which will drive both engagement and sales as users save these ideas for later. Snapchat. Snapchat remains popular with Gensi and millennials and offers features like stories of augmented reality filters and private messaging. And brands can use Snapchat's AR lenses to create sort of fun interactive experience to drive engagement, particularly in fashion and beauty industries. As an example, Gucci's AR lens on Snapchat allows users to try on virtual sunglasses and provide them with a kind of an immersive and engaging experience that helps drive both brand awareness and sales. We have YouTube. YouTube is the second largest search engine behind Google, which currently owns it, with over 2 billion logged in monthly users. And unlike many social media platforms, YouTube is mainly long form video, making it ideal for brands that wish to showcase detailed product demos, tutorials, customer testimonials, and entertainment. They're also, due to Tik Tok, getting interested in shorts, shorter videos. So TikTok has had an effect on YouTube. But YouTube's algorithm will promote content based on user interest and engagement. It will offer businesses the ability to reach sort of highly targeted audience with the right content. And one of YouTube's key strengths is its searchability and discoverability. So you can look for something specifically and then it will show you things it thinks you like. So users will actively search for content on YouTube, meaning that videos are more likely to be seen over time, as opposed to disappearing quickly on short term platforms like Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok. This makes YouTube ideal for educational content, brand storytelling and thought leadership. And YouTube is best for product demos, tutorials, reviews, educational content, brand storytelling, entertainment, and community engagement. And we'll look at some YouTube examples. For instance, GoPro used YouTube to showcase user generated content of extreme sports and adventures filmed with their cameras. They will then share stunning action packed videos to highlight the durability and quality of their products. And this allows customers to sort of envisage in their own mind what it would be like to use a GoPro. And also, GoPro engages with the community by running contests where users can submit their videos for chance to be featured, which then builds a sense of connection with the brand. We mentioned Nike previously, also uses YouTube for long form motivational and inspirational videos such as this dream crazy ad campaign featuring Colin Kapanik. These videos are not only captivating and interesting, they also convey a powerful message which aligns with Nike's brand values. And their YouTube channel features interviews, athletes stories and commercials that build up an emotional connection with the audience, which then in turn inspires loyalty and advocacy. And the last example is unboxed therapy is a popular YouTube channel, and it's sort of example of how brands leverage YouTube for product reviews. And this channel showcases in depth reviews of new gadgets and technology, often leading to sort of significant buzz around the product. Now many tech companies, for instance, Apple and Samsung will send their products to YouTube influencers, specifically to create these detailed authentic reviews that are viewed by millions of potential customers. In conclusion. But understanding the strengths and weaknesses and unique characteristics of each social media platform, you can then use that knowledge to create a sort of successful marketing strategy. And businesses should choose the platform based on their goals, the target audience, and the type of content they wish to share. In other words, go where your audience is. And then by tailoring the content to these specific features of each platform, companies can maximize the engagement, boost their brand awareness, and ultimately drive more sales. As the last sentence, I would point out that the examples of the social media platforms in this lesson are based on those currently available at the time of filming. This could change in the future, and I will update accordingly as required. 4. Crafting a Social Media Strategy: Welcome to this lesson on crafting a social media strategy. So the backbone of any successful marketing efforts is a well thought out strategy, in this case, social media strategy. And this makes sure that every post, campaign or interaction aligns with the brand's goals, resonates with the target audience, and delivers measurable results. And crafting a social media strategy requires a mix of research, creativity, and data analysis. And in this lesson, we'll break down the process of building up a strategy into actionable steps and we'll provide, of course, real examples to illustrate best practices. The foundation of any social media strategy is a clear understanding of what you want to achieve. I define your goals. And these goals should align with the broader business objectives and follow the so called SMRT criteria. And where SMRT here stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely or time bound. So for example, a new fitness app might have a goal to acquire 10,000 new followers on Instagram within six months to drive, sort of say app downloads. Or a boutique fashion retailer could aim to increase website traffic by 20% through social media campaigns during the holiday shopping season. That's just two. Other common goals could include increasing brand awareness, generating leads or sales, driving traffic to a website, building a community of loyal followers, or enhancing customer service and satisfaction. Because it all starts with knowing your audience. If you understand the audience, you can create content that resonates with them. You would use analytic tools, tubes or gather demographic information such as age, gender, location, and interests, and then go deeper and you'd understand their behaviors, their challenges, and their motivations. So a vegan food brand might discover, say, through their research that their target audience is predominantly millennials and Gensi who value sustainability and ethical consumption. Then this insight can guide content creation. So you'd make posts about how the brands are very eco friendly and then the recipes featuring these products. And tools like Facebook Audience Insight, Instagram analytics, and Google Analytics can provide valuable data about your audience. Of course, you can also conduct your own surveys or analyze competitor audiences to refine your understanding. Choosing the right platform is also important because not all platforms are suitable for every business. So you need to focus on platforms where your target audience spends their time where the platform's features aligned with your goals. So a photographic studio would prioritize visually driven platforms like Instagram and Pinterest to show their portfolio, whereas a B to B software company might prefer to focus on LinkedIn to connect with industry professionals and decision makers. So you need to study the competitors in your industry and then identify what works and what doesn't. So this can help you to spot opportunities to differentiate your brand while staying aware of current trends and audience expectations. But how do we go about doing a competitive analysis? Here's a very brief overview. Identify three to five a handful of direct competitors. Then look at their social media platforms, where they are, the type of content they're posting, how their engagement is doing, and how many followers they have, and then identify gaps in their strategy that your brand can fill. Example, a local bakery might notice that competitors aren't leveraging TikTok for quick recipe tutorials or behind the scenes content. So by stepping into this gap, the bakery could establish itself as sort of a fun relatable brand. I mean, then we need to develop our strategy. And so the content strategy effectively defines the type of content that you'll create and how often you'll post. Again, the content should align with your goals and resonate with your audience. And so a balanced mix of content types is often the most effective. So the content types you would use would include sort of educational content such as how tos, tips and tutorials. It could also be entertaining types, sort of humorous content, viral content that can be inspirational. So you'd have success stories and motivational posts, also be promotional with product launches and discounts and of course, interactive. So you'd have your own polls, Q&A sessions, contests, things like that. For example, a skincare brand would create a content calendar that might look something like this. So I might say on sorry, Mondays, we'll post educational content about, say, skin health. Then on Wednesdays, we'll post inspirational stories featuring our real customers. Then on Fridays, we'll do promotional post about, say, a weekend discount. You need to plan a posting schedule because in social media marketing, consistency is the most important part. So you would use a content calendar to plan and schedule posts in advance, and this would then ensure a steady flow of content that keeps your audience engaged. Though the post frequency and timing should be based on the audience activity patterns, and you can analyze these using the platform tools provided. For example, a food delivery service might find that its audience is most active during lunchtime and around 6:00 P.M. So they could schedule posts about meal deals and special offers at these times for maximum visibility. You also need to set a budget and allocate resources. Although social media marketing can be done organically, investing in paid ads often amplifies and speeds up the results. So you would allocate your budget for activities such as running targeted ad campaigns, boosting your top performing posts, make them even better, and maybe even hiring a content creator or graphic designer. So for example, a real estate company could allocate, say, $1,000 per month for Facebook ads, which would target users searching for homes in their area, thereby driving leads to their website. You also need to measure and analyze results. So you monitor your strategy's performance by tracking key metrics or KPIs, and then of course, adjust your approach based on what works and what doesn't. So you use tools like, for example, Google Analytics, HubSpot or native platform insights to get data on metrics such as engagement, impressions, CTR, you click through rates and conversions. For example, a fashion ecommerce store might notice that their Instagram reels consistently generate more engagement than just static posts. So they would feed that into their strategy and adjust it to prioritize video content for better return on investment. Look at some real world examples. Firstly, Airbnb. So Airbnb's social media strategy focuses on user generated content, and it will showcase sort of real stays in unique properties around the world. And they will encourage guests, of course, to share their experiences, which Airbnb would then feature on Instagram and Facebook. And this strategy not only builds trust, but also inspires future travelers sort of to book an Airbnb. Starbucks. They have highly interactive strategies. They regularly run Instagram contests and polls to engage with their audience, and their sort of hashtag red cup contest encourages customers to share creative posts of their seasonal cups, which leads to huge user engagement during the holiday season, Christmas. The last example, Northface. So Northface uses a multi platform approach, and they tailor the content to each channel. So on Instagram, they would post sort of stunning outdoor photographs, whereas the YouTube channel would feature adventure documentaries. And this strategy reinforces their brand or their brand image, rather, as an outdoor lifestyle leader. So to summarize in conclusion, crafting a social media strategy requires careful planning, creativity, and ongoing analysis that you feed back into the strategy. And by defining goals, understanding your audience, selecting the right platforms, and crafting engaging content, the business can create impactful campaigns that drive results. So a well executed strategy not only enhances the visibility, but also creates sort of lasting connections with the audience, this will in turn lead to growth and success in today's competitive landscape. 5. Creating Engaging Content: Welcome to this lesson on creating engaging content. Maybe it's obvious, but engaging content is the heart of every successful social media campaign. It's not just enough to post frequently. Your content must also resonate with the audience, provide them with value, and inspire action. And engaging content really strengthens the connection between your brand and its audience, which then in turn encourages loyalty and advocacy. And in this lesson, we explore what makes up engaging content, the strategies for content creation, and we'll look, of course, at many examples of how top brands use compelling content in the achieving of their goals. The key elements of engaging content are relevance to your audience, high quality visuals. They need to be emotionally appealing, need to do storytelling and need to be interactive. Obviously, look at each of these in turn. So the relevance to your audience. So in order to be engaging, the content has to address these interests, needs and desires of your audience. And by knowing what resonates with them, you can then create posts that spark off a meaningful interaction. So a fitness brand targeting millennials might focus on sort of quick workout routines and nutritional tips, and content like sort of ten minute morning workout for busy professionals is likely to capture attention because it aligns with the audience lifestyle. So a B to B SAS software as a service company could post about industry trends or productivity hacks, which will then cater to their professional audience. High quality visuals. A lot of social media is a visual element, which means you need high quality images, videos, or graphics in order to boost engagement. So you really need to invest in professional visuals or tools and create really polished and appealing content. We think about Apple, they constantly post sort of minimalistic and striking visual photos of its products on Instagram, which then reflects sort of the brand aesthetic. Their images often emphasize or sleek design and innovation, which in turn resonates with their target audience. Another example is national geographic. They sort of have amazing photography, which engages its audience on platforms like Instagram. And their sort of stunning visuals of wildlife and nature often include sort of captivating stories in the caption, which in turn further enhances engagement. It has to be emotionally appealing. So a content that invokes emotion, and it doesn't really matter whether it's joy, inspiration, nostalgia or humor is more likely to be shed. An emotional appeal fosters sort of a personal connection with your audience. Couple of examples. First one, Coca Cola Share a Coke campaign created emotional connection by printing people's names on the bottles. They then encourage their customers to share their experience with the friends and family on social media. And Dove's Real Beauty campaign promotes body positivity and use sort of videos and testimonials to inspire and engage their audience. You also have to do storytelling, and these stories captivate the audience and make the content memorable. And social media is an excellent platform for telling short, impactful stories about your brand or your customers or products. So Humans of New York on Facebook and Instagram shares compelling real life stories of sort of individuals, and this will often result in huge engagement and discussion. And Patagonia uses Instagram to tell stories about environmental activism. They will share photos and narratives of people and organizations who are working to protect the planet. We also mentioned interactivity, and this is where you invite your audience to participate, which makes them feel a sense of involvement with your brand. So polls, quizzes, Q&A sessions, and contests are excellent ways to boost engagement. So Netflix uses Instagram stories to host polls about popular shows, which encourages users to vote and share their opinions. Or Sephora runs Instagram contests where users can submit their makeup looks for chance to be featured, thus creating buzz and increased engagement. Then, what are the strategies for creating engaging content? So there are several strategies you can use, and the ones we'll look at here are using a content mix, leveraging trends and hashtags, optimizing for the platform, encouraging user generated content or UGC, and also including strong CTAs or calls to action. What do you mean by content mix? This is where you diversify your content to keep the audience engaged and cater to different preferences. So a sort of mix of formats such as images, videos, infographics and live streams help sustain interest. So Red bull as an example, uses a variety of content formats, and these include videos or extreme sports, or blog articles about athletes, live streams or sponsored events, all different stuff like that, and they create dynamic and engaging presence across many platforms. Leveraging hash tags and trends. They need to stay relevant by participating in trending topics and using popular hash tags. However, please ensure that this aligns with your brand and audience. You don't want to be seen just to be jumping on a bandwagon, without any real purpose behind it. This will go negatively. So during the pandemic, Peloton created the hashtag together, we ride to encourage users to share their at home workout experiences, which then created a sort of a community during the challenging times which in this case, were corona. Or Wendy's Twitter account capitalized on trending topics with sort of witty, timeless responses which engage followers and earn viral recognition. So I want to optimize for the platform. So each social media has sort of its own culture and best practices, and it's important to tailor your content to fit the platform where it will be posted. So, for example, on Instagram, a fashion brand might post sort of visually rich photos of its products, whereas on TikTok, it could create short fun videos showcasing styling tips. Or on LinkedIn, a tech company could share in depth articles about industry trends, but on Twitter, it might post more concise updates and join then relevant discussions. So I mentioned user generated content or UGC. And this involves sort of audience creating their own content, which in turn makes them feel like they're part of your brand. It's also an authentic way to showcase your products or services. So Starbucks would encourage customers to share photos of their drinks using, say, a brand hashtag like Starbucks Coffee, which then the company will repost. And the GOP features monthly contests where customers can submit video shot with the GoPro cameras, and then winners can be featured on the GoPro's own social media accounts. And include a strong CTA call to action. Every post should have a clear call to action that basically tells the audience what to do next. It tells them what you want them to do. And this can be anything from clicking a link, commenting or resharing the post. So a travel agency might post a photo of a tropical destination with the caption dreaming of paradise. Click the Ink in our bio to book your dream getaway today. Or an online retailer could post a product photo with, say, the caption, Love this look to shop now and enjoy 20% off for a limited time. To look at some real world examples of engaging content. The first one we'll look at is ego. The ego uses Instagram and Facebook to showcase creative builds made by fans, often including challenges and inviting followers to share their own creations. And this strategy keeps followers engaged and showcases the versatility of their products. Another example, Nike. Their inspirational just do it campaigns often feature athletes overcoming challenges, evoking then an emotional response and driving engagement. For example, their video featuring Colin Kapanik encourage powerful conversations around social issues while at the same time aligning with the brand's values. Tasty. The Tasty creates short visual appealing recipe videos that are optimized for platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. And their engaging videos often use relatable captions and vibrant visuals to attract millions of viewers. Through in conclusion, the main takeaways here. Engaging content is the key to social media success. And by creating content that resonates emotionally or by telling compelling stories and encouraging interactions, brands can build long lasting connections with their audience. And through a mix of creativity, relevance, and strategic planning, businesses can transform their social media channels into vibrant communities that will in turn drive growth and loyalty. 6. Paid Advertising on Social Media: Welcome to this lesson on paid advertising on social media. So we mentioned previously that organic content will help build relationships and grow a loyal audience, whereas paid social media advert can really amplify your reach and target specific customer segments. So platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, LinkedIn and Twitter offer robust advert tools that allow a business to achieve diverse objectives from generating brand awareness to driving sales. And here in this lesson, we'll look at sort of the basics of pay social advertising, we'll discuss best practices, and, of course, provide real world examples which will demonstrate an effective campaign. So the key elements of paid social media advertising are as follows. We need to choose the right platform for these ads. We need to set our advert objectives. We need to target the audience. We need to craft compelling ad creatives. We need to define our budgeting and bid strategies. We need to do AB testing and campaign optimization, and we need to track metrics and measure success. And we'll look at each of these in turn now. So choosing the right platform. Each social media platform has its own unique audience demographics and advertising features. And by understanding which platform aligns with your goals and target audience is basically the crux of the matter. If we look at Facebook and Instagram ads, these platforms offer very extensive targeting options, which makes them ideal for B to C brands, or business to customer brands, looking to reach a broad or niche audience. So a clothing brand might use Instagram to target young adults interested in fashion by displaying a sort of a carousel ad featuring their latest collection. LinktI is more suited for B to B e business to business companies. So a software company might use LinkedIn to run sponsored content targeting professionals in industries such as finance or healthcare. Whereas Tik Tok, that's great for reaching younger audiences who will appreciate sort of creative and visually engaging ads, and a cosmetic brand could use TikTok to showcase makeup tutorials in a dynamic entertaining style, which then targets users aged say 16 to 24. Now we need to set the objectives. And before launching any campaign, you should know what you want to achieve with this. And most platforms offers of advertising objectives such as brand awareness, lead generation, website traffic, app installs, or sales conversions. So a fitness app might run a campaign aimed at increasing app installs, and they would use targeted ads on, say, Facebook and Instagram. And these ads could feature testimonials or short videos or promotional offers to encourage the downloads. Or a luxury hotel chain could focus on brand awareness by creating very immersive video ads on YouTube, which would show the unique experience offered at their various properties. So one of the biggest advantages doing paid advertising on social media is the ability to really target specific audiences. And the platforms will often allow you to define audiences based on, say, demographics such as age, gender, income, location, interests. So their hobbies, behaviors, and preferences. You can also develop or make lookalike audiences, which is users who resemble your current customers, and enable re targeting, so you can reach users who have interacted with your website or previous ads. So any e commerce store selling eco friendly products could target environmentally conscious users by selecting interests such as sustainability or zero waste on the Facebook ads manager. Alternatively, a travel agency could re target users who visited their website but didn't complete a booking by showing them dynamic ads featuring destinations they previously browsed. So an ad creative here refers to the visuals and the text and the design of the ads. And it must really grab the attention while at the same time communicating the value of the product or service. So a few best practices here, use high quality visuals or videos. Include a clear and enticing CTA or call to action and focus on the benefits, not the features. So don't list the specifications, tell them what it'll do for you. And also test multiple creatives to identify which resonates with your target audience. So a subscription meal kits service might create a video ad that shows how easy and enjoyable it is to prepare really nice gourmet meals using their kits. And the call to action could read Order your first box now and get 50% off. Or sportswear brand might have a sort of a carousel ad with lots of different images on Instagram, which would feature athletes using their products with captions highlighting the unique selling points such as lightweight endurable or engineered for performance. We also need to think about the budget and the bid strategies. And you need to be careful with this. So platforms offer flexibility in, say, setting daily or lifetime budgets and selecting a bid strategy like cost per click or cost per impression. So CTCs CPM is usually cost per thousand impressions. That's why the M is four or cost per conversion. So a small business with a limited budget might focus on cost per click campaigns on Facebook. And this way, they only pay for the clicks they actually get, which maximizes their return on investment. Alternatively, a large retail chain. If they're launching a new product, they could use a cost per impression strategy on YouTube to drive exposure to their target audience during a launch week. AB testing and campaign optimization. So AB testing or split testing is it's sometimes called, involves running two or more variations of an ad and determining which one performs better. So you would test sort of elements such as visuals, headlines, CTAs, targeting, basically anything you can think of to refine your campaign. So for example, a tech company might have sort of two headlines for lead generation campaign. The first one could say, Boost your productivity with our software. And the second could say, the ultimate tool for teams, try it free. And if the second headline generates more clicks, they can then use that in future ads as opposed to the first one and then maybe generate another AB testing to further optimize and refine. So a cosmetics brand might test sort of static images versus short video ads and see which drives more engagement on Instagram. And then obviously, feed that back into the strategy. We need to track metrics and measure our success, and we do this by monitoring the performance using the platform analytics. The key metrics that we're looking for include reach and impressions, click through rate, cost per click, and conversion rate. An online bookstore might analyze their Facebook ads performance and discover that adverts featuring staff book recommendations have a higher click through rate than generic promotional ads. Or a travel gear retailer could track conversions from their Google Ads campaign and find the ads emphasizing a limited time discount perform better, so they use more of them. Look at real world examples of a handful here. Airbnb's dynamic ads, they use Facebook ads to show users listing based on their previous searches. So if somebody's browsing, say, beach houses, they would see adverts featuring beach destinations. This personalized approach significantly boost the click through rates and bookings. Or Spotify's Raps campaign. So Spotify leverages paid ads on Instagram and Snapchat during its year end Raps campaign. These eye catching visuals and personalized messages which encourages users to share their music habits and preferences, which then increases engagement and downloads of their app. Well Nike will create short dynamic videos on TikTok, which showcases young athletes using their products in fun and innovative ways. And this product resonates with TikToks of younger audience, which generates millions of views and a load of engagement. Though in conclusion, paid social media advertising is a powerful way to amplify a brand's reach and achieve specific objectives. And by carefully selecting the platform, the audience, and creating compelling ads and continuously optimizing campaigns, businesses can maximize the impact of this paid effort. And with the right strategy in tools, paid ads can become a cornerstone of your social media marketing strategy. 7. Leveraging Analytics and Metrics: Welcome to this lesson on leveraging analytics and metrics. So social media analytics and metrics really can be seen as the compass that guides your campaigns. And without a proper analysis, you're really operating blindly and you don't know what works and what doesn't. And platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok provide robust analytic tools to help marketers evaluate the success of their efforts. And in this lesson, we'll look at, say, the key metrics you need to track, how to implement them, and how to use data to optimize campaigns effectively. And we'll end up with some real world examples to illustrate how businesses have leveraged analytics to achieve measurable success. So here we'll look at the following key metrics. These are important ones have engagement metrics, reach and impressions, CTR or click through rate, conversion rate, audience demographics, and sentiment analysis. Well look first at engagement metrics. So this measures how the audiences interact with your content. It can be shares, likes, comments, retweets, saves, clicks, whatever is relevant for the campaign. And a high engagement indicates that your content resonates well with the audience. For example, a coffee shop will post a video on Instagram showing a new brewing method. And this post receives, say, 5,000 likes, 500 comments and 1,000 shes, which indicates a strong interest in the content. And this insight suggests that similar videos might perform well in the future. Obviously, the numbers are relevant to their normal content feedback. That would be to be consulting company, share, say, a linked in article about industry trends, and the low engagement might signal that the topic wasn't relevant, which would make them then focus on other more targeted content. Have reach and impressions. So what are they? So reach is the number of unique users who see your content. And impressions is the total number of time your content is displayed, whether it's clicked on or not. So a fashion retailer launches a Facebook ad campaign. So the ad generates a reach of 50,200 thousand impressions. However, if the impressions are significantly higher than the reach, which is, in this case, this would indicate that the same audience is seeing the ad multiple times, which may end up leading to advertigue and the people sort of ignoring it. Then we have click through rate or CTR. So CTR measures the percentage of users who click on a link once they've seen your content. And it's a very strong indicator of how compelling your CTA, your call to action and your content are. So a software company runs a LinkedIn ad promoting a free trial. If the ad reaches 10,000 users and gets 500 clicks, the CTR or the click through rate is 5%. And a low CTR would probably suggest that something is wrong with the ad. The headline isn't good or the image isn't good. And then you need to look at it, maybe do sort of AB testing, split testing, and see if you can improve it. We have conversion rate. So the conversion rate measures the percentage of users who actually do the thing you want them to do in the CTA, such as signing up for a newsletter, making a purchase or downloading an app. So an online fitness trainer promotes a course on Instagram stories. So if 1,000 people swipe up to visit the website and 100 register, the conversion rate is 10%. And this metric helps evaluate the effectiveness of the ad and the landing page. Let's go into that a little bit more. So if 1,000 people swipe up and visit the website and one registers, it shows that the advert was okay, but the website sucks. However, if only say ten people swipe up and all of them register, that shows your advert. That's why your website is really good, and the advert sucks. So you need to use conversion rates to see what you need to change and improve. We have audience demographics. So this is basically telling us who engages with the content, which will in turn help us refine our targeting. So most platforms provide insights into, say, age, gender, location, and interests. So a beauty brands TikTok analytics show that 80% of their audience is female age 18 to 24. And this valuable insight prompts the brand to then tailor contents specifically for this demographic, such as makeup tutorials and product reviews. We have sentiment analysis. And what we mean here is whether your brand is being mentioned in a positive, neutral, or negative way. And this is especially interesting for gauging public perceptions during campaigns. So a fast food chain launches a new menu item and then monitors Twitter for feedback. I 70% of the tweets are positive, the chain knows that the item is well received. On the other hand, negative feedback could give you some areas for things you need to improve. So I'm going to look at the built in analytics tools. So most social media platform offer native analytics tools. For example, Facebook Insights will track page performance, post engagement, and audience data. Instagram insights provide metrics on stories, posts and follower demographics, and LinkedIn Analytics offers insight into company page followers and post performance. So a nonprofit organization uses Facebook insights to identify that their video post generates three times more engagement than static images, which will then naturally lead them to prioritize video content. In addition to the platform tools, there are also other third party tools. And these there's many of them, and the ones that are mentioned here is now adverts just mentioning them. So we have Google Analytics, say Hootsuite or Sprout Social. They will also provide insights and the ability to track multiple platforms simultaneously. So a digital marketing agency uses Hootsuite to monitor the performance of all their clients campaigns in one place, and they can identify then which platforms deliver the best return on investment. Or ecommerce store will integrate Google Analytics with their Facebook Ads manager and track how many clicks from social media result in purchases. So what do we look at when we're optimizing campaigns? These are the things that we look at, and these are the metrics we need to optimize. We need to identify the top performing content. We need to refine our targeting. We do AB testing based on data, and we maybe even adjust our posting schedules. How do we identify top performing content? What do we analyze which posts perform best in terms of engagement, reach, and conversions, then replicate that success in future campaigns. A tech company discovers that LinkedIn posts with infographics perform way better than text only updates in the future, they would focus on creating more visually appealing content for that platform. Also refine our targeting. So maybe the campaign isn't reaching the right audience, and we can use our analytics to adjust our targeting parameters. So a travel agency targeting luxury travelers notices that the most engagement comes from users age 25 to 34 rather than the expected 35 to 44 demographic. So, of course, they would adjust their targeting to focus on younger users, which would also affect the type of material they produce and also maybe where they shove it. Now, we mentioned AB testing before, but this is a quick slide on it as a recap. We use insights from analytics and test variations of content and ads. So we monitor the metrics to determine the most effective approach. So an online bookstore tests two Facebook ads, one with a discount offer, and another promoting free shipping. And the analytics reveal that the free shipping ad generates 20% more clicks. So, of course, the bookstore prioritizes similar promotions in future campaigns. We also can adjust posting schedules, so we can analyze when our audience is most active and then schedule the posts for maximum visibility and engagement. So a fitness influencer discovers that Instagram engagement peaks at 7:00 P.M. On weekdays. And so they change their posting schedules to align with this pattern and see a boost in interactions. So they also post 7:00 P.M. On weekdays. Look at some examples. So we have Starbucks Instagram strategy. They use Instagram insights to identify which seasonal drinks generate the most buzz. For example, analytics may show that pumpkin spice and latte post drive higher engagement, which will prompt the brand to create more content around this product. Or Netflix content localization. So Netflix will analyze your preferences across regions to optimize social media content. So in India, for instance, they highlight Bollywood inspired series and films and engage with the local audiences there because the data shows a strong interest in this content. Or glossier's customer centric approach, they track Instagram engagement and customer feedback and identify trending beauty topics. They then use this data for their product development and social media campaigns, which results in a strong connection with their audience. In conclusion. Analytics and metrics are indispensable tools for any successful social media campaign. And by monitoring these KPIs and leveraging insights from the tools and continuously optimizing campaigns based on data, brands can achieve better results, foster deeper audience interactions and connections and maximize their return on investment. And with this sort of data driven approach, social media marketing basically no more guesswork and is actually a precise strategy. 8. Social Media Trends and Innovations: Welcome to this lesson on social media trends and innovations. So as we've seen, social media is a dynamic environment where trends and technologies can quickly change, and the businesses must stay informed to remain competitive and relevant. Though from AI driven personalization to ephemeral content and the rise of new platforms, this lesson explores the latest trends and innovation shaping social media marketing. We'll also show examples of how brands adapt to these changes and carry on driving engagement and conversions. So what are the main social media trends and how can we leverage them? As we said, social media evolves rapidly. It's driven by new technologies, user behaviors change, and platforms update. Staying ahead of these trends is essential for any business looking to remain relevant and competitive. So from the growing dominance of short form video content, the increasing integration of augmented reality and personalized experiences, each trend presents unique opportunities to engage audiences and drive results. And by understanding and leveraging these innovations, marketers can create impactful campaigns that resonate with their target audience and then stand out in this crowded digital landscape. And in this next section of the lesson, we'll look at the most influential trends of shape social media today and we'll look at actionable insights and real world examples of how businesses adapt and thrive. So the rise of short form video content. So short form videos have become dominant across platforms such as Tik Tok, Instagram reals, and YouTube. And of course, it was TikTok that started this off. Okay? And these bite size engaging videos cater sort of to the reduced attention spans that we're currently seeing and encourage sort of rapid consumption. Example, Nike uses Instagram reels to showcase athletes using their products and action and blending sort of entertainment and promotion. While small bakery uses TikTok to post quick tutors on decorating cakes, which gets them millions of views and increases in store traffic. The wide do short form video matter. Short form content is highly sharable. It can increase organic reach and can very quickly go viral. And brands can use this for product launches, behind the scenes look or user generated content. We have the increased focus on personalization. The social media platforms increasingly use AI to deliver personalized experience, and they will then tailor ads in contents to individual preferences. So Spotify raped created highly personalized year end summaries for users, which encourage them to share these on social media, which caused a lot of organic reach. Or e commerce platforms like ASOS use dynamic ads on Facebook to show user items based on their browsing history. And this matters because personalized experiences increase engagement, increasing conversion and customer loyalty by making users feel valued. We have the growth of ephemeral content. So ephemeral content such as Instagram stories and Snapchat snaps is temporary and disappears after 24 hours. That's what we mean by ephemeral short lived. And this format of encourages frequent engagement and promotes a sense of urgency. So a fashion brand uses Instagram stories to showcase flash sales. I encourages followers to act quickly before the deal expires. So Starbucks uses stories to highlight limited time offers or new seasonal drinks, which creates sort of buzz and excitement and also drives traffic to the stores. Why it matters is because ephemeral content, like short lived content, it feels authentic and in the moment, and it fosters a closer connection with the audience. We have the rise of social commerce. So social commerce is when we integrate a shopping experience directly with the social media platform, which makes it easier for users to discover and purchase products. So a cosmetic brand uses Instagram shopping to tag products in posts, allowing users to purchase directly from their feed. And Walmart leverages TikTok's live shopping feature to showcase products in real time and creating an interactive shopping experience. And this matters because social commerce shortens the customer journey, increases the likelihood of impulse purchases, and boosts conversion rates. We have user generated content. So brands are increasingly relying on user generated content, such as reviews, photos or videos created by customers to build authenticity and trust. The GoPro encourages users to share their video shot with GoPro cameras, and often features them on their official social media channels, GoPro's official social media channels, or Airbnb uses user generated content in Instagram posts showcasing real guest experiences to inspire potential travelers. And this matters because user generated content is perceived as more authentic than branded content, which makes it highly effective for trust and community. And also, as maybe a cynical note, it's also cheaper than doing it yourself. Then we have augmented reality or AR. So AR features, these are things like sort of filters, virtual trons are becoming more prevalent on platforms like Instagram and Snapchat. So Sephora's AR filter on Instagram allows users to try different makeup products virtually, which enhances the shopping experience. Or Ikea's AR tool allows users to visualize how furniture will look in their homes shared via Instagram stories or Snapchat. And this matters because AR engages users interactively, and it enhances the customer experience and therefore, or thereby increasing the chance of a purchase. We have the expansion of niche platforms. So we have the giants like Facebook and Instagram dominate the general scene, you're seeing a lot of niche platforms like discord and clubhouse gaining traction for community building and specialized content. So a gaming company will create a discord server and build a community of players who then share exclusive updates and host live chats. Where a tech startup will host a clubhouse discussions on industry trends, thereby establishing them as a thought leader. Why this matters? Because niche platforms offer highly engaged audiences and a chance to stand out in a less saturated space. Then we have social responsibility and inclusivity. So consumers increasingly expect brands to take a stand on social issues and embrace diversity and inclusion in their campaigns. So Ben and Jerry's sort of actively posts about social justice causes, which aligns with their brand values and the audiences expectations. And Fenty Beauty promotes inclusivity by featuring a wide range of skin tones in their Instagram ads and campaigns. Does this matter? Because authenticity in addressing social issues helps brands connect with value driven customers and build long term loyalty. They have real world applications, a few examples. So Coca Cola's personalized ads. In the Coke Share a Coke campaign, they use personalization by printing names on bottles. They amplified this through social media. They encourage users to share the photographs of their personalized bottles, which was then driving user generated content and viral engagement. Or Chipotle's TikTok challenges. Chipotle used TikTok trends like dance challenges to engage younger audiences. There's lid flip challenge got millions of views and increased in store visits. And we had BMW's AR campaign. BMW used AR filters on Instagram to let users visualize the interior of their cars, which made it easier for the decision process for potential buyers. So in conclusion, social media trends and innovations provide unique opportunities to elevate marketing efforts. And by staying informed and adapting to challenges such as the rise of short form video, AR integration, and social commerce, businesses can connect with audience more effectively and maintain a competitive edge. And the brands that embrace these trends early on are often the ones to reap the most significant rewards in engagement, reach, and conversions. 9. Managing Social Media Challenges: Welcome to this lesson on managing social media challenges. So as we've seen, social media offers incredible opportunities, but also is not without its challenges. Whether it's from negative feedback or algorithm changes, businesses must address these issues effectively and maintain their online reputation and engagement. And if you get these wrong, they can damage your brand horribly. You can miss out on opportunities, whereas if you do it correctly, you can turn potential problems into opportunities for growth. In this lesson, we'll look at some key social media challenges, and also give you some practical sort of strategies to manage them. And of course, we'll look at real world examples of how businesses have done this. The common media mistake or social media mistakes that we'll look at or challenges are specifically these managing negative feedback and online criticism, dealing with algorithm changes, handling crisis situations, combating content sense saturation, addressing privacy and data concerns, keeping up with trends and changes, and managing time and resources. And we'll look at each of these in turn now. Managing negative feedback and online criticism. So social media allows customers to share their opinions openly. And it's not a surprise that it's not all positive. If you can manage criticism effectively, you can then turn these dissatisfied customers into loyal advocates. So how would you handle it? Respond promptly and professionally, acknowledge their concerns and offer solutions. Take detailed complaints offline by providing contact information for further discussion, and avoid being defensive, like focus on resolving the issue constructively. A couple of examples. So a hotel receives a negative review on Twitter about poor service. So the social media team responds with an apology, offers a direct line for the guests to discuss compensation. So by resolving the issue publicly, they demonstrate accountability and a commitment to customer satisfaction. Another example, so a fast food chain mistakenly posts an advert with incorrect pricing. So when customers complain, they immediately acknowledge the error and offer discounts, and then they turn this mistake into goodwill. Then we have algorithm changes. So frequent updates to platform algorithms can horribly affect organic reach and engagement. An algorithm update can kill a website dead seriously, and you need to stay informed and be adaptable. So what do we do? So we diversify the content formats to align with algorithm changes. So, for example, focus on video if suddenly video is pushed in the algorithm calculation. We would invest in paid promotion to maintain visibility. And then, of course, we monitor the analytics and identify which content is performing best and adapt accordingly. So when Facebook reduced the organic reach of business pages, a local bakery started using Facebook ads to boost posts about new products, and their campaign led to increased foot traffic on online orders. On the other hand, it kind of suck that Facebook did this because it meant if you want to reach the people who have shown an interest in your products, you have to pay Facebook to do it. This was not a popular decision across the board. Alternative, when Instagram's algorithm began prioritizing reels, sort of short video format, the fitness influence has shifted to posting more short workout videos, resulting in significant engagement boost. Then we have handling crisis situations. So a crisis can emerge at any time, and this can be, say, a PR, a public relations scandal or product failure. And social media is often the first place where these issues unfold publicly. So what do we do about it? We need to have a crisis management plan in place, and this includes designated spokespeople and protocols for quick responses. Communicate transparently and empathetically, acknowledge the issue, and outline steps to resolve it, and use updates to keep audiences informed as the situation develops. The first point having a management with designated spokespeople is also very important. You don't want just your staff talking about it, however they see fit, you want to make sure that the designated spokespeople are doing all the talking and not just anyone who's in the same company. For example, during a product recall, the cosmetics company used Instagram stories and posts to inform customers about the issue while providing safety instructions and offering refunds, and their honest and timely communication actually maintained customer trust. Then we have the problem with content saturation. So with literally millions of posts being shared daily, standing out can be challenging. And content saturation basically means that your message might get lost in all the noise. So what do we do? We focus on creating unique, high quality content that is tailored to your audience. We leverage storytelling to connect emotionally with followers, and we experiment with sort of new emerging platforms and formats to differentiate the brand. A couple of examples. So a small travel agency creates visually stunning Instagram reels, which showcases hidden destinations instead of generic vacation spots, and this will then draw the attention of travel enthusiasts. Or a B to B company would use LinkedIn to publish long form articles with in depth industry insights, which would then differentiate themselves from the competitors who are only posting promotional content. We have privacy and data concerns. So privacy regulation and user concerns about data usage have increased scrutiny on all social media platforms, and mishandling data can result in both legal and reputational damage. So how do we handle it? You have to be transparent about data collection and usage. You have to have updated privacy policies and communicate them clearly, and you need to ensure compliance with regulations like GDPR or CTPA. And use secure platforms and tools to safeguard the user data. An example, a text startup includes clear opt ins for data collection and its Instagram lead generation ads. So this ensures compliance with privacy laws and builds trust with users. So rapid trends and changes. The social media is by nature fast paced and it can often be difficult to stay up to date with the trends and the updates and user behavior changes. So what do we do? We have to dedicate time for regular research and training on platform updates. We would use tools like Google alerts or social listening platform to track industry trends. We also follow industry leaders and communities for insights. For example, a fashion brand capitalizes on a TikTok trend by quickly launching a challenge featuring their latest collection, which results then in viral engagement. And lastly, managing time and resources. So for a small business or even a solo marketer, maintaining a consistent social media presence can be very overwhelming. What do we do? We would use scheduling tools like Hot suite or buffer to plan and automate posts. And obviously, those are just two. There are lots of other ones. And you need to focus on the platforms that are most relevant to your audience instead of spreading yourself too thin and repurpose content across multiple channels to save time. For example, the fre eline designer uses Canva to create templates for Instagram and then repurposes them for Pinterest, this reduces creation time and still maintains the quality. You know, other things you can do would be to take long form video and then cut out little snippets for short form video. This is what we mean by repurposing content. So look at some real world examples of how companies effectively manage these challenges. So firstly, Kentucky Fried chickens crisis response. So when KFC ran after chicken in the UK due to a supply chain issue, they faced massive backlash online. And the response from the brand included sort of funny ads apologizing for the mishap, which kind of got them praised for their transparency and humor. People liked it. Then we had Airbnb's handling of privacy concerns. So after concerns about data misuse surface, Airbnb implemented stronger privacy measures and actively communicated their efforts through social media, which then rebuilt the trust with the users. Or Oreo's adaption to trends to Oreo's dunk in the dark tweet during a Super Bowl Blackout became a viral success, showcasing the Brown's ability to capitalize on real time trends and challenges creatively. So in conclusion, social media challenges are inevitable, but they also provide opportunities for growth and innovation. And by addressing issues such as negative feedback, algorithm changes and content saturation with strategic planning and adaptability, businesses can strengthen their online presence and build lasting connections with their audiences. And a proactive approach to social media challenges not only reduces the risks, but also positions the brands as being resilient, trustworthy, and innovative. 10. Case Studies and Best Practices: Welcome to this last lesson in which we look at case studies and best practices. So by understanding best practices and learning from successful campaigns, you can significantly enhance your ability to design impactful social media strategies for yourself. And in this lesson, we'll look at some real world case studies across a wide range of industries and we'll highlight what they did right and also wrong and the key takeaways for your business. So by exploring these diverse examples, you will understand how to adapt proven techniques to your own unique goals and audiences. So we'll first look at case studies and then best practices. By examining real world case studies, marketers can understand how successful brands navigate the complexities of social media. And these examples showcase diverse strategies tailored to different industries and audiences, and it highlights what worked and why. And by analyzing these campaigns, you can identify actionable insights to apply to your own efforts. Whether it's leveraging humor, storytelling or user generated content, each case study demonstrates practical ways to engage audiences, drive results, and build brand loyalty. So Wendy's Twitter account is famous for its witty and humorous tone, especially when engaging with customers and, of course, roasting the competition. The humorous approach has turned them really into social media favorite. So Wendy's roast today, where they invite users to ask for a roast generated massive engagement with likes, retweets, and comments. And a roast here is not what you do in the oven. It's where you say bad things about people, but in a kind of humorous way. A, the outcome of this was increased brand visibility and a loyal online following. So by adopting a distinct and engaging brand voice that will help you stand out, especially in saturated markets and tailor your tone to your audience and therefore, ensuring that it aligns with your brand identity. Or Nike with their empowering message and storytelling. What they did was they used inspirational storytelling in social media campaigns and focused on themes like perseverance, inclusion and social issues. Their Can't Stoppers campaign on Instagram featured split screen video showcasing athletes overcoming challenges and aligning with their brand ethos resilience. The outcome was over 50 million views on Instagram alone with significant brand engagement and positive sentiment. So the key takeaway from this is that storytelling that connects emotionally with your audience can foster deeper engagement and build brand loyalty. We have Starbucks, user generated content and community building. So what they did was they consistently encourage users to share their experiences with its products. And this often has a lot of user generated content, which they then highlight on their own social media channels. And as an example, the hashtag Red Cup contest on Instagram invited customers to share photos of their holiday themed cups with a chance to win prizes. And the outcome of this but a thousands of submissions each year, which increased brand visibility and organic reach. But the key takeaway from this is to incorporate user generated content into your strategy, which reduces the creation costs because they're doing it, not you, but also boosts your authenticity and strengthens your community. GoPro, again, building brand through user experiences. So what they did is they sort of positions its customers the stars of the content, and it showcases adventurous and dynamic videos created by users. So GoPro's photo of the day program highlights the best user submissions and features them on Instagram and Facebook. The outcome of this is an engaged community of loyal users and consistently high quality engaging content. So the takeaway from this is that by encouraging your users to participate in content creation helps you build a community and showcases your product in authentic real world scenarios. Airbnb, showcasing real experiences. So what they did is used real stories and photos from hosts and guests and created content that feels sort of genuine and relatable. So on Instagram, Airbnb shares photos from customers stays. It showcases unique and beautiful properties worldwide. And the outcome is an increased trust in the platform and stronger emotional connections with potential users. The key takeaway here is that using authentic, customer driven content can foster trust and encourage engagement, especially in industries where trust is paramount, such as hospitality. The last example is Old Spice, which is reinventing a legacy brand. And so what they did is they rebranded itself with humorous campaigns targeted at younger audiences. So they had this campaign the man your man could smell like went viral across multiple platform. So videos and memes posted on Twitter and Facebook featured absurd humor and it sparked, of course, shares and discussions. And the outcome was a legacy brand became trendy and relevant again, which achieved a significant boost in sales and engagement. What they mean by a legacy brand is a brand that was basically associated with old people. The key takeaway here is that by rebranding with creativity and humor, you can attract a new demographics and revitalize your image. Now look at best practices. The social media marketing is as much about innovation as it is about consistency, and best practices provides a framework for navigating this landscape effectively. And these guidelines are drawn from years of trial and error by leading brands and can offer marketers proven strategies for success. So from maintaining consistency to using social listening tools and optimizing content for different platforms, following these best practices ensures your efforts are focused, impactful, and aligned with audience expectations. The consistency. Being consistent in your posting schedule, tone, and visuals helps reinforce your brand identity and keeps your audience engaged. So Coca Cola's Instagram posts maintain a consistent theme of happiness and togetherness, which makes their brand instantly recognizable. And then social listening. So it monitor conversations around your brand, your industry, and of course, your competition to gain invaluable insights into customer preferences and pain points. So Netflix, for example, uses social listening to track trending memes and incorporates them into their posts, which keeps their content relevant and engaging. You also need to invest in community engagement. So actively engage with your audience, and you do this by replying to comments, messages, and mentions. So Glossier responds to every comment on its Instagram post, which fosters a strong sense of community and connection. Need to measure, analyze, and optimize, so we continuously track metrics, such as engagement rates, click through rates and conversions to refine the strategy. Though a clothing retailer, for example, notices that posts featuring user generated content perform 30% better in engagement, so, of course, they increase their focus on these campaigns. So a few real world examples of best practice is in use. So Heinz had their unstoppable campaign, and they promoted its new sources with a TikTok challenge that encouraged users to create videos showing how they used the sources. The campaign went viral and generated millions of views. Apple had their shot on iPhone campaign. They showcased photos and videos taken by users on iPhones emphasizing the product's quality. And this user generated campaign based campaign or as a mouthful, UGC based campaign, enhanced their brand image and highlighted the capability of their devices. And Domino's pizza tracker, they created a pizza tracker on its app, so they updating customers on their orders in real time. They also use social media to highlight the tool, which then generated engagement and improve customer satisfaction. In conclusion, the key takeaway here is that case studies and best practices offer valuable lessons for creating impactful social media strategies. By studying successful campaigns from leading brands, marketers can learn how to engage with audiences, build trust, and drive results. And whether it's through humor, storytelling, or leveraging user content, these examples demonstrate the power of creativity and consistency in social media marketing.