customer experience Archives | Legendary Social Media

4 stats to enhance your 2021 social media marketing strategy

Posted on 28-01-2021 by Erin Reynel

It’s important to identify social media marketing trends and review statistics from 2020 in order to determine what types of content will resonate with our target audiences in 2021.

For brands, having and maintaining your social media should be a fundamental aspect of your business by now. Brands investing in their social media marketing will benefit from increased sales and consumer recognition over their competitors!

Obviously, 2020 was a unique year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Forbes reported that internet usage increased by 50-70%as people turned to the internet for news and entertainment.

So let’s take a look at some more interesting stats that should influence your social media marketing for 2021.

1. Poor customer service will impact your following

According to Sprout Social, 49% of consumers said they’d unfollow brands due to poor customer service. Therefore, customer service should remain at the forefront of your social media marketing strategy.

Image Source: Sprout Social Index

So, one simple way to improve marketing in 2021 is to ensure customer inquiries are handled quickly and efficiently on your social media channels. If you don’t have anyone managing your social media channels, and you’re too busy running the day-to-day operations of your business, it might be time to hire someone to manage your social media.

2. TikTok is growing rapidly

We’ve certainly seen an increase in demand for video content over the past few years, but TikTok saw its growth increase exponentially in 2020.

Statistics for TikTok according to Oberlo:

TikTok has roughly 800 million active users worldwide
TikTok has been downloaded over 2 billion times on the App Store and Google Play
41% of TikTok users are aged between 16-24
TikTok has been downloaded 611 million times in India, this is around 30% of the app’s total downloads globally
The average time spend on TikTok is 52 minutes per day

If your target audience is between the ages of 16 and 24 then consider integrating TikTok into your social media strategy for 2021.

3. Visual content for the win

Sprout Social’s research concludes that 68% of consumers would prefer to engage with images and 50% would prefer to interact with video content.

HubSpot states that video has become the most commonly used format in content marketing, overtaking blogs and infographics, with promotional and brand storytelling videos being the most popular types of content created by marketers!

Social media is quickly becoming saturated with your competitors, so how do you stand out? Beautiful photography!

65% of people are visual learners, so inform your audience about your brand with this type of content!

Visual content is a quick and effective way to communicate with your audience:

Showcase your products and promotions
Share your brand’s story
Convey an emotion
Increase traffic to your website

We strongly believe in creating scroll-stopping content with social media photography!

4. Facebook should not be neglected

Facebook has over 2.7 billion monthly active users making it STILL the most used social media platform worldwide. Therefore, a large portion of your target audience remains on this platform and Facebook should certainly be part of your content marketing strategy for 2021!

If you have a product to sell, then you’ll want to be utilizing Facebook Shops.

Final thoughts

We hope you found these stats and trends of consumer behaviours and preferences as interesting as we did and apply them to your social media marketing strategy this year!

If you’re looking for help with your social media marketing, get in touch!

5 Shopify Apps that help increase checkouts

Posted on 14-01-2021 by Erin Reynel

Your eCommerce website’s revenue can only grow so much without the right tools. We’ve uncovered the best Shopify apps to help increase your sales!

We recently wrote a post about conversion optimization, where we compiled our top tips for optimizing your website and turning website visitors into paying customers.

What is a Shopify App?

Before we dive into our list of the best Shopify apps, let’s clarify what they are exactly!

Shopify Apps allow you to expand the functionality of your online store with new features. By using these plugins, you can increase your conversion rate, increase customer spend, recover or reduce abandoned carts, promote your store, reward customers or simply create a better customer experience!

So, let’s dive into some of the best plugins available for your Shopify website!

1. Product Reviews

The Product Reviews App allows you to add a customer review feature to your product pages.

In our previous post about conversion optimization, we discussed the importance of including customer reviews of your products on your website as it offers up ‘social proof’ to new and potential customers.

According to eMarketer, 98% of consumers look at reviews during the purchase process, so this Shopify add-on could be integral to increasing your website sales.

Product reviews can also help with your SEO ranking, as online customer reviews communicate trustworthiness and authority to search engines like Google!

2. Plugin SEO

SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization” and is essentially a series of techniques that improve your website’s ranking in search results, specifically Google. And this is important because most people use Google to search for products and services!

In order to run a successful online store, you need to increase your website traffic! When done well, SEO is one of the best ways to boost traffic to your website and ultimately more sales!

Plugin SEO helps to fix SEO issues, improve store rankings and drive organic traffic to your online store. This Shopify Plugin is like having your very own SEO assistant, regularly checking your online website and alerting you of any issues. Continually reviewing the important areas of SEO optimization, such as:

Page titles
Headings
Meta descriptions
Speed
Blog post structure
How often content is updated

3. Parcel Panel

Parcel Panel is an automated parcel tracking system that will tell customers their order status and shipping information. We have heard from small businesses that this plugin has eliminated a huge volume of emails from customers requesting after-sales information.

This Shopify app allows you to create a better experience for your customers, making it more likely for them to recommend you to other people and for them to return to your website. Plus, your time is valuable, so it’s important to automate as many aspects of your business as possible!

4. Wishlist Plus

According to HuffPost, wishlists can boost your website sales, so Wishlist Plus is a well-reviewed plugin that will allow your customers to bookmark their favourite products and pick up where they left off when they return, it also allows shoppers to easily share their wishlist with friends and family without being logged in.

This tool allows you to identify what your customers like and want, so you can personalize your email and social campaigns resulting in increased traffic and sales.

For eCommerce store owners, the smart dashboard provides useful metrics and reports on wishlist activities. This information should be used to identify what products are popular and used for future marketing initiatives!

5. Sales Pop

Add social proof to your Shopify website with Sales Pop! This plugin adds validity and authenticity to your website by showing a pop-up with customer order details, such as their location and what they ordered showing new customers that real people are buying your products!

We think of this one as a busy restaurant – nobody wants to eat at an empty restaurant! So by showing customers your products are in demand, you’re adding a sense of security to their checkout process.

Final Thoughts

There are so many free and paid Shopify Apps that could extend the functionality of your website and create a better customer journey. We recommend doing your research, reading through reviews and making use of free trials wherever possible.

How to get more Adds To Cart and Purchases on your website

Posted on 12-11-2020 by Erin Reynel

If you have an eCommerce website, then your ultimate goal is to convert your website visitors into paying customers, right? Unfortunately, just because you built a website, doesn’t mean paying customers will come. You need a little thing called conversion optimization!

How do you optimize your website so visitors take the actions you want them to? There are lots of ways you can encourage people to make a purchase on your website, but we have three conversion optimization tips that we believe will get the sales you want.

1. Establish trust on your homepage

It’s important to establish trust with users immediately. Just like in real life, first impressions can be everlasting. Firstly, include some text on why people should buy from you, instead of going elsewhere. What do you offer that your competitor doesn’t?

A landing page that speaks to everyone, speaks to no one in particular. So make sure you accurately describe the products and services you offer, and who exactly would benefit from buying from your business.

Things to include on your homepage that will encourage users to shop or use your services:

Advertise current promotions
Free shipping (if you offer this)
Link to reviews
Pop up for a first-time buyers discount code
Reviews, such as Google Reviews, Better Business Bureau or Trustpilot
Trust badges
Previous client logos

See below, how our client The Facial Room has included many of these elements in order to establish trust with viewers.

2. Send abandoned cart emails

Abandoned cart emails are a great way to remind customers they left items in their cart and to entice them to come back and finish their purchase.

You can easily set up Abandoned Carts email with a platform like Shopify or Mailchimp, which offers many add-on functions.

Abandoned cart emails should include the following information:

A fun and engaging subject line
Introduction text
List of products left in the cart
Offer or discount
Checkout button or Call To Action (CTA)
Product reviews
Other product suggestions
Free shipping (if this option is available)
Add a sense of urgency with a time limit

Check out the different ways in which these three companies below executed a great abandoned cart email. They’ve used colour, snappy copy, humorous images and CTAs to regain the customer’s attention.

Image source: Really Good Emails

3. Include customer reviews on your product pages

Reviews on your website offer up a sort of social proof to your potential customers. Customers will gain a better understanding of the products, how they work, and what past customers liked and disliked. This will influence their decision-making.

Customer feedback will also give you insights into how your business can improve its products and services, which can also be invaluable in improving your business.

Reviews can also help with your SEO ranking, as online customer reviews communicate trustworthiness and authority to search engines.

One way to encourage customer reviews is by offering a discount code to customers who complete a review on your website.

Final thoughts

Remember to keep tracking your results! Analyze the data, test new conversion optimization methods and eventually, you will know what does and doesn’t work.

If you enjoyed this blog post, you might also be interested in learning about how to set up social media ads that lead to sales.

Five things to consider before hiring a social media agency for your Vancouver business

Posted on 23-08-2018 by Danielle Cole

Choosing which social media agency to hire for your Vancouver business is a huge decision! Almost as big as deciding which you like better – chocolate or vanilla.

Seriously, though, your social media agency can make or break your online profile. So how do you make sure you have the right fit for your business? Make sure you consider these 5 things!

The 5 things to consider before hiring a social media agency for your Vancouver business

1. How much time are you spending on your social media marketing?

Do you have your own marketing department and you’re just looking for a bit more social media support? Do you have nothing in place and are looking for someone to handle your social media marketing from beginning to end? If you are looking for a little support, you may want to look at a firm that consults or does pay-as-you-go work. For more comprehensive work, go for a full-service social media marketing agency for your Vancouver business.

2. What is your budget?

Consistency is key in social media, so there’s no point in working with a company for a few weeks, only to realize you can’t afford to continue with them. So before you pick a social media agency for your Vancouver business, make sure you have a clear budget and that you’re not overextending yourself.

3. How familiar are you with social media practices and trends?

There are social media agencies that just complete requested work for you and there are those that build your online strategy. While we suggest going with the second in most cases, if you are super familiar with social media practices and trends, you may be able to formulate your own strategy. Just be careful that you are still listening to the experts at your social media agency. There’s no point in buying a dog and barking yourself!

4. What kind of content are you seeking?

A lot of companies talk about wanting to be on social media or have strong a social media presence, but social media is a wide world! When you say “social media”, what are you talking about? Instagram posts? Blogs? Online contests? All of the above? If you can pin down what kind of content you want, you have a better chance of finding the best social media agency to take care of your Vancouver business. Have no idea what you want? This is where a full-service agency comes in. That way, you can work with a social media marketing expert to develop the best online strategy for your business.

5. What do you need to take your business to the next level?

Yes, social media can help you get followers and find new customers, but its use shouldn’t end there! It should also be a way to leverage your business, giving you the “missing piece” to take your business to the next level. In order to do that, though, you need to identify what that piece is. Do you need to be more relatable? Show more expertise? Whatever you need, the right social media agency can help get you there!

Why Legendary is the right social media agency for your Vancouver business

As a boutique agency, Legendary offers clients the services they need. So whether you’re looking for a pay-as-you-go service or a full-service social media agency for your Vancouver business, we’ve got you covered! With our blend of social media marketing experts and exceptional content creators, we range from creating online strategies to executing your content requests – and everything in between!

So no matter your online needs, Legendary Social Media is the perfect social media agency for your Vancouver business!

A step-by-step guide to creating a Facebook Local event for your Vancouver business

Posted on 21-06-2018 by Danielle Cole

Facebook Local is an exciting new way to mix up your social media presence in Vancouver.

Never heard of it? Don’t worry – you’re not alone!

Facebook Local is still flying a bit under the radar as it’s been working out the kinks in its system. For small businesses, it has significant opportunities to connect you with your target customers, and early adopters will have an edge over the competition.

Here’s how to use it!

The 411 on Facebook Local and why it matters for social media in Vancouver

So the first step in getting on the Facebook Local bandwagon is to know what it is! Basically, Facebook Local is like Yelp, FourSquare, and Facebook Events all wrapped up in one neat little app package. You can see where your friends have checked in, learn about close-by events, and review – or read reviews of – businesses like yours.

While Facebook Local is separate from Facebook, the two apps sync up. Because of this, things like your event invitations can be seen in both apps.

How to use Facebook Local as part of your social media in Vancouver

1. Make sure all your Facebook pages are merged

The first time someone checks in at your business, a page is created that is separate from your official business page. If you search for your business name and find one of these unofficial pages, click on it. Once you are in it, you will find a button at the top asking if this is your business. Click that button and follow the instructions that follow to merge this unofficial page. Merging the pages will help eliminate confusion when people try to find your business.

2. Create an event

On your official business page, you will be able to make an event, just like you always have. Once you choose to create an event, you’ll be led to a page where you fill in all the details about the time, place, description, etc. All of this is just like normal on Facebook. Once you have all the details written up, then it’s time to take your event live!

3. Promote, promote, promote

Now you’ve got your event – and the perfect way to raise your business profile! How do you do that?

Well, where your business and event sit in the Facebook Local search rankings is based on how many likes you get. Yup, it’s one giant popularity contest. And like every popularity contest, the way to win is clear… so it’s time to promote your event!

You can create flyers to hand out in your business, email blast your clients, buy a Facebook ad, etc. Luckily, as you move up in the rankings, you’ll be connecting with more people, making it easier to get likes.

But to get yourself to that point, you’ve got to promote your ass off!

4. Keep the engagement going

You’ve got engagement with your event, but you want to bring it over to your business.

The best way to do this is to encourage check-ins and reviews. Ask clients to review and check-in at your business. You can also spark reviews by sending out an email request and by adding a review request at the bottom of your receipts.

Still not getting enough interaction? Host a contest based on check-ins or reviews! Don’t forget that your contest can be cross-platform, tying together your Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter followers.

Looking to diversify the reach of your social media in Vancouver? Take a look at which platforms your should be on! Feeling like you’re spending more of your day managing your social media? Let us handle it for you – letting you get back to the work you love!

How is our Vancouver social media agency different?

Posted on 03-05-2018 by Danielle Cole

When it comes to online marketing, we know there’s a lot of competition. In fact, the field has exploded in the last few years.

But the great thing about our Vancouver social media agency is that we’re as magically unique as our logo – the unicorn!

What makes our Vancouver social media agency different?

1. We’re here. Not our administrative staff. Just us.

We believe in the personal touch, but not in the “I need an adult” way.

We have no receptionist. No accounting department, no hashtag-impaired account reps whose role is to pass on info to the people who can create your dream.

At our Vancouver social media agency, you speak directly with the person creating your content and so we can ensure your strategy is integrated into everything we create for you

2. You can reach a real human when you call

When we say we believe in the personal touch, we really mean it! That’s why our owner, Erin’s cell phone number is on our website.

Got an issue, a question, or an idea you want to hash out? You can always reach her directly. But for the love of god, don’t call her in the middle of the night.

3. You don’t pay for bells, whistles, or gimmicks

Sure, a fancy-pants office would be nice, but why should you have to pay for that? We proudly cram our team into a tiny corner of an old office so that more of your money goes toward what you need – really awesome social media management, including manual community management (read: no bots).

Plus, we’d never try to sell you on a service we don’t 100% believe you need. Because that would not be cool at all.

4. Problems are solved fast

The size of our team and our direct approach mean any issues that do arise are handled right away.

And we’re not talking about just shoving the problem aside and telling you we’ll deal with it later. We mean Erin will personally resolve the issue to your satisfaction.

You know what that means? It means when you work with us, you never have to worry because we’ve got your back!

The most important thing that makes our Vancouver social media agency unique…

5. We give all the f*cks

We get that our Vancouver social media agency has a unique approach. Why are we so different?

Because we don’t just give a f*ck about about social media, we give all the f*cks. About your business. About your brand. About your money. About your reputation.

When you work with us, we’re genuinely invested in you and your business. That means we are 100% dedicated to giving you what you need to succeed!

Our Vancouver social media agency is here to help you. Just drop us a line and we’ll get the conversation about how we work together started!

Why Instagram video is your ticket to social media success

Posted on 27-10-2017 by Erin Reynel

When it comes to using social media for business, Vancouver brands can put video to work for them.

Don’t let the idea of video intimidate you: armed with an iPhone/Android and an Instagram account, you’ve got what you need to stand out, deliver an interesting/entertaining message, and get noticed by would-be customers.

The whole idea here is to meet your customers where they are (on their phones) and give them the media types they love (video) to tell them a bit about your brand’s story. If you make an impression, chances are you’ve got a customer in the bag.

Instagram is the most accessible and easily managed social media platform for your video. So without further adieu, here’s how (and why) video is a must-have weapon in your Vancouver social media arsenal.

Video drives engagement

Did you know that Instagram gains higher brand interaction than any other social platform? Video grabs more eyeballs AND more engagement than static photos or images. If your competitors haven’t yet embraced using video in their social channels, you have a great opportunity to stand out and separate yourself from the rest of the pack.

When it comes down to it, engagement (likes, shares, comments) means people are interacting with, and therefore remembering your brand. And an interaction one touch point on the road to earning customers.

“Snackable” social media: Vancouver brands, take note

People really like short-form video content. “Snackable” sized content.

Remember Vine? At just six seconds, Vine videos really nailed a niche and provided a dynamic element of motion to an otherwise static social experience. However, once Facebook purchased Instagram and then rolled out video on the platform, the die was cast. RIP Vine, it was a fun ride. But the concept of short video lives on!

Six seconds might be too short, but video that’s under a minute is easy to digest for your time-starved customers. And easy for you to make!

Be where your customers are, show them stuff they like

Look around at the people with their noses glued to their smartphones. Most of them are watching videos as they blindly cross intersections and bump into telephone poles. Video is what people love, so let them eat cake. Video gives you the opportunity to really personalize your interaction with your customers by getting face-to-face time with them (in a virtual sense) and show them what your brand is all about!

Need some direction to start your social media marketing plan? Start here.

Ready to try Instagram video for your social media?

Nice. Here are six tips to get you started.

Keep it short. We’re not making documentaries here. Think goldfish attention span – 8 seconds is hardly out of the question. You can run up to 60 seconds max, but don’t overlook the value of 10-15 seconds.
It doesn’t need to be expensive. Video used to take weeks to produce and cost thousands of dollars. When publishing for social, shooting on your phone will absolutely do the job. Broadcast quality isn’t what’s important: the goal is to show your customer something entertaining, interesting, or emotional! The point is, don’t let technology hold you back. It’s all right there in your hand.
Frontload your first 2-8 seconds. Grab your viewer’s attention! Give them a reason to pause in the moment to view your content or set their expectations for why they should stick around longer.
Don’t tell too much in one video. Remember, we’re building short-form content here. Make more videos to tell more of the story if you need to.
Platform differentiation. Video has a place on all your digital assets. While the attention span for social is shorter, long form content fits really well on YouTube or your website.
Plan it out. Plan a series of videos you’d like to make, then review your plan. Do the videos complement each other? Is the theme consistent? Are you moving your customer toward some type of action. Then, plan each script. And finally, shoot and post!

Need a little help to start? Connect with our Vancouver social media agency

Video content is what your audience is expecting – it adds an undeniably dynamic element to your brand content. If you are looking to build more video into your social media marketing strategy, Legendary Social Media Vancouver is ready to help you out! Drop us a line here.

How to choose the right SEO keywords for your website

Posted on 12-09-2017 by Erin Reynel

Building a website for your business in Vancouver? SEO should be at the top of your mind when you think about the design, the content (text, images and videos) and the types of pages you’re going to build.

Doing keyword research will help you decide the best SEO keywords for your website. Here’s how to do it.

How to do keyword research for SEO in Vancouver

Researching the keywords to use in website is so easy, anyone can do it. It’s a great part of your marketing to DIY to save on costs, since for most small businesses, hiring a professional keyword researcher isn’t worth the time or money.

Think about how your customer uses Google search, to find businesses like yours

A customer is going to type certain words into Google to find your business. You need to figure out what those words are, and use them on your website, in order to help customers find you.

Customers will fall into one of the following stages of what we call a “sales funnel.”

Awareness

Keyword example: “shoes”

They’re searching for something very general, usually one-word terms typed into Google. For example, “shoes”. This person is just exploring. Maybe they want to know the definition of shoes. Maybe they want pictures of shoes.

Should you use “shoes” as a primary keyword for your website? Probably not.

Engagement

Keyword example: “leather shoes”

At this level, people are searching for something a little more specific, but may not really know what they want to buy yet. By typing “leather shoes” into Google, your customer might just be looking at different brands and styles to compare options.

Should you use “leather shoes” as a primary keyword for your website? Maybe, but understand that you won’t have a buyer on your hands.

Discovery

Keyword example: “leather shoes made in Vancouver”

This is someone who knows what he/she wants. The keyword is pretty specific, and it’s clear that the customer already has in mind what to buy, but just wants to know where to get it from. He’s not quite ready to make a purchase, though.

Should you use “leather shoes made in Vancouver” as a primary keyword for your website? Absolutely. You want to tell this customer that you’ve got the leather, Vancouver-made shoes they’re looking for.

Note: See how this is more like a search phrase, than a word? A keyword doesn’t necessarily mean a single word – “keyword” refers to a string of words people type into Google to look for something.

Purchase

Keyword example: “love jules leather smoking shoes”

Now you have a customer who’s ready to buy. After typing a very specific series of words into Google, it’s highly likely this person just wants these shoes in their closet, already. They’ve decided on the brand, and the model of shoes they want. Nailed it.

Should you use “love jules leather smoking shoes” as a primary keyword for your website? 100%. This should be the keyword you apply to the page in your online store, where your customer can easily add the shoes to her cart, add her credit card, and complete her purchase.

How to build keywords into your website

Using the formula above, we can see that keywords like:

“love jules leather smoking shoes”
“leather shoes made in Vancouver”
“leather shoes”

should be part of this small business’ Vancouver SEO marketing strategy. The company should also find several similar keywords, and build their website using the whole list, to capture all of the customers they want.

How to build a bigger keyword list?

Google’s Keyword Planner is the easiest tool to help you build your SEO keyword list.

Enter your keywords into the list, set your location, and search. Google will build you a bigger list of relevant search terms you may want to consider. Don’t use all of them.

Take the “average monthly searches” number into consideration: You’re going to want more than a small handful of people to be searching for the terms you build into your website, in order to make this work worthwhile! Don’t worry too much about the competition column, or the bid amount.

The number of keywords to use on your website depends on your business, and your industry. But as a rule of thumb, each page on your website should target a different keyword. So, 10 pages = 10 keywords. If you sell products online, each product page should have its own specific keyword as well.

SEO or great content: What’s more important

OK, caveat here people.

It’s WAY more important to build your website around GREAT content, than an SEO keyword. In other words, having a website that’s easy to read, easy to use, and connects with your audience’s soul is worth WAY more than an SEO-heavy website.

But ideally, you can (and should!) have it all. Great content, ease of use, and SEO built in.

Why does SEO matter?

Great question. SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, refers to the work you do to make your website show up in Google search results.

When someone searches for the keywords that are important to your business’ website, you want that person to find you first.

The better your website is at SEO, the more money you’re likely to make off your website.

If SEO is on your mind, send us a message. We can walk you through how it works, why it matters, and how we can help.

Hashtags on Facebook: Yay or nay?

Posted on 19-09-2016 by Erin Reynel

I don’t blog often, but when I do, it’s because a certain topic keeps coming up again and again. This past week, it’s:

hashtags on Facebook.

A few clients and acquaintances have asked recently about whether hashtags on Facebook are useful, tacky, good practice or a negative thing for your company’s social presence.

First, let’s take a look back at how hashtags on Facebook every became ‘a thing’.

Back in 2013…

Facebook announced that hashtags were clickable and would help people find certain types of content. The idea was just the same as on Twitter and Instagram: you’d click a hashtag to find out what other people were posting with that hashtag.

Anyway, after a short time, Facebook’s searching algorithm got dysfunctional, which you can read about from Social Media Examiner, and hashtags on Facebook became unimportant.

And fast forward to today.

It looks terrible

One of the things I love about Facebook is its use of NO HASHTAGS. I don’t know about you, but I find hashtags cumbersome, difficult to read, annoying to research and too often misused.

They look really bad on Facebook.

But apparently I’m not the only one who felt/feels that way. In fact, a Buffer blogger compared whether posts on Facebook did better with or without hashtags.

Yay or nay?

The answer, my friends, is nay.

The Buffer research showed that Facebook posts with hashtags got less engagement than posts without hashtags.

Why? The exact reason isn’t clear, but the Social Media Examiner article does make mention that the hashtags made posts harder to read. I agree.

Facebook is more visual than Twitter, and looks very different from Instagram. Using the same mentality across all platforms, and cross-posting with tools like Buffer and Hootsuite without tailoring each post to its platform, is one of the biggest mistakes I see companies and marketers making when it comes to their social media management.

Why do I care?

I like seeing companies make awesome connections with their customers via social media. I like seeing your sales increase because of it. I like seeing more traffic through your door because you’re actually offering customer service where your customers want it: online.

I like doing it right when it comes to social media management. Don’t put hashtags on Facebook. You’ll see better engagement from your audience if you don’t!

Is Twitter dying? The social network that’s barely social

Posted on 01-03-2016 by Erin Reynel

For a few marketers, like the team at Legendary Social Media, the word “social” still matters in social media. From the first days of Facebook, social networks were all about providing a platform for people to connect and communicate easily, online. Twitter, though, has lost its way.

First, let me clarify: Twitter isn’t a lost cause. There are still amazing, active communities of friends and strategic connections on Twitter. They exist, and they love the platform. For businesses using Twitter in their social marketing strategy, the platform can hold a lot of value. For some, not for all.

Is Twitter dying?

Before we answer that, here are some Twitter usage statistics:

The number of monthly active users on Twitter has grown from 30 million in 2010 to 320 million monthly active users in February 2016.
Since early 2015, the number of monthly active users has plateaued, even diminished.

Source: Statista

About 500 million tweets are sent out every day.
That’s 6,000 tweets per second.
The number of tweets per day grows by about 30% each year.

Source: Internetlivestats.com

Tom Webster authored a blog post in 2014 pointing out Twitter’s decline even then. In his article, he writes:

While Twitter’s origins were centered around “what is happening,” these newer, mobile networks are based around “what are you doing?”

Webster points out that Twitter doesn’t give us the opportunity to share our experiences the same way that networks like Facebook and Instagram do.

And on another note, despite implementing Twitter images for better visual marketing, Twitter still feels like a mainly text-based platform, whereas other networks have really adopted the visual marketing trend is a much more serious way.

The social part of social media is missing from Twitter

Have you been on Twitter lately? Here’s a challenge.

Tweet to a few local businesses or organization, maybe about an event they’re hosting. See how many reply to you.

Try sparking a conversation about something happening in your city or neighbourhood by using an appropriate hashtag. Here in Vancouver, I’d use something like #kitsilano or #yvrevents. How many people respond to you?

Chances are, the response you’ll get most often is a ‘like’ for your tweet. How rewarding is that, really? You’ve reached out to a business with a compliment, or helped them spread their news with a retweet and the thanks you receive is a like?

How hard is it to just tweet a “Thank you”?

The fact is, the number of Twitter users willing to have a real conversation on Twitter is diminishing. The social aspect of the social platform is petering out.

As a normal person who uses Twitter from time to time, it’s sad to see that businesses don’t use Twitter as a way to connect with real people (read: customers) anymore – not like they used to at least.

Maybe there are just too many companies/businesses on Twitter.

Maybe it’s the overuse of scheduling software like Hootsuite and TweetDeck. These tools allow businesses to have one-way “conversations.” They send out tweets, but never check for replies.

How to do Twitter the right way

Here are our tips for businesses to get it right with Twitter:

Treat Twitter like the social network it truly is.
Because Twitter is text-based, and its hashtags make it easy to follow things you’re interested in, having conversations on Twitter is fun and rewarding for businesses!
Start conversations. Ask questions, disseminate ideas.
Follow more real humans than other businesses.
Be available. Reply to tweets about you.
Thank people for retweeting your tweets – not with a like, but with a “Thank you.”
Share great content and news that your followers will care about.
Be gracious, friendly, and most importantly, social!

Think Twitter has lost its “social” status? Do you use Twitter? Tell us what you think in the comments section!

Tag: customer experience

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