The growing popularity of ad-free social networks has shown the public’s weariness of Facebook ads. How can marketers create content on Facebook that’s still engaging and effective?
While Facebook is still the nation’s most popular social network, it’s no longer the central hub for all social media interaction online. Investment bank Piper Jaffray surveyed more than 7,000 teenagers in April of 2014 and again in September. In just those six months, Facebook use among teens dropped from 72% to 45%. Instagram picked up a lot of the slack, jumping from 69% usages to 76%. While brands can post their own images and videos on Instagram, the site itself doesn’t feature ads.
Add to that this month’s breathless media coverage of a new site called Ello. Created by Paul Budnitz, the founder of toy company Kidrobot, Ello has been called “the anti-Facebook.” The network does not require users to sign up with their real names, doesn’t mine users’ personal data — and thus none of the privacy and security concerns of Facebook. Most importantly, Ellos is completely free of ads. Originally created as a private network for artists and designers, Ello is now expanding into an invitation-only beta phase, with 4,000 requests for invitations every hour.
The press coverage of Ello has shined a spotlight on another “anti-Facebooks,” such as Diaspora, and even an “anti-Twitter,” App.net, which also tout the lack of advertising on their networks. College students are flocking to Yik Yak, which doesn’t even offer personal profiles, let alone ads.
So people hate ads on social media. How can content marketers creating content that doesn’t feel like advertising? Here are some tips and tricks we’ve learned over the years at Brandemix:
Post what your audience wants to see
Probably the best content marketing strategy is to give your customers what they already want. Look at your website analytics to find out which pages visitors spend the most time. If you send emails or newsletters, see which links are getting the most clicks. Free social media tools such as Icerocket, Social Mention, and Topsy let you see what your followers (and those you want to be your followers) are talking about and sharing — and what they’re saying about your organization. You can also directly query your audience with free sites like SurveyMonkey directly to discover what sort of content they’re looking for.
Produce laughs
Tina Kelleher, a community manager at Microsoft, says “Humorous content is the most viral. People really love to share funny stuff. They enjoy it more when they share it and like to get credit (validation, self-fulfillment) for being the person to bring it into others’ lives.” While people know that funny ads are still ads, a good laugh can overcome that hesitation and create a favorable view of your organization.
I’ve witnessed with great interest the change in advertising for insurance. Ten years ago, all insurance ads were sober affairs, depicting family tragedies and natural disasters. Geico seems to have changed all that. Now Allstate has the “Mayhem” character, complete with his own Twitter account. Progressive has Flo. Farmers has Farmers University. State Farm pretends its jingle is a magic spell. When people share this content or interact with these characters, do they think they of it as advertising? I don’t think so.
Let your customers create the content
If your audience is creating the content, it not only doesn’t seem like advertising, but your customers will actively share what they’ve created. User-generated content can be as simple as asking a question on Twitter with a hashtag (“What’s your favorite holiday food?”) or holding a photo competition on Facebook, or as grand as a short film contest judged by your CEO and a celebrity guest. For example, Burberry held a successful UGC campaign with “The Art of the Trench,” asking customers to submit photos of themselves wearing the company’s trench coats. Burberry called the event “a collaboration” and still features the best entries on their Tumblr. Customers were thus modeling Burberry’s products for free.
UGC also includes sharing anything positive a customer posts about your organization — 84% of respondents to a Nielsen survey said they found word-of-mouth recommendations the most trustworthy.
Ads don’t have to be ads
As you can see, there are plenty of examples of advertising that doesn’t look or act or sound like advertising. One more of my favorites is Oreo, which posts cookie magic tricks on Vine. Lots of people share them and comment on them, keeping Oreo top of mind and giving them a huge “cool” factor.
Facebook isn’t going anywhere — yet. But ads are definitely turning users off. Creating content that engages your fans, lets them participate, or makes them want to share are all good strategies for getting the attention of a wary audience.
Do you need help in creating marketing content for Facebook, Twitter, or other social networks? Let’s talk.
Jody Ordioni is President of Brandemix.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jody Ordioni is the author of “The Talent Brand.” In her role as Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Brandemix, she leads the firm in creating brand-aligned talent communications that connect employees to cultures, companies, and business goals. She engages with HR professionals and corporate teams on how to build and promote talent brands, and implement best-practice talent acquisition and engagement strategies across all media and platforms. She has been named a "recruitment thought leader to follow" and her mission is to integrate marketing, human resources, internal communications, and social media to foster a seamless brand experience through the employee lifecycle.
