Social Media & SEO

For many stuck at home in 2020, social media provided one of the only ways to continue exploring the outside world. According to a report by Hootsuite and We Are Social, social media usage increased by 13 percent this past year. It should come as no surprise that new research by Sprout Social shows that 91 percent of executives anticipate their social budget will continue to increase over the next three years. Nearly half expect to bump spending by 100 percent. 

When it comes to influencers, does size matter? Do you go with a major celebrity or a micro-influencer, who has relatively few but intensely loyal followers? For the NFL’s Jesse May, manager of influencer & entertainment marketing, an influencer’s alignment with and passion for your campaign are deciding factors. She explains in this brief Q&A ahead of her April 21 appearance during The Social Shake-Up Virtual Spring Tune-Up.

With Major League Baseball’s full, 162-game season returning and fans allowed in stadiums for the first time since Oct. 2019, you’d assume social media would be awash with baseball-related posts. A PR maxim, though, says it’s best to test assumptions.

Creativity and authenticity also are at the heart of Ninja’s social media search for a Smoothie Bowl Sommelier. After a nationwide search in late January, Ninja chose Gillean Barkyoumb, a registered dietician with 8,000 followers on Instagram. We asked Sasha Hartman, SVP, director, global creative and digital at SharkNinja, about why Ninja chose a micro-influencer and specifically Barkyoumb.

As The Social Shake-Up Virtual Spring Tune-Up is set for April 21, we offer introductions to some of its scheduled speakers. In this Q&A, Dropbox social media head Susan Chang offers advice to social media managers about avoiding burnout. One of the tips she advocates is setting boundaries.

Burger King UK’s recent misstep on International Women’s Day is well known. One of the takeaways, writes Yonder CMO Lisa Roberts, comes from a basic principle: Know your audience. Roberts, though, goes beyond the usual interpretation of that communication maxim. In addition, she emphasizes the importance of planning for something to go wrong and reacting quickly.

We speak with Tiffany Rivers, director of social media at Media Cause. Rivers will join us in a panel conversation on what platforms attendees should keep an eye on this year, and tips for determining when it’s best to skip jumping on the bandwagon.

As if we needed another illustration of the long tail of social media posts. Alexi McCammond seemed to have everything going for her: intelligence, a great job, youth and a well-connected beau. Her upward path hit a bump or two, but she’d recovered, until racist social posts she wrote as a teen resurfaced.

While just 4 percent of March Madness-related content was posted on Instagram, the platform enjoyed 85 percent of all engagement.

There’s lots of buzz flying around the invitation-only iPhone app Clubhouse. Celebs like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are enjoying its mix of rooms and topics. What should brand communicators do to ensure their companies are not left outside the Clubhouse door? Monitor the conversation and try to score an invitation to get inside.