Week 52!
That's 52 individual articles on what's happening in social media - globally! What it also signifies is the beginning of the end. We have decided to restructure how we deliver the newest updates to you in way of shorter bite sized chunks on our Facebook page with some longer features still here on our blog!
Let us know if there is anything YOU want to hear, know or learn about! Until then, lets kick off #52!
The importance of social listening
What is Social Listening? - “The process of finding and assessing what is being said about a company, topic, brand, or person on social media channels.” This can mean anything from focusing on mentions of your brand on Twitter, to keeping track of trends in your industry that your competitors are posting about on Facebook. What kind of content is getting the most likes on Instagram? These are all examples of social listening." - Hootsuite
I feel like this isn't widely talked about in New Zealand but we know it's happening in some of the bigger companies. It's also extremely important!
You wouldn’t put a pot of sauce on the stove without checking on it, testing out the flavor, and making sure it doesn’t burn. Your social media strategy should be the same. It’s important to pay attention to not only the reactions of your audience and customers, but the social media activity of your industry and competitors. Social listening is how you do this.
“MONITORING SEES TREES; LISTENING SEES THE FOREST.” - HOOTSUITE
It will help you know where you need to focus your social media campaigns, it will tell you what your customers are saying about you and it will mean you can damped out any fires as they happen. What isn't to love!
Here at Grass Roots Media, we use Hootsuite for this and we recommend you check them out OR save yourself the extra work and get us to do it for ya!
#EndlessUpdates
As is the way with social media and apps updating at lightening speed, here are a few worth looking out for.
First up, we know Instagram and Facebook work hand in hand but now Instagram ads will be working with Messenger to get you deals and information from businesses. It should be available to everyone in the next few weeks so keep an eye out.
When someone clicks on an Instagram click to Messenger ad, it opens a conversation with your business. People will be sent to your Messenger content, which includes all the text, image and video messages that you set up when you created the ad. - Facebook
You can get the full low-down here
DID YOU KNOW - MORE THAN 1.3 BILLION PEOPLE USE MESSENGER EVERY MONTH??
One more for ya
Something I read this week is that Facebook is “quietly testing a feature that would let anyone running a group to create their own online classes, which would include units and discussions.” Facebook hasn’t yet officially announced this possible new feature; however, the Next Web reports that courses have already started to appear on some groups categorized as educational...
I'm watching with interest as this is something that could work great for us!
Chanelle O’Sullivan is Grass Roots Media's Social Media Specialist. She originally studied agriculture, before moving south onto a Station, followed by a stint dairy farming. After three years vet nursing, she is now a Mum to two kids and creator of Farming Mums NZ and ‘Just a Farmers Wife’ while also working part-time for the NZ Landcare Trust and Grass Roots Media.
Follow her on Instagram
