The Brand Guy
I have a problem with imposter syndrome. I understand that you are skilled and interested in brands and marketing.
Perhaps I want to do business with you. My problem is I am not interested in much of the content that I see on social media, so I often scroll past it.
Your social media stats will confirm that I am not the only one who doomscrolls. I don’t feel particularly guilty though. My own stats point to the fact that you often scroll past the content that I assemble.
Social media algorithms compound this paradigm. For instance, I send this out as a newsletter. The number of newsletters that are sent by the platform is lower than the number of subscribers.
The number of newsletter opens is lower than the number of newsletters sent. This translates into a fraction of a part of the full potential. Even so, the newsletter is more effective than the statistics for feeds shows.
The broad problem is content saturation. Social media arrived in the aughties, and almost every post was a fascinating insight into the life of a brand or individual. However, the amount of content exploded, and the law of diminishing returns kicked in.
I stopped clicking everything and started doomscrolling. There is far too much content to pay attention to all of it. Hence the doomscrolling in the quest for something, anything, of interest. Content saturation is a race to the bottom.
Part of the problem is that people are posting irrelevant content in an effort to make quotas and be seen, even if it is just their name on a feed. In fairness, what is irrelevant to me may be relevant to others.
A post about a news job or promotion may be of interest to me, but a motivational post will not get a click from me, unless you are a friend. A repost is of almost zero interest. An insight within my field of interest will probably get a click.
As I look at it, a very short reel is likely to get my attention. As a result I am thinking of adding them to my content set. These pieces will continue though for those of you who want greater depth.
Where does it all go? Content is now mostly devoid of value. The ROI on content is so marginal that it has become necessary but hardly sufficient. In fact, a lot of sales, particularly in Namibia, are made without exposure to content.
There are some ways to break the deadlock, however.
Firstly, use niche targeting. Focus on a specific audience or topic where the competition is lower, allowing for more tailored content. In other words, you need to understand me and my social media usage. Data analytics and keyword search will strengthen the targeting.
Also consider local search practices. I am not sure why people advertise local tourism products to me. Rather develop a distinct voice or angle that differentiates your content from everyone else. Use a good subject line or hook to draw me in.
I mentioned quotas above. Avoid that approach: not everyone will bite. Instead of churning out mass content, prioritize creating fewer, higher-quality pieces that encourage interaction. Distribute that content across various platforms and formats to increase reach. It will be marginal in terms of reach, but the ROI may be preserved with a higher quality, more responsive audience.
There are some obvious implications. Content creation needs to be more innovative to grab audience attention. And marketers need a greater emphasis on strategic planning, content diversification, and deeper audience analysis.
The situation with content saturation will change, possibly with the emergence of AI that gets to know the audience better than the social media algorithm. For now, however, if ROI is your goal, reread this column.
*Pierre Mare has contributed to development of several of Namibia’s most successful brands. He believes that analytic management techniques beat unreasoned inspiration any day. Reach him at contact@pressoffice7.com if you need thought-leadership, strategy and support.
