Four of the social media trends that PR need to understand

Video is now essential

Scroll down your social feeds and you will probably see the sheer number and variety of videos posted or shared on there. It’s simply the most attractive, exciting and engaging form of media you can post. A lot of people worry that they can’t produce a video due to the prohibitive cost in terms of meeting high production value standards, but it’s really not necessary; the camera on a typical cellphone now has reached such a level that it is entirely adequate for shooting quick IG and FB posts. Just make sure the content is relevant, or if not, then at least make it funny.

What is the ‘90/10’ content rule?

The mix ratio here refers to the proportion split for your content in terms of balancing pushy, sales-y promotional stuff versus interesting, educating, helpful or consumer-useful (valuable) content. The 90/10 rule is heavily covered in social media marketing circles, but most companies seem to be unable to stick to it. Give up on the hard sell for a bit, and just offer people something they will like, rather than posting a call-to-action twice a day (this is fatiguing, and will result in lost followers).

Keep it brief

All captions should be short and creatively relay information. Infographics are a great workaround if you have detailed content that is too wordy to fit into the “140 characters, six seconds rule.”

Remember, constant consumption of social media for many hours every day makes people retarded, and in the words of Ron Burgundy, that is a scientific fact; so marketers must now work within the context of appealing to people’s considerably shortened attention spans.

Capture attention

Just as in real life, there are several ways to win the attention or affection of passers-by (or scrollers-by, in the digital domain). You can use handsome aesthetics, charm, wit, comedy, meaningful expression or deeply profound meaning; you can post topical thoughts on a recent news item; you could even use controversy to gather some onlookers. There is no particular preferred approach, so use everything at your deployment to develop a well-rounded content mix.