In recent weeks many social media sites including, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter moved to put a ban on President Donald Trump’s accounts. Citing concern that his posts encouraged the attack on the Capitol, these sites took unprecedented measures to limit the influence any one individual could have on their platforms.
The impact of these decisions introduced a heated debate about free speech and whether that right extends to the individual from not only the government but also private companies.
No matter which side of the debate resonates most clearly with you, there may be a bigger foundational power struggle occurring. Put simply, social media is a powerful media format.
In recognizing the power of social media to fuel connections, every marketer should be asking, What does this mean for my strategy?
In other words, if a social media site is powerful enough to silence a movement (and decision-makers defending those decisions seem to think a ban can do that), then could it be used to silence your brand message?
If you can trace much of your customer engagement, your brand awareness, and presence to social media, the events of the past two weeks may be causing you to squirm just a bit. What if someone were to silence your voice on social media?
This “silencing” may not be as bold as banning your account. It could be something more subtle, such as de-prioritizing your posts because somehow your company is flagged as communicating opposing views.
The lessons you learned about marketing in 2020 are applicable into 2021. If your business is still standing after months of the pandemic, economic shutdown and strict social distancing rules, you’ve successfully pivoted. You’ve adjusted strategies, learned new ways to connect with your audience, maybe even redesigned your business for survival.
Those lessons still apply. As you eye your social media budget with a wary eye, continue prioritizing the agility and flexibility that enabled you to successfully ride out 2020.
Should you continue investing in social media? If it’s delivering results, of course you should. But it doesn’t matter if social media is your go-to platform, or if you only use it rarely to cross-promote your email messaging and seasonal discounts. You need to be ready to quickly adapt to whatever is happening. Marketing across multiple channels is an important part of a comprehensive marketing strategy and shifting on platforms during these rapidly changing times may be key.
It’s foundational to marketing that trends are always changing. Learn more about how to create a strategy that celebrates agility and flexibility with DirectMail.io. Contact us today.
