Social Media Shifts Hold Both Challenges and Opportunities for Marketers

Not so long ago, social media was the wave of the future in online activity. Sites like Facebook and LinkedIn revolutionized how we connect with one another; and apps like Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat altered how an entire generation communicates online. These applications aren’t likely to go anywhere soon, but the landscape has changed drastically in recent years, and social media giants like Facebook and Twitter have been slammed over concerns of privacy, data sharing and online trolling.

Let’s take a look at some of the recent developments and the potential for user impact—whether for personal or professional purposes.

Facebook

It’s been a rough few months for Facebook. Last year, it was revealed that Russian-backed groups used the social media network to spread disinformation and divisive political messages in the U.S. More recently, the social media network came under fire internationally after it mishandled data and allowed Cambridge Analytica to access enormous amounts of user data. This lead to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg being called to testify before Congress to answer for his company’s actions and inactions.

In response, Facebook announced that it would be making security a priority. The announcement of the impact of increased spending on security measures and slowing user and revenue growth stemming from recent scandals precipitated the largest single-session stock market decline in history – losing roughly $120 billion in value.

Twitter

Twitter has gotten plenty of name recognition the last couple of years due to it being the preferred means of communication of President Donald Trump. While there are plenty of people who cheer President Trump’s unfiltered use of the platform, there are just as many who deride it. This alone would have caused some issues for Twitter’s image. But the platform has also had to contend with an amazing number of fake profiles – in fact, the platform recently announced that it would be purging millions of fake accounts. These factors have led to a steady drop in Twitter users. Combined with increased security requirements brought on by the  EU’s recently-enacted GDPR privacy rules, the current climate has taken its toll on the company’s stock value – it fell by 21 percent in one day in late July.

 

One of the game-changing aspects of social media is the way it democratized communication. Anyone, from anywhere in the world, as long as they had access to the internet, now has a platform to speak to the world. Everything became more open and accessible, and sharing was highly encouraged. The downside to this is that bad actors have found ways to abuse this openness and sharing, causing a crisis for some of social media’s most well-known giants. And, potentially, for the marketers who use these platforms.

How are these shifts impacting your digital marketing strategies?

 

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About Us

Strategic Communications, LLC, works with B2B clients to help them achieve their goals through effective content marketing and management with both internal and external audiences. We are adept at evaluating and analyzing communication efforts and working with clients to plan, create and publish high-quality, unique content, through both on- and offline media to achieve desired results. Our background in business journalism, marketing, PR/media relations and online communications makes us well-positioned to serve the needs of 21st-century marketers.

We serve clients who are looking for help creating content for a wide array of channels—from social media posts to full-length manuscripts, and everything in between. We focus primarily on service-related B2B topics and work with a number of independent consultants interested in building their thought leadership through online channels. For ongoing content management, our first step is to fully understand your goals, objectives and competitive landscape.

Then we’ll conduct a thorough analysis and assessment of your digital presence, compared to competitors, and recommend a communication strategy to achieve your goals. But, we also regularly take on individual projects – white papers, blog posts, contributed articles, etc. If you’re interested in learning more, let us know!

(Strategic Communications is certified as a Woman-Owned Business Enterprise through the Wisconsin Department of Administration.)

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