Consuming mobile content takes the average user 1.7 seconds. That’s the exact time brands have to “stop the scroll” and capture a user’s attention to get them to read or watch what they’re sharing.
This rapid-fire consumption is easily correlated with shortening attention spans and the general consumer’s need for instant gratification, but it also has a lot to do with social media. Simply by design, social media platforms make it easy for many different actions to happen simultaneously. For example, Facebook has a real-time newsfeed with friends and advertisers, live chat, personal status and image/video posts, an online dating component, a marketplace, and who could forget about Farmville? Well, actually I did, back in 2009–here’s to hoping my plants are still alive.
Add in the element of “media multitasking”–the act of consuming a variety of multimedia technology at once–and it’s no wonder that our information processing has changed fundamentally.
As marketers, we constantly talk about “cutting through the clutter,” “going viral,” and trying to be innovative with our approaches to stand out from the rest. Our KPIs depend on it! Instead of looking at social platforms as the bad guy here, let’s use what they’ve successfully built for our consumers as a framework for our plans.
I implore you all to think social-first. And before you roll your eyes from behind your desk, in this case, “thinking social-first” does not mean leading with a marketing plan with only social components, but rather designing a marketing plan with quickly consumable but actionable elements.
The current state of social sets us up for this thinking…
Realness
Consumers expect human-like qualities from brands they choose to support. It’s easy to discern what’s an ad, what’s just for show, and what’s genuine to the business. Gen-Z is particularly good at this, as digital natives, and particularly crave this authenticity from brands. Coming out of the monstrosity that was 2020, users want to see a company’s heart on their sleeve because then they’re easier to trust and support.
There’s always going to be something “new and shiny”
In a sea full of content that’s always new, trends about to break, and emerging platforms waiting to take off, shiny object syndrome (SOS) is always going to exist within a consumer’s mindset. Savvy brands–or those who have innovation built into the core of their business–can capitalize on this because they’re able to act quickly and try something new with little risk and, often, great reward.
Mobile consumption vs. desktop consumption
It’s safe to assume that your core target market shares some overlap with active daily social media users. There are 4.26 billion of them worldwide, and they collectively consume 2.45 hours of content daily. As of writing this, 60% of all website traffic comes from people using mobile devices. And you know what? Mobile screens are still tiny in comparison to our desktops and TV screens. And with each platform prioritizing different content types, showing up in a small space can be challenging.
Here are some quick tips for applying social-first thinking to your marketing plans:
- Adapt a chameleon mindset. Use language and visuals that fit the medium and the surrounding content. And remember to talk like a person, not like a company, and remember that word choice matters, especially to the younger demographic. By adapting the mentality of “one size doesn’t fit all,” your marketing messages can scale like screen sizes do. This will also remind you that it’s okay to experiment sometimes; instituting a listening or trendspotting program opens your brand to new ideas directly from your target audience.
- Be single-minded. Ask the question: how can I break down the barrier to entry into something simpler? If you can catch attention with the objective you care most about, you’ve won half the battle. That means you understood your audience well enough to stop them in their tracks and get them to pay attention in seconds.
- Leverage your branding. The power of branding is meant to be a differentiator between your brand and others in the industry, allowing you to be highly recognizable. Through the social lens, this means designing for the small mobile screen–no less than 12pt fonts, please–and creating a system that allows consumers to visually connect your brand to the content. This comes to life in many ways, like content creators on TikTok wearing a core brand color in the video; or UGC on Instagram with a hero product as the main focal point of the image. By using this thinking throughout other marketing collateral, you can create a unique visual cue throughout your entire ecosystem so recognizable value is provided, regardless of the channel. This distinct recall will help you build relationships with your audience, ideally turning them into the most loyal of customers.
Not sure exactly how to apply this thinking to your brand or want more tricks of the trade? We’re here to help and share our insider scoop.
