Social media addiction

Like any situation, social media networking has two sides. On the one side it could represent time consumption, distraction, unrealistic expectations, false assumptions, social masking, and repression and on the other side it could provide an opportunity for networking, business or brand growth, advancement and new connections.

Smartphones and other devices can, if not carefully monitored and in some cases moderated, allow others to take up your valuable time. They can distract you from your highest personal or professional priorities or what is most important. But they can also assist us in reaching the world and impacting or influencing others.

Our constant need to check social media can entice us into fantasies with potentially unrealistic expectations which may rob us of appreciating our remaining daily life. Many feel more pressured than ever to have it all and to seek some form or so-called perfection, and we become more preoccupied with other people's lives than fulfilling our own. When in reality, nobody truly has a “better” life. They only have a different life. 

Like any situation, social media networking has two sides. On the one side it could represent time consumption, distraction, unrealistic expectations, false assumptions, social masking, and repression and on the other side it could provide an opportunity for networking, business or brand growth, advancement and new connections.

What should we be conscious of when considering our behavior on social media?
With the rise of social media use and the constant sharing of our every move, feeling the need to constantly check your phone and social media feeds for fear of missing out on something, or becoming infatuated with the perceived so-called perfection of other's lives, are clear warning signs of a potentially distracting relationship with social media. 

Comparing yourself to others who you imagine having a greater life can initiate unrealistic expectations within yourself which can result in a feeling of self-depreciation. By being bombarded and electrified by stimuli today, things like comparative social media can be a trigger for anxiety that we're not even aware of.

Are there possible psychological side effects of social media?
The constant exposure to images of perceived perfection can cause us to become almost obsessed with embodying that perfection. Frustration and depression are a by-product a comparison to what your current reality is to an expectation either unrealistic or fantasy or diluted that’s making you not appreciate what you’re having or what you’re experiencing, because you are comparing it to something else. 

Social media, and Instagram in particular, has been linked to depression. It is filled with images of the perceived perfection of other people's lives, often in authentically portrayed, and can cause us to become distracted by this fantasy of perfection. Depression occurs when you compare your current reality to an unrealistic expectation or fantasy you are holding onto or addicted to. 

Allowing social media to distract and occupy your time and energy can prolong the grip of this self-induced depression.

What your advice when it comes to social media?
Don’t compare your life to others; rather, measure your daily activities against your own dreams and priorities. When you compare yourself, you devalue your efforts and scatter your energy in pursuit of something that isn’t in keeping with what you truly want. 

Any time you see someone who has something that you really want, look deep inside and take note of what you already have. Don’t look upon ‘likes’ as an endorsement of your character. Instead of using social media as a narcissistic tool – which no one appreciates – consider how you can serve your community by sharing information or inspiration that is truly meaningful. In this way, you’re not only providing a boost that all will enjoy; you can also build a personal brand. Think about the people who have really made a difference in the world, and ask yourself, 'do they care how many 'likes' they received on a post?' 

If you prioritize your daily actions according to your own true highest values, your inner mission will emerge and become present in your mind and overrule any social media unless certain aspects of that media will help you fulfill your purpose. 

Social media campaigns

Kenyan politicians might be blocked from using social media platforms like Twitter to campaign in the 2022 General Election. This comes as social media platforms release new rules of engagement starting next year, targeted at stemming political propaganda, disinformation and personal data privacy violations.

Platforms such as Google, Facebook and Twitter have reviewed their terms of service with their users in a move that could change the face of social media.

“Twitter globally prohibits the promotion of political content,” states the social media site in the latest policy update released last month. “We have made this decision based on our belief that political message reach should be earned, not bought.”

Twitter defines political content as messaging that references a candidate, political party, elected or appointed government official, election, referendum, ballot measure, legislation, regulation, directive or judicial outcome.

“Ads that contain references to political content, including appeals for votes, solicitations of financial support, and advocacy for or against any of the above-listed types of political content, are prohibited under this policy,” the policy says.

Twitter users will now be able to report political content through their timelines with advertisers that violate the policy standing the risk of being “off-boarded”, Twitter’s polite way of ‘kicked out’.

The changes have been prompted by mounting calls by regulators in the West that tech giants have amassed billions in value from collecting and monetizing vast data from their users, and should be reined in.

A recent report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development said increasing digitization from businesses, governments and individuals has created a data economy that is expanding at unprecedented speed.

“Global Internet Protocol (IP) traffic, a proxy for data flows, grew from about 100 gigabytes (GB) per day in 1992 to more than 45,000 GB per second in 2017,” said UNCTAD in the Digital Economy Report released in September.

“The world is only in the early days of the data-driven economy; by 2022 global IP traffic is projected to reach 150,700 GB per second, fueled by more and more people coming online for the first time and by the expansion of the Internet of Things (IoT).”

At the same time, rising concern about privacy violations and breaches that have exposed users’ personal data to misuse, such as the Facebook-Cambridge Analytical scandal, have strengthened calls for tighter regulation.

Social media platforms on their part have responded by tweaking their user and engagement policies in an attempt at self-regulation.In October, Google released new updates to its privacy policy, with less legalese and including a video tutorial, meant to give users a clear picture of the data the platform collects from its users on its popular services such as Google Search, YouTube, G-Mail and Google Play Store.

“We collect information to provide better services to all our users — from figuring out basic stuff like which language you speak, to more complex things like which ads you’ll find most useful, the people who matter most to you online, or which YouTube videos you might like,” explains the privacy policy.

“The information Google collects, and how that information is used, depends on how you use our services and how you manage your privacy controls,” states the policy.

Last month, Google Vice President for Product Management Scott Spencer said the platform has reviewed political ads in a move to help protect the integrity of election contests.

Given recent concerns and debates about political advertising, and the importance of shared trust in the democratic process, we want to improve voters’ confidence in the political ads they may see on our ad platforms,” he said in a policy statement.

Google’s decision is significant because the firm’s platform includes ads appearing not only on its products such as the search engine and YouTube, but also on countless websites. Audience targeting with election ads on the platforms will now be limited along several categories including age, gender and general location.

The policy shift is likely to affect Kenya, where politicians have increasingly turned to social media to reach their constituents, often paying individuals with large followers to help push their message.

The Freedom of the Net 2019 report singles out Kenya as one of the countries in Africa where debate on social media has been distorted by paid actors.

How to handle seasonal highs and lows

Every small business will deal with seasonal highs and lows.It’s how you manage your marketing during this time that determines whether it affects your success.A slow season

doesn’t mean you stop working, kick back and relax. Rather, making the most of this time is key to preparing for your busy season and making sure it’s as successful as possible. Use the following marketing ideas to manage the highs and lows that you’ll inevitably face. You’ll find that the better prepared and more productive you are, the easier it is to handle both.

Create a Marketing Calendar

The best defense against seasonal lows is an annual marketing calendar, including your plans for each season. It was found that “marketers with a documented strategy are 313 percent more likely to report success.” With your marketing plans outlined, you can plan ahead to be most successful during the high season and make use of your extra time during the lows of the slow season.

What’s more, thanks to your marketing calendar, you’ll know what marketing materials need to be handled well before you’re busy rushing around, avoiding any stressful, last-minute scrambling.

The basics of a great marketing calendar include key dates, holidays and seasonal trends that dictate anticipated revenue and marketing needs. If you’re a new business, however, start with ShopKeep’s retail marketing strategy blog post to define critical details, including audience, buyer personas, and personalization. All of this will affect which holidays are most important, which trends you should watch for, and more.

Get Hyper Local during the Low-Season

Your slow season is a great time to test different types of marketing as you prepare for the rush of busier times ahead. As a small local retailer or restaurant, you rely on your community to frequent your business, which is why getting “hyper local” is critical. With more time on your hands, you can focus on this aspect of marketing.

While much of our marketing time is spent in the digital space, Dustin Hodgson, co-owner of MyCreativeShop suggests using print to develop hyper local marketing that “meets your audience where they are.” This can be more effective than digital, he explains:

“For example, a customer will physically interact with a localized postcard. This makes it more effective than a hashtag on an Instagram post that quickly disappears in a sea of noise.” If you’ve never tested print marketing, there are a variety of mediums you can use to reach local customers during your slow season, including postcards, posters, and flyers.

As you might imagine, testing this hyper-local print strategy be time-consuming, but it can help you drive sales during your busy season too. Use the seasonal lull to test designs, get your branding right, and actively promote your business within the community.

Be sure to test including coupons or discounts with your print materials. A 2018 study found that consumers want to spend if they have an offer. In fact, 58 percent say the offer itself would increase the likelihood that they purchase and 41 percent say they would look spend just to use the offer. During the slow season, this could be the difference between making the extra sales that get you through.

Find Additional Streams of Revenue

A simple way to manage seasonal lows is to create additional streams of revenues; ways to make money that fall outside your immediate service or product offering. As a restaurateur or retailer, there are many ways to bring in extra revenue, depending on what you or your staff can offer, who your audience is, and what resources you have.

For example, a local restaurant could offer cooking classes during the low season if they have enough space in their kitchen to host students and staff that can teach. Conversely, a restaurant could rent out their space for local events or test the waters with local catering.

Get Ahead With Social Media Branding During the Slow Season

You may not be able to drive sales during the slow season, but you can focus on brand building with social media. Social media is a valuable tool for marketing, with 58.8 percent of marketers saying it’s “very important,” according to Buffer’s 2019 State of Social.

The slow season is a great time to tighten up your look and messaging and get extra active on social media to build buzz as you head into a seasonal high. Plus, with all this momentum behind you, your busy season may be busier than ever.

To get ahead with social media branding, start at the beginning: Who is your brand? Is it clearly defined? Do you have brand guidelines? If not, start by asking yourself:

• ·         Who are we?
• ·         What do we sound like?
• ·         What makes people want to connect with us?

If your brand is already well-defined, it’s time to get active on social media and create a strategy that allows you to stand out among your competitors.

Use the Data to Boost Impact during High Season

Use the extra time in your slow season to analyze your data  in preparation for your busy season. Now is the time to be testing and connecting, while also learning about what’s worked and what hasn’t. As you look at the data, consider the following data points:

• ·         Which social media sites drive the most clicks to your website?
• ·         Which social media sites have the most engagement?
• ·         Which marketing mediums drive the most sales? (that you can track)
• ·         Which paid advertising campaign was the most successful? Why?

Use this to cross-reference your marketing plan ahead of the busy season. You know what’s worked in the past and what hasn’t, so does that change what you plan to do? Perhaps a specific ad campaign no longer seems valuable based on your last three paid campaigns. Update your marketing calendar as necessary and execute on what you know works to drive revenue.

Don’t forget to make note of what didn’t work. Test this during your slow season, when you have more time to play with features, ideas and, tactics.

Manage Seasonal Highs and Lows

Use these marketing tips and ideas to manage the inevitable: the low of a slow season and the rush of a busy season. When you plan ahead and take advantage of the extra time rather than letting it simply pass by you’ll scramble less when business picks up and drive more sales thanks to improved brand awareness and better planning.

Social media: Fake News

Fake news is effective because it is often created to closely resemble real stories. These outlandish stories are made believable by clever use of language and manipulation of digital imagery.

For the savvy media consumer, questioning the validity of reports, their source, the source URL and the presence of manipulated images will usually point to fake news. However, the ‘scroll through’ culture of Facebook and social media, as well as the tendency to share before reading, means that precious few social media users are taking the time to critically engage with content.

There are five categories of fake news:

• ·         News created entirely to deceive readers
• ·         Satirical sites (like The Onion) which can spiral out of control when taken out of            context
• ·         Hoaxes
• ·         Selective reporting or presentation of facts (fictionalized truth)
• ·         Reporting bias (be it intentional or subconscious)

The Devastating Impact Of Fake News On Small Business

Fake news, malicious targeting and social media scandals have crippled many a small business. The content goes viral  and, suddenly, you are on the world’s stage for a crime you didn’t commit. Here are some steps you can take to try and contain the damage.

• ·         Report fake news about your business by marking it as spam.
• ·         Notify Facebook if your business is being targeted.
• ·         If you are getting malicious, negative reviews you can turn off your review function and prevent visitor posts.

What should we do about the  Impact of Fake News on Content Marketing And Social Media Marketing?

• ·         Many readers are becoming increasingly skeptical of sponsored content. To combat this, good social media marketing will cite third party references. Content will be appropriately labelled and any bias will be transparent.
• ·         Gain back the truth of your audience by referring to authentic media.
• ·         Research, research and research. Lazy sharing or a lack of fact checking will mean that you report on fake news. This greatly damages your reputation and, given the nature of the internet, could mean embarrassment on a large scale.
• ·         Make sure the content you create is authentic and honest.
• ·         Make sure your headlines are powerful and that they are an accurate representation of your content . In addition to this, make sure your use of images is appropriate.
• ·         Make sure your team can identify fake news and that they know exactly how damaging it can be to your business.
• ·         Use what you know about fake news to go viral in a good way: emotionally engaging content, ‘shareable’ articles and strong use of images.
• ·         Never post or repost rumors or unsubstantiated reports via your business page.
• ·         Read before sharing and make sure this isn’t an ‘echo chamber’ story.
• ·         Put a strategy in place NOW to defend yourself if you’re caught up in a fake news scandal.

 The term "fake news" has been used widely during the run up to the August 8 vote in Kenya, with most of what has been classified under the term playing out online.  Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter are perhaps the three most popular social media platforms in Kenya, and have been used to share opinions, predictions and fabrications alike before and after the election. There have been websites as well, designed to give the impression that they are authoritative sources of news, that have carried all sorts of (mis)information and propaganda. As has been widely reported, fake news articles and videos bearing CNN, BBC and even NTV Kenya logos were also disseminated and shared widely on social media platforms.

All in all, it had been a controversial election season in Kenya, in which distinguishing truth from lie and real information from "fake news" has been difficult.Misinformation and propaganda around elections are not new in Kenya, as these tools have most certainly been used to influence voters in past elections. However, this election season has seen these migrate to popular social media platforms, to either play at existing beliefs, fears and biases, or to sway perceptions and even votes on August 8.

Social media is the go-to platform for information for young people, who constituted more than half of the 19.6 million registered Kenyan voters this election. These young people do not necessarily tune into prime time news on television, for instance, as they operate in a real-time news dissemination system, in which they tune in and out, and select what to consume and when, as they deem fit.

It is, therefore, not surprising that Kenyan social media was filled with misinformation and fake news, aiming to alter these young voters' perceptions, views and actions both before and after the general election.

FUTURE SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS FOR BUSINESS

1. The Importance of Engagement

Engagement has always mattered on social media. However, with the change in Facebook’s algorithm that emphasizes meaningful interactions, it has become even more important. This means that content which starts genuine conversations has become more favored.

In order to improve your organic reach, your content needs to be highly engaging. That means it should be interesting and appealing to your target audience too. It’s not enough to just ask people to like, share, and comment on your posts.

You need to change your approach and move away from engagement baiting techniques. Genuine content is the key to success in the future of social media marketing.

2. The Rise of Groups

Groups on Facebook have new features such as live videos, story updates, and participation as a business page. With the changes in the algorithm of Facebook, Groups have become the go-to place to connect with your audience.

Through Groups, you can not only get feedback about your products but even generate additional engagement.

A similar effect has been noticed on Instagram where influencers have started making their profiles private. This is done to avoid the effects of the Instagram algorithm.

Instagram Stories also have a “Close Friends” feature. Through this, brands can showcase their Stories to a select few people to give an insider look. This can even give people a more exclusive feel and they’d feel privileged to be able to see these Stories too.

Such segmentation trends can be expected to grow and shape the future of social media marketing.

3. Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing has become popular on social media very quickly. It has even beaten print marketing in terms of popularity on Google Trends. People with thousands of followers can leverage their audiences and collaborate with brands.

Influencers get paid by the brands to promote their products to their audiences. Brands, on the other hand, are looking for reliable influencers to collaborate with to reach their target customers.

However, it’s not only the influencers with massive fan-followings who can reap the benefits of influencer marketing. As it’s popularity soars, big influencers are becoming expensive for brands. This has led to the rise of micro-influencers.

Micro-influencers have fewer followers than big influencers but they have the advantage of higher engagement with their audience. Additionally, they charge significantly less than popular influencers for sponsored content. This makes it affordable for brands to collaborate with them and promote their products or services to the audiences of the influencers.

In addition to micro-influencers, there are also nano-influencers. These influencers have less than 10k followers. While brands may not be able to reach a huge audience, they can benefit from the tightly-knit audiences of nan0-influencers. And it doesn’t require a large budget to collaborate with these smaller influencers.

As they may just be setting out on their influencer marketing journey, they may seek a stable partnership. It could be a great point to start a long-term partnership with the influencer.

4. Transparency

2018 was a year filled with privacy issues on major social media platforms such as Facebook. GDPR also came into effect to protect the data that websites took from customers.

According to Sprout Social, only 55% of customers felt that brands were transparent to some extent on social media. On the other hand, only 15% of them felt that they were very transparent.

This powerful statistic shows that there’s a lot that brands need to do to grow their transparency on social media. And millennials expect brands to be the most transparent on social media. This means that you need to up the ante by admitting your mistakes or at least give honest responses to them.

The same survey also found the top desire of consumers is for transparency from brands. That includes business practices, the company’s values, and product changes. Which means that you should share changes to your products and give a behind-the-scenes look of your company too.

The greater your transparency on social media, the more consumers trust you. And trust can translate into greater sales. That said, transparency is definitely the way ahead in the future of social media marketing.

5. Driving Sales through Social Media

While social media has long been used to generate engagement and sales, the latter is becoming a solid trend. Brands are provided with the necessary tools to promote their products on social media to get sales.

With advanced tracking tools such as the Facebook Pixel, it is possible to chart out the buyer journey as well.

According to Kleiner Perkins, about 55% of people who found a product on social media purchased it later. Among social media channels, Facebook is the leading platform for product discovery. Instagram and Pinterest are closely catching up in this trend as well.

This means that you can promote your products on these social media platforms to generate consistent sales. It is not necessary to rely on sales pitches anymore.

With social media, you can catch the attention of your target consumers and get them to purchase from you. Paid promotions on social media for your products should definitely be a part of your social media marketing strategy.

6. Chat bots and AI

Chat bots are one of the latest trends on social media. It has become increasingly simple for people to reach out to brands through social media.

This makes it very important for brands to respond to their queries as quickly as possible. While it can be a difficult task to get a human to respond instantly, chat bots can come to the rescue in such situations.

AI is the future of social media marketing and with it, you can have conversations with your customers. Chat bots powered by AI are being used on Facebook Messenger by many brands to promote their products and even resolve customers’ issues.

Mastercard, for instance, has their own chat bot that talks to you about your expenditures and finances.

Due to improvements in AI, more brands are switching to this mode of customer service to improve customer satisfaction levels. It can come in handy to answer common questions which may not require any human intervention.