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The 2023 social media forecast for brands

We say it every year: brands can’t afford to ignore the importance of social media any longer. Those who already have it, are getting ahead. Fast. We all live online, as well as IRL, these days. The good news is this advancement in social and human sophistication is a great opportunity for your business and brand to thrive – as long as you’re keeping pace.  COVID-19 (dare we say it) triggered and accelerated digital trends already in motion before lockdowns and social distancing manda...

Strategy Success Factors

Distractions are all over social, and a scatter-gun approach to strategy will see you chasing your tail to find results - so we’re here to keep you focussed.  We’ve compiled a list of seven key things you need to concentrate on (right now) with your social media strategy. These tips will give you the best chance of social success as we enter the second half of the calendar year. Lesssss go!...

Conscious content consumption & curating your news-feed: A positive mental health move.

Hands up who is feeling like they could do with a little break from the world right now? There’s some wacky stuff going on out there, and our social feeds have become a daily doom-scroll of tough, weird and confronting news, misinformation, conspiracy theories and divisive content (OK, there are some LOL-worthy memes in there, too). Unfortunately, even though we know it’s not serving us, our brains can get hooked on consuming this negative content. After all, as humans, we’re har...

What to look for when hiring a social media agency

So, you’re keen to outsource your social media - but putting your brand in the hands of someone else is a decision that you want to get right. Because while there are plenty of social media and digital content production agencies out there, you know that not all are created equal! To help you research, filter and narrow down on the right fit for you, here are some things to look for when you’re shopping around for a social media agency:...

Convincing your boss to take social media seriously

Trying to get your boss to take social media seriously? The struggle is REAL. And by seriously, we’re not just talking a show of support towards a social presence, but actually having a true understanding of the positive influence social media can have on a business. If you’re feeling like you’re pushing the proverbial up a hill trying to get buy-in, you’re not alone. In Sprout Social’s 2020 Index, only 45% of marketers strongly agree they have management's support for social media mar...

The State of Social 2021: The latest social insight from Sprout Social Index

It’s that time of year again! The annual Sprout Social Index hit our inboxes and for us social media marketers, it’s kinda like Christmas. We love digging into the data to understand more about user behaviour across platforms, and what it means for our clients, the content we create and what we should be focusing on to grow online communities. Each year, Sprout Social surveys more than 1000 social marketers to get insight into their goals for social, the metrics they use to measure performan...

So you want to be a social media manager? Here's what you need to know

If you ask us, working in social media is fun! It’s a chance to be creative, while helping brands strategically sell, grow and create impact. Plus, the demand for good social media management continues to climb. After all, as brands, we need to meet our customers where they are - and social media provides an awesome platform for connecting with our audience....

Our values: Helping brands like yours use social the right way

When it comes to establishing a brand, marketers and strategists will tell you that getting clear on your values is one of the first things you need as a foundation for your business.  They’re not wrong, and here’s why. Values are the principles that your brand lives and breathes as you carry out your work. They influence the decisions you make, the clients you support, the people you hire, the way you communicate... pretty much every move you make in your business should be driven by a...

Do you know about social media’s SEO superpowers?

Getting your brand found online is probably a top priority for you as a business owner. To do that, it’s likely you know that search engine optimisation (SEO) is important for ensuring that your website appears organically (without paid advertising) on the coveted first page of Google. While what happens on both the back end and front end of your website is most important, what you may not realise is that your social media efforts also have a part to play in boosting your organic search engine...

The State of Social 2020: Need-to-know stats from Sprout Social’s latest social index

For most industries, social media is now a super-saturated space, so having the right knowledge up your sleeve can help you make sure you’re getting in front of the right people at the right time. That’s where these findings from Sprout Social come in....

Social for all: accessibility and inclusivity on social media

This year has certainly served up its share of disruption - but the silver lining is that it’s brought with it great opportunities for learning. Global events have pushed us towards becoming more aware and conscious of the way we are communicating and engaging with others, and here at The Social Shop we love that the uptake in awareness is beginning to result in a better social space for all. But there’s still a lot of work to be done. ...

Using your brand voice for good on social media

Wow, it’s been a big few months for social media. As brands, 2020 has challenged us in unexpected ways around how we’re showing up online. Global events have connected us on an epic scale and impacted hugely on the way we’ve been called to communicate with our audiences. From the Australian bushfires, to Covid-19 to the Black Lives Matter social uprising, the first six months of the year have sure been an unprecedented (whoops, we’re done with that word now, aren’t we?) learning curve....

Customer-centricity for the win: How to use social media to establish brand trust

One message you’ll hear us have set on repeat is that social media needs to be a two-way street. It’s no longer enough for brands to simply see social media as a platform to push their messages out, and it’s no longer a post-and-they-shall-come solution to growing your brand. Connection, community and conversation all come about through dialogue - not monologue. And actually understanding your audience - who they are, what they need, how they talk - starts by climbing out of the ivory busi...

Your social media stocktake: Strengthening your social presence through downtime

If you’re anything like us, you’ve made it through the level 4 restrictions with the help of Zoom greenscreens hiding washing piles and squabbling children in the background of business calls, a redneck tiger zoo operator on Netflix for distraction and the cool, calm collectiveness of Dr. Ashley Bloomfield on our screens at 1pm for a daily dose of reassurance and steadiness. You’ve probably also seen your time on social media spike. Whether it’s to stay connected, keep up with the news o...

Social in the time of Covid-19: What to consider when it comes to sharing on social media

We read today that actor Jared Leto was on a silent meditation retreat in the desert for 12 days, and on reemerging into the real world, he was shocked to hear about the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic. So, you’d have to have been getting zen in the desert with Jared to not know that Covid-19 is pretty much all our news feeds have been talking about for the past week. And if you’re anything like us, opening up those news feeds can feel overwhelming. We’re bombarded with news and mi...

Our favourite Instagram accounts and why

When you work in Social Media, you end up spending a LOT of time browsing. We like to keep on top of what’s working & what isn’t working, and the best way to do this is by checking out all sorts of  accounts....

How to write the perfect social bio

We don’t need to tell you that first impressions MATTER. The saying “You never get a second chance to make a first impression” holds true in social media as much as anywhere else. DID YOU KNOW: It takes users less than two-tenths of a second to form a first impression (Science Daily), and your bio is an integral part of this.We’ve rounded up the most effective ways to create a social media bio that will guarantee a perfect first impression....

What should be in your 2020 Social Media Strategy?

3.5 million New Zealanders use social media (We Are Social), so it makes sense that marketers should be active on social platforms in the hope of connecting with their target audience. Thanks to the mass flocking of marketers, competition on social media can be stifling, making it difficult for you to stand out. But, staying on top of the latest social media trends (and integrating them into your strategy) can help you stand out in the crowd. To keep you ahead, here are eight social me...

Best Practice for Social Ads

With different advice for different social media platforms, creating adverts (and getting them right) can be like walking through a minefield. Particularly when you’re just starting out, trying to contend with tricky algorithms and match it with the best creative the world has ever seen.SO. Because we love seeing brands producing good social media, we’ve compiled the most important advertising best practices when it comes to social media, so that you can gain the most from your advertising s...

The 101 of Advertising on Instagram

If your audience is on Instagram, then boosting your visibility with ads is a no-brainer. With more than one billion people using Instagram every month, and 500 million using it every day (stats from Facebook), there’s a huge new market available for you to target. PLUS, one-third of Instagram users have purchased through the platform on mobile (GlobalWebIndex) already. This shows they’re not only a large audience; they’re a large audience that’s open t...

Planning a Holiday Themed Campaign

The silly season is fast approaching; Christmas decorations are coming out, your inbox is filling up with holiday-themed promotions, and it’s now socially acceptable to play your favourite Christmas playlist on Spotify (or maybe that’s just us). That means it’s time to finish the year strong with a holiday campaign that makes an impact, but like shopping for gifts, leaving your campaign plan to Christmas Eve isn’t going to end well. ...

How to be authentic on Social Media (and why it matters)

As social media becomes a more and more cluttered space, brands have to work harder than ever to get in front of their target audience. On our blog, we’ve covered how to get your message into the news feed, with targeting, paid campaigns, or by working with influencers. The real question is, once you’re in the news feed, is your message even making a mark, or just getting lost amongst all the other advertising?...

The Importance of a Social Media Strategy

Having a social media strategy means knowing what to post, when to post and what to do with that post once it (and your brand) is on social media.  In a nutshell - its having a plan for the management of your brand on social media, at all times. ...

How to sell products with IG Shopping

With more than one billion monthly active users on Instagram, plus over 400 million using Stories on a daily basis, Instagram’s growing user base is a bonafide home for brands wanting to make a splash on social.Instagram’s highly visual nature has made it the ideal spot for showcasing products, so when Shopping was launched in February 2018, allowing brands to tag products directly in posts and Stories, directing customers to the item they want to purchase. Plus, with the...

Community Management - why it's a must and how to nail it

Nailing community management is important for any business active on social media. How you manage your community will define how your followers perceive your brand and without a doubt, if or how often they buy from you.At its core, community management is about forming relationships and seizing opportunities to interact with your community online, whether that’s on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn or any other online platform.Good co...