Society is increasingly politicized. Digital marketers need to know not only the ins-and-outs of new platforms and trends, but also how to navigate the uncertain and mercurial social waters. Having a few, reliable markers in mind can help your financial brand steer clear of controversy and effectively reach your followers.
Recent actions make this topic timely. A number of tech companies, including Facebook, Google and Amazon, have all taken actions against users and platforms in the past week after political events. How do these actions affect the strategies and tactics for digital marketers? Here are a few things to keep in mind.
Your Follower Counts Will be Affected
A large number of users are leaving Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in light of recent events. While troughs and peaks are not uncommon to users counts, analytics for this time period may see sharper trends. This could impact the effectiveness of your marketing and may necessitate changing your content strategy for your remaining followers or for customer acquisition.
Digital Marketing Strategies Must Cross Platforms
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to digital advertising. If you are only placing ads on one site, like Facebook or only using one tactic like geo-fencing, you will miss a number of opportunities. Avoiding this loss could mean marketing across channels, intercepting intent and locating users based on location. If you are developing a digital customer acquisition or brand awareness strategy, you will need to acknowledge that no one platform is all-encompassing of your target market.
It’s an Opportunity to Improve Communications
When a large group of people feel as though their voice is not heard, it provides opportunities for new or emerging startups to fill the void. As we’ve shared in the past, platforms like Parler, MeWe and others have experienced exponential growth during this past year. The challenge to regulated industries is that little to no moderation is in place to protect the content and the abuse of consumer data on these platforms, meaning that brands and advertisers will typically avoid platforms like this. Regulators may not be kind to financial organizations sharing information on these sites until significant internal policy changes are made.
This week has been a difficult one. As marketers, often we need to be the first to react and the last ones who get thanked for our roles. Keep making a difference and serving your communities.
