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Arik Hanson started social media marketing consulting in 2009. This makes him a ‘super senior’ in a relatively new profession where 5 years of experience is more common.
With the rise of Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, Hanson, who worked in communications and public relations, knew he would get more out of these new digital branding and marketing platforms.
He started Arik Hanson Social Media and embarked on consulting and coaching for medium and large enterprises. Current clients include Dairy Queen, Cargill, Second Harvest Heartland, Field Nation, Trustmark and Visit Richfield.
“It was clear that social media was trying to upend communication,” Hanson recalls. “It had authenticity, timeliness, and a sense of community that I haven’t seen in any other form of communication.”
Today, Hanson sees organizations scrambling to keep up with more and more platforms and wonders why. Based on Hanson’s experience, here are some of his thoughts on how he approaches his media and marketing in 2023.
Prioritize. Prioritize rather than stretch your social media marketing team. Big brands aside, typically he’s three, but often he’s the only one working on social media marketing. For example, TikTok and Instagram reels should be added to Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn job roles. Influencer marketing and analytics are also constantly changing.
“Many brands will be more effective and better for their teams if they take a closer look at what they are doing and focus more,” Hanson says. I’m just piling up and I haven’t stopped thinking.”
do the shift. Be prepared to respond quickly with your audience and other brands. Hanson said many people are now moving to TikTok and LinkedIn, and Instagram is still going.
TikTok is a “huge cultural touchpoint” and offers “cost-effective” advertising options at the moment, Hanson said. “If you’re under 30, you’re playing on TikTok.” A broader federal ban would clearly be a “game changer.”)
LinkedIn surged during the pandemic for employee connection, professional development and networking, with brands on board. His CEOs (not Hanson’s clients), including 3M’s Mike Roman, have used their LinkedIn profiles to add a personal and trusted voice to other company communications.
Social media marketing on LinkedIn can be part of the sales cycle in terms of awareness, education and engagement, Hanson said. LinkedIn is also becoming an increasingly important channel for employer brands in a tight labor market, creating new jobs for employer brand managers at local businesses.
“We want to tell more stories about who we are, what we stand for, what our culture is, the types of people who work here, what our benefits are. You can show people in a telling format, which is relatively new,” Hanson said.
Know your strategy. In a fragmented social media landscape, Hanson recommends starting with research. Through audits, he examines what brands are currently doing on social media and where competitors and market leaders are appearing online. He develops content strategies, takes resources into account, and helps clients prioritize. For example, adding TikTok is a big deal. Is it worth the time? If so, drop the other stuff.
Tailor your content for each channel. Perhaps the biggest social media marketing mistake Hanson sees is posting the same content on every channel.
“It doesn’t work like that,” Hanson said. “Whatever you post on Facebook, if you’re posting the same thing on LinkedIn, that’s bad. They’re different audiences and they come to the platform for different reasons. It just confuses me.” They are missing out on a big opportunity.”
As far as Hanson’s next steps go, he thinks he’s continuing his own venture. He has added part-time roles teaching social media classes at the University of Minnesota and St. Thomas College.
Hanson believes more students need to take social media marketing classes. But both students and professionals can start with experiments.
“If you like TikTok, do it. If you like Instagram, be more active on Instagram. If you want to start a blog, start a blog,” Hanson said. The way is to just do it, and I think they have a really good opportunity.”
Todd Nelson is a freelance writer for Lake Elmo. His email is todd_nelson@mac.com.
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