Social Media Strategy: Reflection

Introduction:

In our previous digital marketing class, we had the opportunity to gain valuable insights into the realm of social media management and content creation by speaker and industry professional Olga Zolotarenko. As someone who wants to pursue social media management and is eager to learn industry trends and secrets, I especially appreciated the insights and experiences that Olga shared, and felt inspired by her successful career journey. I especially appreciated the sharing of her experiences working in marketing abroad in a foreign country and immersing herself in the local culture, which is one of my long term career goals. Personally as someone with a creative mindset, I am especially looking to leverage and expand my content creation skills in future marketing work placements, and it was inspiring to hear about how Olga works and collaborates with creative teams to deliver valuable content and branding to engage audiences. 

The “Aha” Moment of Realization

Regarding the main takeaways from the seminar and what really stood out to me, one memorable moment was the discussion of the 80/20 rule in content marketing to deliver tangible results. We learned that this concept is divided as 80% of your brand’s content should be valuable, and 20% should be promotional. Having this kind of balance is key in content creation, but similarly to many aspects in life, having too much of one thing can result in negative outcomes, and can lead your targets away by staying too predictable in terms of the content you produce. As Olga pointed out, these can be “killers” in your content strategy. We as humans crave variety and connection, so it’s important to take those factors into consideration when curating content for your brand, in terms of having some kind of variety to keep audiences engaged. We also went over the importance of analyzing the competition, in terms of what works and what doesn’t, what makes their brand impressionable, and how that can be applied to our own content marketing strategies. Producing high quality content is only the tip of the iceberg; we have to think more critically and understand how our target markets interact with other brands in order to stay up to date and ahead of the competition. 

Conclusion: Thoughts Going Forward

Overall, my thought process, and way of thinking in the content creation landscape has changed drastically following Olga’s seminar. Before attending her class, I never thought of placing such high priority into looking at the competitors' side for insights into maximizing content strategy. I was mostly focused on creating quality content that resonates with targeted audiences, but going forward I will now do thorough research into successful industry trends, what are trends that fall short, and even weaknesses that other competitors display in order for me to alter my strategy. This also includes using analytics to determine the success of my own past content to see what strategies are working best, and which ones require alternative approaches. I will also utilize the 80/20 rule to organize my content delivery to increase customer retention rates, and research trends on platforms like Reddit for viral content ideas as Olga suggested. Another strategy discussed that I will begin to implement was the topic of utilizing niche hashtags. As a content creator myself within the art industry, my business goal is to be a recognizable and reliable brand and creator, crafting high quality pieces for clients and art collectors. However in today’s complex Meta algorithms, it feels almost impossible to stay ahead of algorithms and hashtags when there is such a high influx of millions of posts on a daily basis. As Olga pointed highlighted in the seminar, when choosing which hashtags for your curated content, I learned that it’s often best practice to avoid using generic terms and hashtags that already contain millions of posts, but rather find niche and less frequently used hashtags that both relate to your content, but at the same time cater to a specific targeted audience who is looking for similar products to your brand. For instance in my case, instead of using hashtags like “art, painting, artwork,” I can alter my strategy by using terms like “home decor, interior mural, custom home decor” in order to reach prospective buyers. Overall, Olga’s seminar was enlightening and thought provoking, and I am eager to apply these content creation strategies to my entrepreneurial career, and leave positive impacts on future work placements.