The vast virtual world of the Internet is continuously evolving — be it tools or human behavior under the influence of these tools. In a way, a select set of humans is controlling the conduct of masses through numerous applications. With time, Internet has taught us to be more expressive while being minimal on the use of words.
Content marketing, a useful device for businesses, has also evolved, as marketers mastered the art of frugal use of words to send across trimmed messages to users. And hence, a new trend has emerged, fighting for human attention along with other tools like blogs, social media posts, and videos. It’s called microblogs.
Small and crunchy posts, with short sentences, images, live videos, and links, are meant to seize consumers’ interest before their short attention spans snap.
This smart marketing tool can work wonders through prudent usage and further your businesses’ growth. You should blend creativity with quality to be crisp in your approach.
Several social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook support this new phenomenon. These platforms are better designed to accommodate microblogs for effective communication with customers.
What does a microblog do?
Microblogs can be called 2-min creations. They are easy to write and easy to read. So, before you even realize a lot of actual website content and information are generated in microblogs. Also, the Harvard Business Review promotes the use of microblogging internally in a business. It increases employee productivity through the rapid exchange of information. Even business solutions can be designed in little time, which otherwise would be a tedious and expensive affair. The content generated through microblogs will boost your business along with search engine optimization (SEO), marketing (SEM), and ranking. Thus, microblogging matters even while counting return on marketing investments. There is another advantage — microblog posts direct to social media platforms depending on their nature. They may also be used to fuel the traction of ongoing social media posts.
Opportunities ahead
As per statista.com reports, around 350.6 million people in China were using microblogs, such as Sina Weibo, in 2018. In India, the number of social network users has increased from 142.23 million in 2015 to 326.1 million in 2018 and is expected to reach 447.9 million by 2023. Further, the social networks are expected to penetrate 31% of the Indian population by 2023, up from 24% in 2018, thanks to Smartphones and cheaper data. The growing popularity of various microblogging sites presents an excellent opportunity for marketers to engage with potential audiences. It takes less time to create microblogs and still lesser time to devour them. But one should be methodical in using this tool to get the most out of it.
Rule of 4
Consistency: Schedule your microblogs after planning what day/s of every week you want to speak to your prospective audiences/customers. The trick of the trade is to share posts on the same day of every week without fail.
Format & content: The text message should not exceed 280 characters and never forget to dab the link to your website at the end. Microblogs should also provide useful advisory tips that might be of instant use to your customers. Your microblogs should act like a window to your website. The insight or information you put out through your microblog should allure your readers to come and visit your site.
Positive vibes: The world is filled with negativity and days are stressful for all in these hard times because of excruciating competition. A soothing post, steeped in positive hues, provides a modicum of comfort. Try to create blogs that infuse positivity in your audiences and bolster their hopes so that they eagerly wait for your next post.
Collecting pieces: Once you start posting regularly on Facebook, Twitter, and other sites, you must manage your posts on your website, too, to increase the traffic. You may also attach them with your traditional blogs. So customers get the scope to read both your long and short posts.
Leading the trend
Twitter may claim a more significant share of the credit for making microblogging the flavor of the season. But, one should not undermine the contribution of platforms like Snapchat, WhatsApp, and Vine for making it convenient for brands to convey critical information, news updates, and also reminders. Thousands are microblogging every day, quite unknowingly. Even their short status updates fall in this category. The ease of sharing is another essential feature of microblogging. So, you can share snippets of information with a broad cross-section of the audience instantly. Reports link the introduction of microblogging with the launch of Twitter in 2006. Website Socialnomics said Twitter was the first significant microblogging site. Even governments use Twitter as their handle to reach out to masses and increase their support base. The art of ensconcing their messages in subtle text wraps requires marketing mastery that even businesses should follow. Brands that witness the most significant gains with their creative, compelling content that is at once informative and intriguing enough to pique their readers to re-tweet, share, etc.
Useful updates at the right time generate excellent traction for them, all of which serve to boost their visibility and reinforce their recognition and trust.
Know your customers
Marketers banking on microblogging must understand their clients' reading patterns. You should be well aware where they spend their time on the Internet and when, and what type of content they covet. Strategize accordingly to fulfill their demands in micro-space and time. Also, pep up your content with videos and images, hold contests, and arrange for giveaways in a way that nurtures relationships with influencers and promotes more engagement. Your posts must feature hashtags that appeal to algorithms.
One good reason
It’s not every time that a company has genuine reason to disseminate information to their clients. You should have a reason to share a post. Give an update that would have a positive impact on your company's bottom line. Target your audience and shoot — your message should hit the bull’s eye. Your every post should have this one essential purpose-build a following with every sharing. Share time-sensitive information such as flash sale or limited-time offer.
Narrowness of vision kills the entire purpose of microblogging. It will be difficult to find loyal customers if you only focus on products and services or pure promotions and shallow marketing gimmicks. Broaden your horizon and that of your microblog posts to arrest more and more audiences’ interest. Your posts should have a personal touch to them as they establish a connection with your clients with options of commenting, liking, and sharing.
The long and short of it
Since the emergence of this microblogging wonder, a stormy debate has been brewing in the world of the internet. For years, experts have preferred longer articles. According to them, “the more you write, the more comprehensive your posts will be, and the more your audience will take away from your content.” So is microblogging just a fad, as longer articles are supposed to rank higher on Google and generate more website visits? And, there are a few severe glitches in microblogging that one can't rebuff. They use short URLs that can be misleading as they may direct users to a different website altogether. There are SEO problems, as well. The crunched content may make it tough for search engines to decipher what the blog is all about.
Before jumping to such a hasty conclusion, one must not forget the positives of microblogging. Microblog posts need little time and effort on the part of the marketers, and time is money. So, you are saving a lot of money as well. Now think from customers' point of view. They are extracting the end of your post in no time.
Contently, a content marketing platform, surveyed 1,000 people in the US to learn about their media marketing preferences. Its January 2019 report snubbed an undisputed convention that “longer is always better.” The report states that 75% of people prefer to read articles under 1,000 words.
Microblogging is a handy tool for a brand to market, sell and expand and it’s here to stay — at least for some more time than you expect.
