Social Media in 2018 Requires Different Approaches for Different Platforms

The days of cross-posting are behind us. Busy social media marketers used to find comfort in being able to compose a post and use it across all the social media platforms that we happened to be using for that project– but boy have things changed.

2018 came with updates and upheaval. Major platforms such as Facebook and Twitter gave us heavy-hitting policy changes that threw some of our existing social strategies right out the window. It is becoming increasingly important to realize the key differences in each platform and adapt your strategy so that it fits their unique needs.

Facebook is steering its users back towards their social circles and seemingly away from organic ad exposure. This means our content must be even more fresh and enticing than before, since we have a smaller chance of catching our intended audience (without paying to run ads, that is). Just sharing links is not enough anymore– your posts need to be heftier than that. A quote from the article or captivating images are hugely important now; anything to draw a reader’s attention and get them to click the link.

Twitter has expanded its character limit from 140 characters to 280 characters, which has partially redefined how we can utilize the platform. No longer do we need to compress our ideas into little quips for our audiences, we can write out longer thoughts and hopefully get more engagement. Critics were skeptical that this change would tarnish the original intended brevity that this platform provided, but Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey shared that it has led to more engagement.

Twitter also is putting serious efforts into cracking down on spam; policy changes prohibit posting “the same or substantially similar content, replies or mentions over multiple accounts you control.” So, if an old tactic of yours was to recycle and reuse older content to get more waves of engagement, you are going to have to rework that strategy.

Our social media platforms are growing and evolving with the current needs of their user bases. As we well know, especially in the world of social media marketing, growth often comes with growing pains. Changes are also a great motivator to revise and improve our strategies, pushing us to be even more competitive.

At Legal InSites, we understand the value of continually adapting and improving our social media strategies for our clients. If you or your firm are interested in getting into legal social media marketing, or have questions about improving your existing accounts, please feel free to contact us.