Content Strategy Immediate Future

Content Strategy

As I am sure many of you know, Facebook suffered a major outage yesterday (Nearly 6 hours to be exact!). With chaos on the streets, many users fled to the safety of other platforms such as Twitter, Linkedin and, of course, Tiktok. Problems were reported across the world,…

Writing social posts is easy, isn’t it? Just hop on twitter, whack in 240 characters and watch the leads and conversions come flying in, right? In an ideal world, sure. But curating social posts that both resonates with your target audiences and encourages them to engage with you is trickier…

During the pandemic, we began spending much more time on social media and interacting more with brands online. Resulting in brands having to adapt and very quickly. Now, the restrictions are easing down, but audiences still have those high expectations of brands to communicate well with them, especially…

For many years organic traffic was everything you needed for successful content distribution. However, as the competition for the search terms and audience attention grows, other elements of content distribution and promotion must be considered. In today’s blog, I wanted to discuss 4 important steps you need to…

Trends are fickle things. They can come from nothing and be the hot new thing to post on social media. On TikTok, we see this more now than ever with different sounds or dancers for users to use or copy. The trend we will be focusing on today…

Facebook has changed over the years and has become one of the more complex platforms. This can sometimes make it a tricky to maximise value from your Facebook marketing. We’ve got you covered though. Stick with us as we take you through the best practices for Facebook…

Have you noticed that the creation of content in Reels is growing day by day? But, how should you be using it? What can it do for your brand’s social media strategy? Instagram Reels allows you to create and share 30-second videos with music, filters, and text in…

I’m the first to admit that my favourite social media accounts are the ones that make me laugh out loud. And while it’s a common thread in personal and culture account success, it doesn’t always play the same for business ones. Unlike meme accounts like tank.sinatra, betches and ladbible, brands…

In the past year there has been an increasing trend of brands using their social media platforms to support various causes. Social media has shifted from a place of ideas sharing to one that educates and inspires. Supporting a good cause on social can be one of the…

We know it can be hard to stay up to date with social media news popping up every day. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Have a look at the latest happening in the world of social media through our social snapshot: Facebook is donating $3…

Excelling in social media depends on many factors. Precise targeting, elaborated content strategy, proper measurement, and testing, etc. It is a whole structure in which each part must be studied and properly planned to be successful in social. But if you look at paid media, things can get…

Social media is a crowded space. Period. This means that turning out average content isn’t going to cut it; social media marketers need to be doing the most to get their ads noticed on audience feeds – and that is easier said than done. Numerous departments and business bottom lines…

With so many metrics constantly popping up, the world of social media can be confusing. What should you be tracking? What’s important for your business goals? We’ll take you through the various metrics that every company or brand should be looking at, so you can stay on top of your…

We know it can be hard to stay up to date with the social media news popping up every day. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Have a look at the latest happening in the world of social media through our social snapshot: YouTube launches…

Having a hard time writing Facebook ad copy? The truth is that Facebook Ad copy is essential if we want our ads to convert. A lot of the time we write the first thing that comes to mind. But, if we want to write the best Facebook ad, we have…

This is part two of our Employee Advocacy series. For part one, click here: https://immediatefuture.co.uk/blog/employee-advocacy-how-did-we-get-here/ We recently covered our initial findings from our Employee Advocacy webinar, sharing the insights gained from our expert panel on why there has been such a sudden rise in Employee Advocacy, and what…

Designers know more about ‘trusting the process’ than anyone else. Though what we all need to understand is, there is a process to everything that we do and without trust and patience, we can falter at the first hurdle. When it comes to ‘Trusting the Process’ on social media, we…

On average, users post 6,000 Tweets every second on Twitter. As a Social Media Designer, standing out from the pack is crucial, and you probably dedicate a huge amount of your time to researching competitors, trawling through Facebook design groups for inspiration, or looking at the work of…

Back before social media was even called social media, brands were part of the conversation. Whether it was on Myspace, Flickr, Blogs, Habbo Hotel or the plethora of message boards – marketing comms was experimenting with talking direct to the customer. Now, 20 years on, the world has…

Employee advocacy has moved centre stage in social marketing. It is accelerating as a program, pushing out its messaging in all new ways and putting employees at the forefront of business promotions and campaigns. What is driving this rapid increase in employee advocacy across social media, and what can we…

As of the beginning of July 2021, TikTok has had over 2.6 billion downloads worldwide and sees almost 700 million monthly active users (many IFers included!) So, it’s a no brainer that brands want to jump on the bandwagon. But, like every social media platform, sometimes it works and…

If you are starting in the world of social media, you may have already heard that before converting, you must set up a presence. However, it’s possible your social strategy isn’t working properly, which means the investment does not translate into the desired results. More visits,…

No brand is a stranger to the realm of social media likes, but it seems like 2021 will be the year to kick them to the curb. While introduced to help relieve social pressure and improve mental health for its users, it’s difficult to ignore how this impacts advertising across…

For some marketers, social media marketing can be seen as slightly complex or just a quick add-on to their overall marketing strategies, with very little focus. But, with over 3 billion active social media users in the world and the average person spending just under 2.5 hours on…

Moments make social. They fill our personal feeds with memories to look back on. From the family reunion after lockdown to our pets doing something adorable. The achievements we’re proud of to the moments of calamity our dear friends captured. Moments make social media. For a brand to make…

Half of marketers worldwide have turned to social listening to understand consumers’ changing preferences during the pandemic. 63% of social media marketers believe listening will become even more important over the upcoming year. In this quick blog, I wanted to touch on the increasing importance of Social Listening and discuss…

Do you want to have more reach on Instagram? Do you want to understand how Instagram ranks feed posts? Then you should know how the Instagram algorithm works in 2021. Now, what is the Instagram algorithm? In short, the Instagram algorithm is a mechanism that classifies content according to what…

Throughout 2020 and into 2021, social media has become more important than ever to stay in touch with people, find new trends and hobbies and keep up to date on current events. Brands had to thrive while undergoing rapid, unexpected digital transformation, and social marketers had to…

“If you don’t know where you’ve come from, you don’t know where you’re going.” Of course, Maya Angelou’s famous quote was actually four lines of prose. The purpose of her abbreviated statement was clear though, respect and understand the past, to help you move to a better future. This is the essence of business networking.

That title is a nod to Bo Burnham’s Inside, the comedian’s latest special on Netflix, in which he spends a hefty amount of time discussing the effects of social media. His song Welcome to the Internet covers how there’s a little bit of everything for everyone, good and bad, and…

Last week saw the launch of our Technology CMO Outlook Report. Alongside Copy House, we put the flesh on the bones of the normal benchmark reports and brought to you in-depth interviews from the CMOs of some of the biggest names in tech. On Friday, we were live with…

Brands, we hear your plea… you want better engagement and higher conversions, right? What’s the secret [BBQ] sauce? It’s the consumer data. In social, there are billions of consumers chatting about everything under the sun, so you just need to listen, interpret the data and use it to…

Building a relationship between you and your design team is imperative to creating social content that leaps off the screen and becomes ingrained in users’ minds. You should trust your designers to know what they are doing and keep the clients’ best interests in mind. In…

Welcome to the new 20s, where not taking action or being silent are no longer options for organisations. The importance of inclusion and diversity is here to stay. There is no room for brands to sit back and act passively. Why? Well… consumers are becoming more demanding and…

Hello and welcome to our latest Social Snapshot News Roundup! Let’s dive right in: Clubhouse – the uber popular social audio app – launched its Android version this month, bringing with it one million new users, and a million more are sitting on the waitlist. The app…

We live in a digital era and there are billions of internet users worldwide. That means there are lots of opportunities for brands to engage with their audience and achieve business growth. One of the most effective methods for spreading brand awareness and attracting new customers is through content marketing.

Why isn’t anyone advocating storytelling reporting to your own boardroom? As we emerge from COVID-19, boardrooms are scrutinising their post-COVID recovery plans. Budgets and ROIs are being assessed to determine if they’re investing in the right areas to deliver the required business impact, at the speed needed. There is an…

82% of people agree social media is a vital channel for delivering exceptional customer experience. We know consistently delighting customers is a complex task – requiring skills in leadership, tech and a healthy dose of agility. Often, though, the idea of focusing on the customer experience through social isn’t shared…

If you need some practical tips about community engagement on social, you’ve come to the right place! Audiences, whether in B2B or B2C are very unforgiving when it comes to how brands engage with them – more than ever, we want brands to be fast, human, clear and concise when…

Social skips its way through the whole customer journey, impacting various touchpoints, from awareness right through purchase into advocacy. More importantly, you need to map the journey, in detail, if you hope to be able to deliver a consistent and much-needed customer experience. And you do need to…

Hashtags remain one of the most effective ways to generate engagement on your Instagram posts in 2021. A report says that a post with at least one hashtag averages 12.6% more engagement than posts without any. So, it’s worth including them in your content strategy. They can…

A few weeks ago, we wrote a piece on when it was best to stand out from the crowd, and if done right, can create some truly engaging content that sees other brands jumping on your bandwagon. The most recent occurrence of…

Well, we could simply say… research, plan it, write it, check it, check it again, post it. But there’s really much more to writing for social media than many people think. Here are our top tips, and what not to do! First Thought What is the first thing, or the…

It’s no secret that the last 12 months has thrown out some challenging moments for every single brand and organisation across the globe. Recently, Katy Howell (CEO, immediate Future) and Belle Lawrence (Associate Director, Immediate Future) sat down with a group of experienced marketers in the FMCG world to discuss…

There are new social media marketing tactics popping up every day. When first getting started in social, it can be tough to define which ones are right for your brand and audience. Influencer partnerships can have a huge impact on boosting your…

Social media is about open, unfiltered ideas being sent across the web to anyone in the world willing to listen. Platforms like Twitter are called that because they give users a literal platform to speak from, voice their opinions and engage with others. Over time, this idea has been refined,…

In our recent webinar, Big Brand Secrets For Creating Audacious, Killer Content, Katy Howell, Laura McNally, and Karly Boyce sat down to talk about how brands can create bold, brave, and daring content. The conversation delves into what bold looks like to them, the process involved in creating killer content,…

As part of its analyst day overview, earlier this year, Twitter released a series of potential new features they hope will boost numbers and aggressively grow their user base over the next three years. Including various new subscription-based features, which will enable creators to monetize their Twitter following: The super-follower…

Social is a very visual medium, so why are brands still doing a bad job at communication through design? Whether it’s a boring, wallpaper image, or a message which doesn’t translate from print to social (we’re looking at you, Burger King), there’s no reason brands can’t take the…

On social, its crucial for brands and identities to sometimes stand out from the crowd, to create content that engages users and makes an impact. Making the same content as others can appear stale and overdone, so there is a lot of pressure to create content that can be thought-provoking…

Imitation is the best form of flattery – rarely is an idea fully formed at the start. The technical birthplace of wireless is in the Netherlands, where WaveLAN (an early form of the still nascent wireless networking standard) was introduced with the intent for use in cashier systems. Retail was…

It’s that time of the week again – time for your social snapshot! We’ve got a round-up for all of the latest happenings on social media. So grab a coffee and get up to speed Facebook announces new features for IWD With International Women’s Day coming…

] With 20.33 million daily active users, TikTok is fast becoming the place to be. What started as a platform viewed for the younger audience, the demographics of users have broadened (popularity increased during 2020), and more and more brands are exploring this new venture. But how should brands approach…

59 million people used Snapchat’s AR tools during the recent Super Bowl in the United States, the platform reported this week. When you take into account that Snapchat has 92 million users in the US, that’s a whole lot of activity. At the top of the list…

Let’s get real, most of the content you’re scrolling through on social right now is BORING. Social feeds are a sea of pointless pictures, yawn-inducing infographics, and videos that would send an insomniac to sleep! BUT then… you’re stopped in your tracks by something stand-out, thumb-stopping, and exciting!…

Reactive social media is something we’ve seen a lot of recently and was considered a growing trend in 2020 after everyone turned to social at the start of the pandemic. When done well, this type of content can really pay off, but it doesn’t come without its risks.

If you’re a marketer, whether it be in a global organisation or a small agency, it’s likely that social media is present in your day-to-day. But while most marketers have had some experience in social media, not all are the ‘experts’ they position themselves to be. We’ve listed…

Here we go again! Another rundown of the latest happenings in social media from the past week. So, sit back, grab a coffee and enjoy another edition of Social Snapshot! Twitter is caring for the customer Online shopping is becoming increasingly popular and this means your digital…

Social media trends are quite often fleeting. Some find ways to adapt and evolve and stay relevant. Others are gone with the click of the fingers. One thing that is here to stay is influencer marketing. In 2021 brands are well aware that connecting with the consumers is paramount…

To save you a long read if you are not here for the why: there isn’t really a best time to post on social media, or rather, if there is one, it can change overnight, depends on a lot of factors, and ultimately, doesn’t really matter. Let’s explore. The issue…

I was talking to a senior marketer last week about building great customer relationships. She said something that stuck in my head: we should show our customer’s respect. It resonated with me because acquisition has been the focus these last 10 months to the detriment of relationships…

For many people working outside of our industry, social media marketing seems easy. Wrong. What they don’t know is how much effort and hard work goes on behind the scenes. And it’s not just down to one person. To be successful in social media marketing, you need to collaborate –…

It’s that time of the week again – time for your social snapshot! We’ve got a round-up for all of the latest happenings on social media. So, sit back, enjoy, and take it all in! TikTok Launches it’s first LiDAR-enabled AR effect With AR set to be…

New year, new… well, nothing? If you’re feeling like nothing has changed and the world of social media is as exhausting as ever, we’ve collated a few best-practice thoughts for you – you’re stronger than you think! Be agile, not fragile Change is the only constant… who said that? Me,…

Welcome back for another year of our Social Snapshot! Today we are taking a look at the biggest stories of January – plus a few missed from the end of the year when we were all on break. Let’s dive in: Instagram adds new creative tools in…

We’re just about ready to down tools and dive into the mince pies! BUT, before we do, we’ve got one last round up of the news, updates and announcements on social this past week. TikTok adds ‘Year in review’ In many ways, 2020 has been a year…

In recent days, gamers have swarmed social media to show their disappointment in the launch of the highly anticipated video game, ‘Cyberpunk 2077’, some of which have been waiting over ten years for its release. To the dismay of many, the game released to platforms in an unplayable state, making…

If you’re not storyboarding your social media then you’re set for 2021 failure. Brands who continue delivering arbitrary social media face a significant challenge ahead. Against the backdrop of a brutal 2020, some will think my comments harsh and not what they want to hear. My counter, as I say…

Many of us will be happy to see the end of 2020, but it’s still important to reflect on the happenings in social media from the last twelve months. Facebook year in review Unsurprisingly, a major theme for Facebook/Instagram this year was Covid-19. The Instagram Stay Home sticker was used…

Whenever a planning phase is imminent, such as the start of a new year or preparing a campaign proposal, a key element is often missed – results and data from the last campaign. If you’re on top of things and managing to review your social marketing data regularly, you’ll have…

Without a doubt next year is going to be bumpy. We’re not over the pandemic yet; the UK faces Brexit; and a recession is on the cards. Whether your industry is flying or picking itself back up again, you will need a plan for next year. This year marketing has…

As it’s less than a month until Christmas, it only seems right to write a festive-inspired blog and get everyone in the holiday spirit This week, TikTok launched a holiday playbook for small businesses, to help with marketing plans ahead of this…

Fleets are finally here, make your Messenger chats auto-disappear and receive help from Instagram – let’s take a look at it all in today’s Social Snapshot: Facebook adds new ‘vanish mode’ for Messenger Facebook has announced a new ‘vanish mode’ for Messenger, in which your messages will…

Quality content pieces take time, effort and resources. And while the saying goes ‘let the content speak for itself’, that isn’t always the case when it comes to social media. Why? Audiences digest content differently – whether it be a certain time of day, a specific format or through varying…

The new normal, post-Covid world, or whatever you may call it, is going to change everything. From the way we work to the way consumers behave. If we look to the future, it’s looking pretty bleak – we can’t sugar-coat that. Brexit, the continuation of covid, a potential recession…

2020… what else is there left to say? A soul-sapping, up and down rollercoaster of emotions that has forced some to do the unthinkable. Yes, that’s right people. Christmas trees are sprouting up in front-rooms across the UK as families and friends alike look to ’light up lockdown’. Like it…

With the groundbreaking election taking place across the pond, we are reminded to vote and to share with others the importance of voting through our social channels. Platforms are giving us factual information, and sometimes something creative to show support. These sort of social media events have been going on…

Can you quite believe that we are a mere few weeks from the end of 2020! For many, it can’t end quick enough, but for brand marketers, we KNOW there’s never quite enough time to plan for the year ahead. We’ve just launched our Industry Benchmark…

Increasingly, brands look to digital-only events to replace the much-loved physical events that have welcomed footfall to conferences and exhibitions across the globe. However, pivoting to a digital-only event can be tricky. At the start of this year, few would have predicted the scale of home-working and the speed…

While there’s always more to learn about the largest social media channels that we’re pretty familiar with when is the last time you checked out what was happening on some of the smaller, or more niche channels? If you fancy watching our latest Serious Social about these three, dig in…

Cross-app communication, Instagram’s 10th birthday and Facebook’s new Groups feature – it’s been a busy week, so let’s dig in today’s Social Snapshot: Facebook introduces cross-app communication between Messenger and Instagram Facebook announced it will begin rolling out new functionality, allowing Instagram and Messenger users to communicate…

It’s been a whopping ten years since Instagram launched and changed the face of social media. Feel old yet? WE DO! So, first things first, HAPPY BIRTHDAY Instagram! From the selfie revolution to the rise of the influencer, IG has helped shaped the digital revolution and has been there to…

You know the question – anyone working in an agency that specialises in social media has heard it before. Do you have a quick social media guide I can send through the company? Or Is there a one-sheet with all of the image sizes for each platform? You understand why…

Our purpose at IF is to break the social boring – what does that take? Bravery. Courage. AND preparation. The campaigns you see out in social which tackle taboos or hit a topic head-on – and then succeed – they’ve taken time to prepare, to look at what the possible…

It’s a frequently asked question framed at us by boardrooms and marketing directors. More often than not it comes from the senior-most person in an organisation. People who wish to sense-check what the brand is doing on social and validate past spend versus future investment. We’re frequently asked to address…

New features galore this week – join us as we go through all the tools you’ll be playing with in coming months with our Social Snapshot: Instagram has replaced Nametag Codes with QR Codes to quickly connect users Back in 2018, Instagram launched what it called ‘Nametag…

When it comes to creating content for your social channels, many marketers can get in a rut – producing the same content over and over and cross-channel posting. For some, this works. But for others, it may bore your followers and lack engagements. So, what can you do…

Successful social media campaigns are achieved not by a single “viral” tweet, but by experience, understanding and preparation – there are SO many hurdles that social media marketers have to leap, and often because social is seen as “easy”. We’ve got news for you, it’s not!…

The B2B landscape is an interesting one. There’s a common misconception that B2B organisations are low on usable content, but it’s simply not true. The landscape is actually flush with more information and eye-catching, challenging content than perhaps a lot of businesses realise. What do I have right now? Think…

No time to go through all the social media news of the past week? Don’t worry – we’ve collated it all for your easy perusal. Take a look: Facebook’s Q2 results beat estimates Facebook has beat its Q2 estimates, reaching $18.69 billion in revenue and 2.7…

Call-out or cancel culture has been around for some years now. But like many things in marketing, it’s accelerated in importance over the last few months. Brand values have moved centre stage and what you stand for matters more than ever. The impact of #cancel is seen whether…

Increasing engagement on social media can sometimes be difficult – just because one thing works for one company, doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll work for yours. With over 3.6 billion people using social media worldwide and algorithms constantly changing, companies need to be smart. But what counts as engagement? Engagement on…

There’s no doubt that 2020 so far has been a little tiring for marketers. With limited resource and time during the workday, let alone the demands of working from home, some social media marketers might be looking for a little help with content planning. It’s not just about finding a…

Last week, Facebook released a video on making creative impacts with text, timing and format. While focused largely on Facebook, the video has some general tips that are crucial for everyday social marketers looking to have their knowledge or current methods vindicated, and those that are trying to up their…

Ah, content planning – the bane of many digital marketers! As CJ rightly pointed out in his last blog and podcast (check it out), you might *think* you don’t have enough content to run on social media. And if you think that, you might fall…

Sounds mad doesn’t it? Who’d of thought that now is the time to start your Christmas campaigns. Usually you are finalising plans in July for Q4, but not advertising. Things are indeed strange. A look at the social conversations and latest insight from Facebook and Pinterest makes it…

LinkedIn has been historically reticent to give in-depth follower information, or it has at least limited follower-specific features. When it brought back the option to invite your connections to follow your company page late last year, it implemented a limit of 50 invites per page manager, per day. The limit…

Social has been hit by a perfect storm. A triumvirate of changes that have set it on a new path. Covid-19, which has more of us on social, spending a lot more time and increased activity is likely to stay; More polarising content has made it a hard…

More ads on YouTube, pinned comments on Instagram – the social media landscape is ever changing, but we are here to keep you up to speed. Join us for another social snapshot: YouTube is adding more ads YouTube videos are usually at least 10 minutes long. That’s…