social media strategy Immediate Future

social media strategy

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…

As we move towards a more hopeful outlook to the opening of the world’s door’s, we should remember that our time in this horrible, horrible pandemic has changed the digital landscape for the foreseeable future. This new mindset will change how we host events/talks even past this…

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…

With the new financial year upon us, stakeholders are busy checking and ratifying plans and budgets for FY21/22. With the annual merry-go-round of financial and marketing planning shenanigans comes a new focus on demand generation. After all, organisations have endured a year no one expected. Surviving was rightly considered a…

] 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…

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!…

Last week we informed you that Facebook was looking to cash in on creating a rival product to the widely popular Clubhouse. While this is true, it seems that Instagram is still trying to catch up with other social networks and enable users to have more than two participants…

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…

I was thinking about the chat I had on last week’s Serious Social Live, with David O’Hearns from Dawn Creative. We talked about building brand. Everything from the basics to the knotty problems. In particular we discussed how branding is not just about social. It is an integrated and central…

Social media marketing is an excellent tool that bridges the gap between businesses and consumers. When used strategically and a clear understanding has been met, great outcomes can be achieved. So there’s no doubt why we’ve seen so many companies flood to social channels over the past year. …

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…

It won’t surprise you to hear that an unprecedented number of brands adopted social media marketing in 2020. The ongoing COVID challenge forced many to do things differently and in many cases doing things they have not done before. Regular viewers of our Serious Social Live videos or regular readers…

As the daughter of two baby boomers, I’m the first to admit that I have had little faith in the digital capabilities of this demographic. I can’t count how many times I’ve pleaded with my parents that their iPad camera can, in fact, capture more than their forehead,…

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 –…

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,…

Going into 2021, companies might be looking at rejigging how they approach their audience on social media. It’s a tumultuous time, with many looking to their favourite businesses for signs they are adapting and changing their way of working to meet the needs of both their customers and their employees.

Podcast listenership in the UK reached an estimated 15.6 million listeners in 2020. And as brands continue to see opportunity in reaching audiences and building communities through this interactive format, there’s no sign of it slowing down any time soon. But working with an audio-only…

As we hurtle straight into January 2021 with the speed of a bunch of social media marketers who are just insanely grateful that 2020 is over, I know that time will be short to read lengthy blogs! So instead, here are my top recommendations for who to follow on Twitter,…

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…

The time of year has arrived where marketers and platform experts take a look back over the past 12 months and start making predictions for what’s to come. And although many of us are starting to wind down for our well-deserved Christmas break, these insight-filled blogs and guidelines…

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…

Sales and marketing are two important business functions within an organisation; and because they both impact lead generation and revenue, they are consistently working together. However, despite this obvious crossover – how these departments work together is not always seamless and requires constant communication and alignment. As social…

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…

Over the years, as social media has become the be-all and end-all of where online content is consumed, the quality and style of creative imagery have continued to advance and achieve a wide range of results. As social is an ever-evolving landscape, trends and fads come and go from…

Building your brand personality on social will set you in good stead for the future – more than that, it’ll ensure your audience understand who you are and what you stand for, building up brand trust. The key to building this up is consistency – write in a…

Imitation is the highest form of flattery. The phrase is so common because it’s true – once you have a highly successful idea, chances are someone is going to make either a better version, or a far worse version of it, but the end result will be that it 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…

I am always a bit shocked when I discover there is no strategy behind marketing – how on earth do you know if it works if you don’t know where you’re going? So, when I heard that somewhere between 50-60% of branded communities have no strategy or purpose, I was…

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…

In this day and age, almost everybody and every business are on social media. For us individuals, it’s a great way to keep in touch with family and friends, and occasionally show off something we’re proud of. But for businesses, it’s an important aspect that should be included in your business…

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…

If you’ve been following our blog for a while, you’ll remember when we wrote this post – the overarching tone of voice was “Gah, FINALLY, LinkedIn!!!” Given that almost every real-life event in 2020 has been cancelled or moved to online (thanks for nothing, Mr C. Ovid!), we aren’t the…

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…

Entrepreneurs rightly state that employees are our biggest and most valuable resource. Yet many businesses are not unlocking the potent potential presented by social media. As business leaders start to scale the upper echelons of industry, they understand the importance of having an inside-out voice. Thought leadership or opinion piece…

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…

We all yearn for information. Whether it’s improving our wellbeing, how we behave as humans, evolving as a businessperson or insight that can propel our businesses to greater heights, we can’t get enough of it. Audiobooks, podcasts and vlogs are fostering never before seen traffic numbers. Metaphors are drawn…

2020 has led to countless changes across the board – and for marketers, one big pivot has been with events and in-person activations. With new restrictions announced just this week, it looks like events will continue to happen online for the foreseeable future. Here are…

We’ve been honing the craft of marketing for over 100 years. Yet with the arrival of social, it seems much of what we learnt has been thrown out in favour of shiny new toys. We crave likes and engagement and followers like never before, whilst ignoring the need for the…

If anyone tells you otherwise, I would strongly question their credentials and motive. For years we’ve seen flash in the pan speakers pedal false philosophies portraying a vision of quickfire success by adopting a simple tactic. At times that involved people positioning social media as the great hope – but…

We know it’s technically still too early to talk about Christmas, but in the world of marketing, Christmas usually starts in July – and this year it was even earlier! (See Katy Howell’s Christmas in July Serious Social for all the facts and figures about what…

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…

Much like Vine before it, TikTok exploded onto the social media landscape – with an estimated 500 million users across the globe today. Naturally, a slice of that pie is up for grabs and Facebook jumped in with Instagram Reels in August (though some were seeing a different, earlier version…

It drives me mad when our industry talks about brands being authentic. It is thrown around on social posts, videos and blogs – like a sticking plaster you can slap on a brand to make it all better. It perpetuates the illusion that to be authentic, you just need to…

For this week’s social snapshot, we’re bringing you the top social news that’s on our radar (and feeds). It’s been a big news week, with lots of features, programs and insights guides. So, let’s jump straight in! Some users are now able to view Instagram Stories on Facebook…

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…

Last week I had the pleasure of talking with Neville Hobson, the Director of Digital Marketing at Internet Society, about all things social media (you can listen to the pod or watch the video). First off the bat was the topic of trust. We’ve blogged…

A lot happened this week in social, so we’ll get right to it. TikTok continues to gain rapid momentum and the social giants are trying to keep up, so we’re seeing a lot of advancements in AR functionality. Moreover, the upcoming US Presidential Election has led to significant…

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!…

Twitter is rolling out new settings that will allow all users to control who can reply to Tweets. It’s a feature they tested earlier in the year, but now we’ll all be able to start limiting who replies to our content. So, what does this actually mean? We see two…

OMG! Have you seen the latest lockdown content from Nike? Wow! Now this is the content we need to entertain us. https://twitter.com/Nike/status/1288845608694902786?s=20 I know Nike have deep pockets, but you don’t need to have big budgets to create attention grabbing content on social. We’ve been saying since the…

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…

‘The audience you want, versus the audience you have.’ It sounds like a jargon fuelled line you’d hear in a Harry Enfield comedic skit featuring the character of a cheesy marketing exec spewing lingo to make themselves look good. However, the ‘loadsamoney-esque’ dialogue is an important strategic facet of social…

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…

It’s that time of the week again – time for your #socialsnapshot. We’ve got you covered for the latest in all things social media. So sit back, enjoy and take it all in. Users can now broadcast their Messenger Rooms via Facebook Live Facebook has announced a…

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…

Myths are part of historic fabric. From the existence of Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster, to the Beast of Bodmin Moor, myths or legend are folklore in Britain. Some to stories have transcended continents too – the story of Robin Hood and his Merry Men making it all the…

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…

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…

When it comes to social media marketing, Facebook is always the go-to platform for many marketers – especially when you find out Facebook users sign into the platform an average of 13.8 times a day. And with a platform that hosts multiple tools to help you set up and…

As always, the world of social media is non-stop with news and platform updates. And of course, this week is no different! So, dive right in and find out the latest happenings with our Social Snapshot… Facebook’s announced another algorithm change. Another week, another algorithm change. This week,…

“Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.”– Albert Einstein I don’t normally use quotes. It always feels a bit cheesy. But this is such a perfect fit for brand trust on social. It is the small stuff of tweets, posts…

GlobalWebIndex has reported that 29% of total internet users have used a live streaming option on social media, and 13% have watched a live gaming stream. These figures alone tell us that live streaming is the new mode to watch – and that marketers…

It’s that time of the week again – time for our Social Media Snapshot. So, grab a coffee, put your strategy cap on, and settle in for our roundup of the biggest things that happened this week in social media. Facebook adds new functionality to its Portal Move…

In recent weeks there has been a reoccurring question framed at us, “if social is noisy what’s the point in publishing content? Covid-19 has sent it crazy, hasn’t it?”. It’s an obvious answer, but, ‘you need to be at the races – you need to be in It,…

Both TikTok and Pinterest have experienced huge gains during the last few months. Engagement on Pinterest is up 75%, and TikTok users grew by 34% in April. If you’re not sure how to get started with either platform, here are a few ideas. Pointers for Pinterest With 367…

Changes abound in another week of social media activity – from Twitter bringing back verification to Facebook’s revamped news section. Join us for another social snapshot: Twitter bringing back verification? In the past, getting verified was a nebulous, question-filled process. How many followers is enough? Is there some…

From baking banana bread to getting sick of our own cooking and ordering in, here are some of the key drivers and examples of the food and drink sector in social media: Eating and drinking at home After 4 weeks in lockdown, McKinsey reported that 46%…

Right now, as lockdown lifts, marketers are looking for short-term quick wins that will deliver impact. A fast move to recovery, a chance to grab market share and make a distinctive difference that will run the rest of the year. It makes sense. For many brands marketing had slowed to…

Back in March, TechCrunch reported Instagram had seen a 40% increase in traffic due to the pandemic. With everyone at home, more time is being spent on digital platforms, and all social media platforms have been nurturing their growing platform in different ways – but what about…

As always, there’s a lot going on in the world of social media. The top players have been busy introducing updates – from e-commerce roll outs to Bitmojis (yes, MORE Bitmoji). So, buckle up, grab your notebook and get your social media on. Pinterest adds ‘shop’ tab…

Brand as Broadcasters is the concept all business running brand events need to truly deliver greater cost efficiency and standout innovation Running brand events comes at great cost. Marketers have to evidence cost efficiencies that yield tangible returns for the business. Formats have to keep being refreshed to stay ‘new’…

Another week, another whirlwind of social media updates – stick with us as we take you through everything you need to know: Twitter allows users to choose who can rely to Tweets Twitter is testing a new feature that allows users to prohibit entire groups of people…

When it comes to conversion, the goal you might be setting doesn’t have to be a purchase – you might wish to measure conversion on increasing followers, engagement on your posts or sign-ups to an email list. Whichever conversion you’re measuring, we’ve got some top tips on what you need…

Now is a time of rapid change – which can be scary. People are inherently resistant to change because it means disruption, even if it is beneficial. Can you remember Instagram’s old logos? The days when it looked more like a rounded-edged floppy disk? When Instagram’s logo was updated in…

As the online population grows, so does the pool of consumers – some with time, and money on their hands. In recent weeks, e-commerce businesses in sectors like crafting, beauty and home accessories – as well as gifting – have started to boom. If you’re starting out in…

Last Friday, we broadcast the latest episode of our Serious Social Facebook Live. Having moved from an edited weekly publication to a live broadcast. We’ve joined the brilliant British public response in flexing around Covid-19 requirements, whilst continuing our commitment to surface, address and offer solution to the key issues…

Navigating through today’s societal challenges as a marketer is no easy task. Driving business objectives while also remaining respectful and providing support to audiences is a delicate balance that can easily be threatened with one wrong move. In recent podcast “Marketing in the time of Coronavirus” with…

The current climate is changing our perception and view of what the word “community” means. If you’re unsure what you should or shouldn’t be using in your messaging right now – the first task is to listen to your audience. Discover where they are – which channels, but also…

It’s a question that really puzzles me. Along with ‘why do some businesses try to mimic the market leader?’ or, ‘why do B2B companies continue to use awful stock photography of people pretending to be businesspeople?’ or, ‘why do travel companies persist with blue filters?’. At the risk of sounding…

While the streets are quiet and the shops are shut, the bars and cinemas are closed – and so are the theatres. But in the theatre, when they are “dark” (there’s no live production), there’s a tradition to leave a “ghost light” centre stage. Partly for the safety of anyone…

Very few of society have faced anything like what we all front up to today. Fluid developments continue to alarm and challenge us. Businesses have been placed in a period of uncertainty whilst they seek support from the government. For now, all we can all do is follow the important…