Holly Yalove, president of AMA Knoxville, welcomed participants to our April luncheon featuring Abbi McCollum, VP of Social Media and Linear Digital for HGTV. AMA Knoxville brings together marketing minds from Knoxville and surrounding counties for professional development, networking, and educational opportunities. The chapter also invests in future marketers by awarding scholarships to marketing students at the University of Tennessee with our Eagle Endowment. Holly recognized the AMA board of directors, volunteers, and annual sponsors (Slamdot, Colby’s Photography, Larson SMB Consulting, and HumblePod) who make these events possible.
About the Presenter
As the Vice President of Social Media and Linear Digital for HGTV, Abbi McCollum creates a bridge between the on-air programming team, the marketing team and the digital team. As the digital lead for the brands, she manages a team that creates a digital and social presence for all HGTV shows and talent. Abbi works closely with the interactive ad sales and marketing teams to monetize the digital on-air content as well as to establish social sponsorship guidelines and campaigns.
Abbi oversees a team promoting daily content to an audience of over 27 million, managing influencer partnerships, working with talent, producing live events, and creating content strategy for Instagram (Feed, Stories, Lives, and Reels), TikTok, YouTube, Facebook and Snapchat. She also oversees a team of editors that creates SEO-rich articles and photo galleries to keep HGTV talent and shows at the top of search engine results as well as a team of social media editors to create a mixture of seasonal, trendy and evergreen social content for the HGTV brand including promotion of the HGTV Dream Home, decorating and design content and audience engagement pieces.
How Has Social Media Changed (But Stayed the Same)?
Social media is constantly changing. From content formats to algorithms, there’s always something new to learn. Here are a few of the top trends coming to the most popular platforms:
- Instagram – It’s not just for pretty pictures anymore. The Instagram algorithm is now favoring Reels more than ever.
- Insta Stories – Stories have become like must-see TV with some users only consuming Stories and not the feed.
- YouTube – Historically, YouTube has been the go-to place for long form video content, but as other platforms find success with short form video, YouTube is launching Shorts.
- TikTok – Highly algorithm dependent and geared toward viral and trending content.
- LinkedIn – Makes you think that every post has to say “…and let me tell you why.”
- Twitter / Facebook – Community is the name of the game on these platforms with users gathering in interest-based groups.
No Longer One Size Fits All
In the past, many brands shared the same content across multiple social media platforms. Now those brands, including HGTV, are reevaluating that strategy in favor of content that’s specifically tailored for each platform and the audience that awaits there.
McCollum shares HGTV’s approach to video as an example. Historically, produced series and longer videos performed well across Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube but that is no longer the case. To accommodate today’s social media needs, they are instead creating content specifically for Reels, in platform for TikTok, and longer form video content for their YouTube audience (like project recaps, best ofs, etc…)
Increasing Engagement for a Large Brand
Large brands need the most targeted content for each platform. Below are some tips to help engagement soar with large audiences:
- Instagram – Make interactive posts by asking questions in the post, by sharing something highly relatable, by jumping on a trend, and telling people to tag a friend.
- Insta Stories – Question boxes are our friends! Answer questions as the brand or as talent associated with the brand. If questions don’t come in that you want answered, ask them yourself!
- Twitter – Retweet and quote tweet fans, join in conversations happening that are brand appropriate, and tweet questions or polls.
- TikTok – Post content that tells a story that hooks people, grab them with a quick cool visual, teach them something. Pay attention to people tagging the brand in conversations and jump in where it makes sense.
- Facebook – Encourage interaction by asking questions in the post and not posting links in the post caption.
Increasing Engagement for a Small Brand
A lot of the same advice holds true for a smaller or midsize brand as it does for a larger brand, but things are scaled down a bit.
- Instagram – Create feed posts / Reels that are specific to the audience that would want to follow you. Give your followers info that will help their lives. Be active on the platform – tag other local businesses, collaborate on posts, comment on other accounts’ posts.
- Insta Stories – Get fan feedback with the Question box on the site to see what fans want to see more of – and use the responses to create more content. Tag other businesses or creators that make sense for your brand so that they can repost to their stories.
- Twitter – Don’t be afraid to not be on Twitter. If you are a local bakery it might not make sense to spend time on Twitter. This platform is better suited for experts and people who understand the Twitter voice and can play in this world. Pay attention to if anyone is tagging you in comments and join in the conversation.
- TikTok – Don’t be afraid TO BE on TikTok. Tell your story and/or explain your expertise from a family-owned ice cream store to lawyers/chiropractors/travel experts. Stay on brand while being trendy.
- Facebook – Post content you know your audience wants and needs – or that they don’t even know they need. You might have to boost posts here to get any traction.
Increasing Engagement for Content Creators
A lot of the same advice holds true for content creators as it does for small, midsize, and large brands, but things are scaled down even more.
- Instagram – Create content you know your fans will like and that is in your wheelhouse and can appeal to the masses. If you like a brand or a service you can post about them if it makes sense.
- Insta Stories – Show up in your stories, let people see your personality here. Post about the processes and show the steps of what you do. You can tease the steps then post a Reel or story that shows the entire process. AMAs are a great way to get feedback from your audience. Tag brands that you use and other influencers you love – sometimes they get lost in the DMs but sometimes brands see you and respond!
- Twitter – Tweet if Twitter is your vibe. There are many niche interest groups on Twitter and if you can contribute to the conversation, post away! Join in conversations by replying to tweets, retweeting, quote tweeting, and tagging other creators.
- TikTok – The hardest to break into but has the potential to make you soar. Be true to your personality and your experist. Use popular sounds and figure out how to make trends work for your personal brand.
- Facebook – Reposting content from Instagram can still work on this platform as Facebook starts to prioritize Reels. Give people information about you that they want and can use (for example, appearances, workshops, new downloads).
Does Your Business Need to Be Everywhere?
No. But also, maybe yes.
McCollum’s recommendation is to find a platform (or platforms) that best serve you and your business needs. You aren’t required to be everywhere all the time for everyone, but don’t be scared to experiment with a new platform either!
No matter where you’re sharing your content, it’s important to make sure that you’re sharing it in the best place and in the best format for your audience to receive it.
Thanks for joining us! If you enjoyed this event, we’d love to see you at our upcoming luncheons and events including:
5/4/2022 – Honors Event: Details coming soon
5/11/2022 – May Luncheon: The Only Constant in SEO is Change
Keep an eye on our Eventbrite page for more information on upcoming events: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/ama-knoxville-4371428287
