Digital savvy consumers at all levels use some form of social media today. While the accessibility to connect with customers is of no concern, the real challenge for a brand is to stand out with some form of unique content and grab eyeballs.
From my perspective there are two aspects of innovation on social media – what social media has to offer as new features for connecting with audiences, as well as what organizations or individuals do in terms of innovative content to engage with their audience.
I am always on the lookout for new updates and product innovations from various social media platforms. The moment a social platform releases a new feature, it is always looking for brands or agencies that can pick it up quickly and deliver innovative solutions. Social platforms push their new features up the news feed of users ensuring audiences consume fresh content consistently. Take for example, when Facebook Live broke into the scene, Facebook went to the extent of notifying every follower when a brand goes live.
While this becomes one aspect of delivering innovation, brands also need to innovate independent of the emergent new tech. New trends appear from all corners of the Internet and brands need to pick up the kind of content that is making waves and tweak their strategies accordingly. For example, Reddit and Tumblr are unique platforms where engagement levels are high and communities are dedicated. Internet humor, creativity, global tech, entertainment and rich visual content always seem to rise from here. These mediums are often two to four months ahead of Facebook and Twitter in terms of producing organic viral content.
Fundamentally both aspects of innovation require you to build quality content to engage with your audience. Innovation of content has to be built in the culture of the relevant social media team. Such a team needs to subscribe to trusted resources to get updates on new product developments of social platforms, and pay immense attention to what is being talked about on the Internet. Of course all of this needs to happen while staying authentic to the brand. You cannot be innovative, without being honest.
Catch the wave at the right time enough times and you will start leading the pack in producing innovative content for your brand.