Hacking The Feed – Becoming visible on social media

• #Social Media

Creative ways to get the attention of your target group on Instagram, TikTok & Co.

Performance marketing is not having an easy time at the moment. Many relevant areas are subject to new regulations or restrictions, which mean that previous marketing strategies cannot take full effect. These regulators include various EU laws that are increasingly focusing on the data protection of consumers. This approach is certainly a step in the right direction, but it also poses new challenges for performance marketing, and thus also for social media marketing. 

What is it about?

The data protection guidelines for electronic communications make it difficult for companies to take a closer look at their customers. It wasn’t that long ago that all homepages on the web had to implement the new DSGVO guidelines and since then we have been clicking on countless cookie banners several times a day to confirm the respective privacy policy.

These changes all mean that it is becoming increasingly difficult for performance marketing to base its strategy and campaigns on representative and reliable figures. At the same time, prices for cost-per-click (CPC), cost-per-lead (CPL), cost-per-action (CPA) and cost-per-view (CPV) are rising. When it comes to performance marketing strategy, it is more important than ever to think carefully about which performance marketing channels I want to use and what budget I have available for them. To make the whole thing as efficient as possible, you have to break new ground and get creative. 

The question you should ask yourself is: How can I attract the attention of my customers in a cost-effective way and attract social media users from Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, etc.? And above all: How do I “hack” the feed so that I am still displayed on the social media platforms despite everything?

What to post on Social Media?

Social media marketing continues to be an important and indispensable tool for most businesses, e-commerce drivers and organizations that rely on public awareness. On social networks such as Twitter, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, billions of people come together every day and fix their gaze several times a day on a small display that is their personal window on this world. What is displayed to them there plays a not inconsiderable role in their everyday lives and has a significant influence on their lives. This is why so many companies and advertisers are vying for the favor of the users of these social media. Competition has driven up the costs of social media advertising in the past. And so today it is necessary to find unusual and creative ways to get into the feeds of social media users.

Online Guerilla Marketing, Product Placement 2.0 or whatever else you want to call it

Today we would like to introduce you to some solutions that represent a symbiosis between outdoor advertising and online marketing. If you were to exaggerate, you could almost call the whole thing online guerrilla marketing. 

Because it’s about getting advertising out of the real world and into people’s social media channels. Sounds like Inception to you? Well, we wouldn’t go quite that far, but the idea behind it is impressive. Basically, it’s about opening up the view to where a large number of people come together. These can be landmarks like Times Square in New York, sporting events like Bundesliga games or the Champions League, festivals, concerts, parades or airports. Everywhere there is a large crowd of people coming together and they all take countless pictures, videos and stories and post them on social networks. Once you’ve thought around the corner, you can do several things at once. 

On the one hand, you place ads in the real world and are present in important places. On the other hand, you use social media users as advertising ambassadors and have indirect access to their reach.

So what exactly does this mean? If you place advertisements in the real world (as already mentioned above in public places), which tourists then photograph and post on social networks, you can easily ensure that your advertising appears exactly where the target group is.

Of course, this reach is nowhere near as large as that of a creator, but it doesn’t cost anything extra. With several photos and videos, you can get into the feeds of users without having to place an online ad or cooperate with a creator. Once you have placed a large-scale ad in people’s field of vision, it will also be seen in their photos on social media. Almost like product placement, the product or service will be seen in countless feeds and stories.

Conclusion

The above approach is about being visible to as many people as possible. If you are visible in important places and locations where many people come together, this usually also has an impact on your online presence. Photos and videos help you make the leap from the real world into the feeds of social network users.

The challenge here is to discover advertising spaces that catch the eye and show up well in photos and videos. If you look at the costs incurred by this advertising measure, they are significantly lower than those that would be incurred by a conventional online campaign. In addition to large-scale advertisements, you can also think about eye-catching merchandise items at events, eye-catching promotions at events or the sponsoring of jerseys, stunts or competitions. There are no limits to creativity at this point.