Good social media marketing is all about finding the right content for different audiences and sharing it accordingly. But Facebook is taking segmentation even further by encouraging brands to think critically not just about what types of stories and media to post to followers’ News Feeds, but also the physical devices people use to view them. Before you go investing all of your content marketing budget in a hot format like video or interactive graphics, make sure your viewers can actually see them.
Facebook said it’s using this concept to segment global paid ads because newly connected consumers are often logging in with mobile devices, relying on minimal connectivity to view sophisticated digital media . International users, for example, aren’t guaranteed to have the same 4G network connections that many Americans take for granted. Even within the U.S., access to technology and download speeds can vary tremendously. While video content might be extremely popular with audiences and encourages lots of engagement, it doesn’t do any good among viewers whose internet access doesn’t allow them to load quickly and play without interruption.
This issue is more important than it might seem at first blush. According to comScore’s most recent assessment of the American smartphone app market, Facebook is the unquestioned leader in the number of unique monthly visitors – 115 million. There is obviously a lot of variation within that figure in terms of device age, local network capabilities and even WiFi speed.
What users want to view and what they can view
So while video marketing is an essential tool for reaching many prospects and existing customers, it should be used carefully when brands know it’s going to appeal to their ideal audiences. In all circumstances, marketers succeed when they know what their followers like to see, rather than assuming the most technologically advanced content will be appreciated.
