In most areas of social media, a lack of content isn’t the problem. On the contrary: There’s often a distinct oversaturation of images and content because so many brands are on social media these days, and posting frequently.
However, professor of business administration Andrew Stephens writes, “There isn’t one clear formula dictating when oversaturation begins. The threshold between interaction and overkill differs by industry and brand. For example, Coca-Cola, as a globally known consumer company with a large audience and following, might reach out to its network multiple times per day, but a niche company with a limited audience or scope of services may only post on social media once a day.”
The real problem with oversaturation, no matter the size of your brand, is that users will reach a point in which the images and information are no longer effective for them. Even when the content is really extraordinary, there’s lots of it out there. The goal is to ensure that your brand’s content is the shining light in the midst of clutter, the one website or page that your users want to check every single day, the one that never overwhelms with too many photos or too much information. It’s why quality content-based strategies are king, and always will be.
However, there is still some open ground out there on that digital field for brands that should be on social media, but aren’t. It’s hard to believe, but there are demographics out there still craving content designed just for them! It’s an opportunity for brands in those industries to step up and take the place of content-provider for those audiences. Trust us, other brands are jealous of the opportunity.
Here are a few spaces online that aren’t oversaturated or overcrowded with content. In fact, these areas need and want brands to follow—what an extraordinary chance to make an impact.
Hunters/Shooters: I actually found this really compelling. Hanson and Dodge performed a representative nationwide study to find that over 20 million people in the United States participate in hunting and/or shooting, and 39 percent of those people are millennials. First of all, hunters and shooters have some big-time purchasing power and are 24 percent more likely than the average consumer to spend $500+ online per year. Forty-five percent of millennial shooters searched for product info via mobile in the past year, and 36 percent made a mobile purchase.
Yet (and this is the key): “Millennial Hunters/Shooters don’t consider themselves knowledgeable and are craving content [emphasis added].” So, here we have an entire demographic of people that are not only likely to purchase product online, but they want outstanding social media content to incentivize them? This is not too good to be true, it’s just a group of people who aren’t being marketed to as well as they could be. Smells like opportunity to us…
Real Estate: It’s constantly a surprise to me that the real estate market isn’t flooded with incredible social media. For one, they already have photography of the homes and information to give, but very few agents actually create great content with this information. Audiences of potential home buyers are already online all the time as they search for a home, but in an industry that’s literally based on marketing, there’s not an awful lot of social media content out there for these home buyers to engage with.
Agents who are committed to making outstanding content have had tremendous success with it. Bill Gaskett, who’s been with RE/MAX since 1996, notes, “Seventy-five percent of my leads come from my online presence: my website and social media pages… I’ve developed a long-term strategy of providing original content and giving credit to other industry professionals, which drives traffic to my website and ultimately results in leads.”
Travel Agencies: Thanks to apps and crowdsourced housing, travel agencies are nowhere near their heyday. There were around 30,000 US travel agency locations in the 1990s, and today, there are about 12,700. However, think about the crowds of travelers and people planning vacations who need professional advice. They’re online, looking for it. Why isn’t your travel agency out there speaking to them on Facebook and Twitter? There are not that many agents doing this, but social media is the best way to build trust, provide excellent customer service, be a go-to spot for travel emergency alerts, and more. (Check out some more ideas for travel agencies here.)
These are just a few of the sectors where there is just not as much good social media as there should be. Yes, parts of the digital sphere can be oversaturated, but that isn’t true for every single industry. Some are just waiting for someone to take the initiative and provide great content.
Image credit: CC by Esther Vargas
