The rise of social media has facilitated a level of global connection that was once impossible. Platforms such as Instagram and TikTok have enabled individuals to discover online communities filled with others who share their interests and values. With such vibrant online communities, it is only logical for marketing strategies to shift towards the digital sphere and tap into the power of these platforms.
In today’s episode, we are joined by the co-founders of popular online Dallas community Dallasites101 and their own media company 101Media, Kara Cecala and LilyKramlich-Taylor. After a nation-wide shutdown of live events in 2020 forced Kara and Lily to pivot deeper into content creation, they found ways to leverage online communities and Instagram to create quicker, better, and more impactful ways to market and build community in the digital sphere.
Listen in as we speak about:
- Developing unique content that breaks through the noise (08:39)
- Lessons learned from successfully pivoting during a global pandemic (10:51)
- Strengthening your brand by building an online community (15:29)
- Trends and shifts coming into the digital marketing space (19:40)
And much, much, more!
Developing unique content that breaks through the noise
If creating great, authentic, unique content were easy, everybody would do it.
The truth is that due to the saturated market on social media platforms, it’s become more and more difficult to break through the noise of your niche.
One way that Lily suggests can help you strategize is by conducting competitive research to understand what already exists in the space and finding ways to do it better. Lean into new technology and trends, as early adopters may have an advantage in establishing their presence on a new platform, such as TikTok.
Lessons learned from successfully pivoting during a global pandemic
Although it’s grown to a full media brand now, 101Media was initially started as an Instagram account. It’s how they pivoted during the pandemic that led them on the path where they could have the success they hold today in 2023.
This pivot included increasing their own content creation and becoming a real-time news and resource platform, while simultaneously helping local businesses and brands with their Instagram accounts.
Strengthening your brand by building an online community
The era of broad, successful online communities is giving way to more and more niche groups. People are looking for a reason to connect with others who share something in common beyond just broad categories like location or gender.
To start building your community, Kara and Lily suggest finding specific interests that people have in common, and building a community around that.
Trends and shifts coming into the digital marketing space
Online community doesn’t mean that people should stay chronically online. The goal should be having real-life interactions and offline community building, especially after establishing an audience online.
To continue this growth and driving of community, Kara and Lily predict that marketers will lean more into TikTok and see campaigns come their way that are TikTok-only. They also note the popularity of specific niche ways of connecting with like-minded individuals, such as Geneva and busy Facebook groups.
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