Social Media Marketing in 2022: A Complete Overview

Contents:

• VKontakte and Odnoklassniki
• Telegram is one of the most popular platforms in Russia
• YouTube vs Rutube
• Short-format video: TikTok or Likee?
• TenСhat: developing a personal brand
• Universal Yandex.Zen
• Briefly - the main thing

The Commercial Director of the digital agency "Interium" is responsible for the strategic leadership and management of the company's commercial activities. His responsibilities include the development and implementation of effective business strategies aimed at increasing revenue and attracting clients. The Commercial Director also oversees interactions with partners and clients, ensures high quality of services provided and monitors the achievement of commercial goals. Thanks to his experience and knowledge in digital marketing, he contributes to the agency's development and strengthening its position in the market.

It is important to note that Instagram and Facebook were among the most effective platforms for business promotion. However, they are now considered extremist and banned in Russia. This has significantly impacted their traffic: as of April 2022, the reach of brand posts and stories decreased by 50%. Furthermore, businesses have lost the ability to use targeted advertising, which has negatively impacted marketing strategies and customer acquisition. In this new reality, companies must seek alternative platforms and methods to successfully promote their products and services.

What should be done in this situation? Completely abandoning social media is not the optimal solution. In 2021, Instagram had over 66 million active users in Russia, and even half of this audience represents a significant number of potential customers. However, without targeted advertising, relying on these platforms to be effective is unreasonable. Therefore, it's important to develop a strategy that will optimally leverage the power of social media to achieve business goals. Integrated advertising is becoming a key tool for maintaining and growing a business in today's environment. This format involves the use of multiple advertising channels simultaneously and is aimed at long-term customer relationships. Successfully implementing an integrated advertising strategy requires establishing an ongoing dialogue with consumers. This approach can be effectively implemented through accessible social networks, which allow you to interact with your audience and build brand loyalty. In this article, we'll look at platforms where you can still receive applications and discuss how to effectively build brand awareness and loyalty. You will learn about the best promotion channels that will help you attract your target audience and strengthen your brand's position in the market.

• VKontakte and Odnoklassniki
• Telegram Prospects
• YouTube vs. Rutube
• Short-format video: TikTok or Likee?
• TenChat: developing a personal brand
• Yandex.Zen

VKontakte and Odnoklassniki

The Russian Internet has significant potential for development even in the absence of Western social networks. An example of a successful ecosystem is China, where WeChat is the main social network. This multifunctional application combines various services: a messenger, a platform for uploading stories, as well as online shopping, food ordering, and taxi services. This approach demonstrates how to create a universal solution for users, which could inspire the development of similar services in Russia.

VKontakte continues to develop an ecosystem that includes stories, an algorithmic feed, and personal messages, a feature that has survived since the days of Pavel Durov. Despite the popularity of other social networks such as Instagram, competition within VKontakte remains low. This creates unique opportunities for users and bloggers, allowing them to more effectively engage with their audience and develop their projects. The VKontakte ecosystem offers a variety of creative and communication tools, making it attractive to new users and content creators.

Work is currently underway to implement internal monetization at VKontakte. According to rumors, the platform plans to develop its blogger ecosystem. This has already happened in the video content space—after a significant format update, monetization was launched, allowing public page administrators to earn money. Similar measures are expected to be adopted for other types of content on the platform, opening up new opportunities for users and content creators.

The outlook for the social network VKontakte looks promising. From February 24 to March 15, the platform's daily audience increased from 46.5 million to a record 50.3 million users. Moreover, the gender split is almost equal: 51% are women and 49% are men. If you've decided to abandon banned social networks and are looking for new opportunities for development, VKontakte is worth considering. This platform offers a wide range of tools for promoting and engaging with your target audience, making it attractive for businesses and personal brands.

VKontakte offers a wide range of targeted advertising tools, allowing you to effectively promote both individual posts and entire communities. You can target specific events or thematic interests, making advertising more personalized and targeted. The format of your advertising campaign should be aligned with your business goals and strategy to ensure maximum effectiveness and efficiency of your advertising efforts.

• "Website Advertising" leads directly to your landing page—you don't even need a social media page for this.
• "Carousel" creates a display case for products and services, where the price and description of the product are immediately visible, and there is the opportunity to make a purchase.
• "Advertising in Clips and Stories" is worth using to promote your community on social media.
• "Universal Post" is one of the proven formats; it allows you to promote any post from your community as an ad.

It's difficult to formulate universal recommendations for business, since the effectiveness of different approaches can vary. The optimal solution would be to test different advertising formats. At our agency, we recommend distributing your advertising budget across multiple tools. Hypotheses should be developed and tested for a month. Based on this period, the most successful formats should be implemented. This approach will maximize resource efficiency and increase the return on your advertising campaigns.

Odnoklassniki is a social network that actively utilizes targeted advertising and has an adult audience. It is unique in that it allows children as young as 6 to register, while other popular social networks require a minimum registration age of 12–16. This makes Odnoklassniki an attractive choice for parents who want to monitor their children's online activity, as well as for businesses targeting a broad and diverse target audience.

The demographic sample for advertising on Odnoklassniki is one of the most diverse. This platform's audience actively consumes video content, publishing nearly a million video posts daily. We recommend focusing your efforts on this format. If you already create video content for other social networks, you can easily adapt and duplicate it for Odnoklassniki. This will allow you to effectively increase your reach and engagement with your target audience.

Telegram is one of the most popular platforms in Russia

In light of recent events, Telegram has become the leader among social networks in terms of audience growth. Over the past two months, the number of subscriptions to Telegram channels by Russian users has increased by more than 30 million. This significant growth confirms the growing popularity of the platform and its appeal to users seeking alternative sources of information and communication. Telegram continues to strengthen its position in the market, attracting an increasing number of users thanks to its unique features and the ability to create diverse content.

Bloggers are actively opening Telegram channels, seeking to migrate their audience from Instagram. Unlike Instagram, Telegram does not have an algorithmic feed, which means that in order to maintain high statistics, it is necessary to constantly keep subscribers interested in the content. This is key to successful promotion on Telegram. Regularly updating and diversifying content will not only attract new subscribers but also retain existing ones, which is crucial for channel growth.

Engagement rates on social media increase significantly when the audience is already highly loyal. This dedicated group of subscribers is invaluable to a business, as they more actively engage with content and contribute to its distribution. Increasing engagement can lead to increased sales and brand strengthening.

Telegram has a strong core audience, with 45% of users in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and the age group ranging from 18 to 44. Currently, the messenger has over 350,000 Russian-language channels. Despite this, many brands do not create their own channels, limiting themselves to using the platform as an advertising tool. This creates unique opportunities for those who are ready to develop their channels and attract target audiences through high-quality content and active interaction.

Businesses are successfully promoted through expert, original channels that demonstrate high engagement and trust from the audience. Launching advertising on such channels is quite simple: you can contact the channel administrator directly or use a specialized Telegram advertising exchange, such as Telega.in. Using original channels to promote a business allows you to reach your target audience and increase brand awareness.

YouTube vs Rutube

As of today, official advertising on YouTube is unavailable due to a decision by Google. However, this has not had a significant impact on the Russian influencer market. Bloggers receive their main income from advertising integrations commissioned by companies. No major changes are expected in the near future: the Russian government has no plans to shut down YouTube, as recently announced by the Minister of Digital Development.

The Rutube platform has recently resurfaced in the media space. For a long time, the project was dormant, serving as a repository for old videos. However, it now appears the service has received funding for active development and content updates.

On Rutube, you can watch and upload videos, as well as share content with other users. The platform offers a variety of genres, including movies, TV series, programs, and user-generated videos. Users can subscribe to channels, create their own playlists, and participate in discussions. Commenting and rating videos are also available, allowing you to interact with other viewers and creators. Rutube supports high-quality content viewing on a variety of devices, making it convenient for users.

• Buy official advertising. However, views are worth more on average than they used to be on YouTube.
• Promote organically. The platform recently introduced a "To the Top" button. Users vote to promote their favorite videos in search results. Given that competition on the platform is still low, you can compete for a spot at the top.
• Develop in the same way as on YouTube. Search results depend on the number of views, likes, and comments. The better these indicators, the higher the chance of getting to the top.

Rutube has the potential to expand its audience. Future prospects remain a topic of debate, but the platform is currently actively investing in its development. One key step is the launch of exclusive shows from popular bloggers, which will only be available on Rutube. These projects are funded by the platform itself, underscoring its commitment to attracting viewers and creating unique content.

Rutube actively attracts content creators, offering favorable terms for influencers. During the first month, they receive 100% of the revenue from monetizing their videos, and 50% in the second month. This creates attractive conditions for bloggers and can contribute to the formation of a unique content market on the platform.

At the moment, it's not worth choosing between Rutube and YouTube. It is recommended to duplicate content on both platforms. This will expand your audience and increase the reach of your videos. Using both social networks helps attract new followers and improve the visibility of your content.

Short-format video: TikTok or Likee?

The situation with TikTok is similar to that of YouTube: the social network has suspended official advertising on its platform. Furthermore, the posting of new videos and live broadcasts are limited. However, there is a possibility that things will return to normal in the future. TikTok's management is considering a development strategy in the context of new legislation on fake news, which may affect the future of the service.

An alternative to TikTok, known as the social network Likee, offers users the ability to create and share short-format videos. This platform's main audience is the younger generation, particularly Zoomers. Likee remains one of the few foreign social networks that has not faced the consequences of sanctions and restrictions in Russia. Likee's creators actively engage with Russian authorities, and in 2019, the company opened an office in the country. Likee was the first social network to comply with the "landing" law, demonstrating its commitment to adhering to local norms and regulations.

The platform offers significant advantages for e-commerce. In 2020, a "Shopping" section was launched, providing direct links to product websites. This platform features storefronts from well-known brands such as Xiaomi, AliExpress, and Huawei, which focus on promoting their gadgets to a younger audience. Bloggers also have the opportunity to add links to advertised products in their videos and live broadcasts, which helps increase sales and user engagement.

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One of the platform's main advantages is a high likelihood of being featured in recommendations, which is significantly easier than on TikTok. This opens up opportunities for viral reach without additional costs.

This platform does not have official advertising, but, like other resources, there is the opportunity to collaborate with bloggers. You can offer them paid advertising or discuss options for posting information on a barter basis. This approach will allow you to effectively promote your product or service through influencers in your niche, which can significantly increase your reach.

An effective way to promote on digital platforms is to launch a challenge. A striking example of this approach is the collaboration between Burger King and the developers of the mobile game PUBG Mobile. They engaged popular bloggers in a hashtag challenge, implemented unique thematic special effects, and branded the game's interface. As a result, their initiative garnered 170 million views and attracted 590,000 participants. Achieving high results is possible even with a limited budget and smaller reach, making this method accessible to a variety of brands and companies.

TenChat: Developing a Personal Brand

The TenChat social network is one of the most promising projects on the current market. It is a kind of foreign analogue of LinkedIn, offering a unique platform for managers and entrepreneurs. TenChat developers divided users into three key categories: entrepreneurs, employees, and freelancers. This division allows for more precise targeting of the interests and needs of each group, which contributes to the creation of an effective network of interactions and career opportunities. TenChat is an ideal place for establishing business contacts, exchanging experiences, and finding new prospects in a professional environment.

Currently, the key feature of the platform is networking. The implemented service, similar to a "business Tinder", helps users establish business contacts. The algorithm effectively matches users based on their job titles, companies, interests, and connections on the platform. This creates unique opportunities to form professional relationships and expand your business network.

TenChat features a news feed similar to other social media platforms. This feed displays posts that have received the most engagement from users with similar interests. This makes it easy to find relevant content and engage with it, making the platform more engaging and personalized.

TenChat currently doesn't offer advertising tools. The developers recommend starting by publishing content to take advantage of organic reach. This recommendation is trustworthy, as TenChat has demonstrated impressive results in recent months, surpassing the one million registration mark in just a few months. This demonstrates the growing popularity of the platform and opens up new opportunities for users looking to expand their audience.

Companies are expected to be able to register on social media soon. Currently, the platform is primarily focused on personal branding. If your business relies on strong personal connections, it makes sense to focus on developing the TenChat accounts of your founder and top managers. This will help build trust in your brand and attract new audiences.

Universal "Yandex.Zen"

VKontakte Corporation recently acquired the Yandex.Zen platform. At this point, it is unclear what changes await users of the social network. Currently, Yandex.Zen continues to function as usual, preserving all current features for users.

A month and a half before the sale of Yandex.Zen, changes were made to the content feed algorithm. In March, the service temporarily disabled the recommendations function, and users could only see posts from those authors to whom they were subscribed. After that, recommendations were reactivated, which allowed users to receive a more diverse content. These changes in the operation of Yandex.Zen may affect user interaction with the platform and the attraction of new authors.

The structure of the recommendations feed has undergone changes: now posts from channels to which the user is subscribed are displayed first. Recommended content from other authors appears only after this. This innovation may complicate promotion through algorithms, but it ensures higher and more stable publication reach among subscribers. Now users can quickly receive relevant information from selected channels, which helps increase engagement and improve interaction with content.

The main audience of the Zen platform consists of residents of large cities such as Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other cities with over a million people. A significant proportion of users prefer to read materials on mobile devices, devoting approximately 45 minutes a day to this.

The Zen platform attracts users with its versatility, allowing you to reach a wide audience and effectively attract attention. A convenient advertising account makes the promotion process simple and accessible. Users can go through the entire sales funnel, from familiarization with the content to purchase. The social network is ideal for blogging, advertising pages, and vlogs, which opens up new opportunities for business and personal branding.

Zen is ideal for promoting mass-market products and services. Specifically, this includes food, clothing, cosmetics, as well as home improvement and repair products, household appliances, and computer equipment. The service sector emphasizes psychology, esotericism, personal finance management, and banking offerings. The primary content format on this social network is text, but short posts and videos similar to those on TikTok are also available. Using Yandex Zen effectively engages the target audience and increases brand awareness, making it a valuable marketing tool. Yandex Zen offers several effective advertising formats that help promote content and attract the target audience. Advertisers can choose from a variety of options, such as text and image ads, as well as video ads. These formats are tailored to user interests and maximize engagement. Using various advertising tools on Yandex Zen helps increase brand awareness and website traffic. This allows advertisers to effectively engage with potential customers and achieve their business goals.

• Articles can be promoted using the "Engagement" objective. The first method involves paying for each complete read, while the second involves working within a set daily budget. You can also use the "Reach" objective and maximize views within a specified timeframe and budget.
• Videos are designed for engagement with payment for complete views or website clicks. You can also use the "Reach" objective.
• Post promotions are aimed at external clicks. The goal of the algorithm is to ensure maximum traffic to the site within a given daily budget.

Briefly - the main points

• VKontakte has the most tools for business advertising. Here you can develop your community, increase brand loyalty, generate leads, and achieve viral reach for large-scale media campaigns.
• On Odnoklassniki, it's worth paying attention to video. It can be used for business advertising.
• Buying ads from YouTube bloggers is still worth it. If you create your own content on the platform, you can duplicate it on Rutube.
• There is no global replacement for TikTok yet, but there is hope that it will soon recover. A similar platform with a smaller reach is Likee. It is already actively used by large corporations.
• Business advertising on Telegram is relevant - the messenger has increased its traffic amid the crisis. The highest-quality and most valuable audiences are found in original channels.
• TenChat is a good platform for developing the personal brand of a company's founder and top managers. The social network's primary format is expert content for B2B.
• Yandex.Zen is suitable for promoting consumer goods and services. Here you can find advertising in the form of texts, short posts, and videos.

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