Considering that Google changes its algorithms up to 600 times a year and that Facebook is going all 'meaningful' on its organic reach thumbprint, this raises a red flag for all marketing aficionados.

To succeed, we must play by the rules. And to play by the rules, we must learn what to say when to say it, how to say it and on what platform to say it in order to stay relevant.

Hey, did you know Facebook’s ‘Like’ button has been clicked 1.3 trillion times and counting? Who cares?! It’s no longer a cool fact. Why? Because it’s no longer relevant!

For platforms like Facebook, ‘loves’ supersede likes because it took the user some extra effort to click on the heart and not the thumb; it seems not even sharing your content is good enough any longer to build reach.

Now, it’s about active emoji’s, authentic comments, and further engagements on your ‘shares’ that will up the ante of your digital strategy. With Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement in 2018 about 'quality time' over 'length of time', and the importance of 'engagement well-being', Facebook has left the organic party on a bit of a downer.

This means that businesses must work harder at ‘talking the talk’ and enriching their content engagement in order to speak to their audience. And that’s just the new language of Facebook.

Where do we begin with all the others? While some of us have learned already that producing quality content for social platforms like Facebook, Instagram and YouTube is key to reaching your market, businesses should not be fooled by the misconception that using the same content across each platform will save on time and money and deliver the same reach.

So long as social media is around, your digital ecosystem is at the mercy of its ‘terms and conditions’. The secret here is to move away from re-using content and look towards repurposing content instead. Repurpose. Now there’s a word.

In fact, repurposing is quickly becoming the secret language of content creation that deserves its weight in marketing. By repurposing, we learn to shift our same content around, making it sharper, shorter, longer, prettier, richer, more meaningful, more industrial, more hashtagged and more filtered — all according to the respective social media dictionary of rules (a reminder that each social platform has its own rule book. Get to know it).

Suffice to say, your business is not a silo. In order to survive the digital landscape, it needs to have a social media strategy and, in that, it needs to communicate, to share, to engage, to love (not just ‘Like’), to comment, to get real! But how we do this is essential to growth.

The time has come for brands to be conscious of content language in order to communicate respectively on the medium they’ve chosen to play in.

Here's a quick pocket guide of social platform stereotypes – to help you identify the differences in content lingo:

1. Facebook: Mister meaningful

I’m all about the 'ohs', the 'ahs', the happy, the wow, the angry and the sad faces too. Give me the good stuff, the quality stuff, the real stuff — stuff that’ll get people ‘loving’, engaging and commenting until the cows come home.

2. Twitter: The News Anchor:

I’m a high roller; a convo starter. Keep me chatting about the trendiest topics. Stay current and connected. Tweet me, link me, tag me, hashtag me and infographic me.

I want to be noticed for staying globally relevant and on trend.

3. Instagram: The bestie

I’m the best friend that has good news to share. I’m full of inspiration, conversation and sharing ideas. Bring me rich content. Bring me user-generated content.

4. Instagram Stories: Ms curious

What you’re up to? Tell me more. Take me behind the scenes. Keep me interested in your every day. Authenticity is key. You can teach me, inspire me, tutorial me and tag me. Just don’t over complicate me. A sneak peek is all I need.

5. Linkedin: Boardroom Betty

I’m the woman in the suit. The guy with the satchel. The creative with the dream. Tell me how professional I look, that’s all I want to hear. Feed me career content, updates and news. I’m a skills directory of domination — use me to climb the ladder.

6. YouTube: Video Viking

You’ve landed on royal soil. I’m the 'be all' and 'see all'. I’m a dynamite portal for moving footage, insights, research, music video, films, live promotions, commercials, tutorials and soundtracks. I rank higher (way higher) than photos and — I’m that cool.

For more information, visit www.sointeractive.co.za. You can also follow So Interactive on Facebook or on Twitter.